Get a San Francisco death certificate more than 3 years ago

You can apply to get a record of a death certificate for someone who died in San Francisco more than 3 years ago and after 1906.

You can apply to get a Certified Authorized record of a death certificate if you are the deceased person’s:
 

• Child
• Spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling or state-registered domestic partner 
• Surviving next of kin

You can also apply for a certified record of a death certificate if you: 

• Are an agent or employee of a funeral house
• Have authorization from a certified court order. In this case, you will be asked to provide the court order.
• Have power of attorney and can show a certified copy of your Power of Attorney document
• Are the executor of the person’s estate, with estate documents to prove it
• Work for another government agency and can show your work ID

VitalChek is a third-party provider for ordering vital records online.

Order online

This process can take up to 6 weeks.

You can call VitalChek at (800) 708-6733 to check on an order or if you have questions.

You can apply to get a death certificate in person at the Office of the County Clerk. The death certificate must be for someone:

• who died in San Francisco more than 3 years ago
• who died on or after 1906

The person applying must bring an unexpired government-issued photo ID.

You can pay by cash or credit card. You can also pay with a personal check, money order, or cashier's check, from a US bank and in US dollars.

Download the PDF and fill out your details.

Take your form to a notary public and have it notarized. 

You don’t need to have your application notarized for an Informational Copy. Informational copies are certified, but have “Informational: Not a valid document to establish identity” printed on them.

You must include:

• your filled out application
• notarized sworn statement
• payment 

You can pay by personal check, money order, or bank check. Make it payable to “SF County Clerk”. 

If you are using a personal check, it must:

• have the account holders name printed on it
• be from a bank in the USA
• payable to "SF County Clerk"

You should get your death certificate in 4 to 6 weeks.