California Public Records
Birth Records
California Office of Vital Records - MS 5103
Mailing Address:Post Office Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410
Physical Address: 1501 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone Number:(916) 445-2684
Fax: N/A
Hours:Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm,
Required Information: full name of child at birth and any subsequent legal name changes, date of birth, city or county of birth, mother's full name including her maiden surname, father's full name (if this is available); you’ll also need to provide information about yourself: full name, your relationship to person named on the certificate (father, mother, self, etc.), your mailing address (include city, state and zip code), your daytime phone number, a copy of your photo ID, and your signature.
Years Available: N/A
Search Fees: Birth records are $16.
Retrieval Timeframe: Birth record requests from 1982 to present can take up to two weeks; birth record requests from 1905 to 1981 can take up to 10 weeks.
Notes: Authorized birth record requests will need to have a sworn, notarized statement included.
Death Records
California Office of Vital Records - MS 5103
Mailing Address:Post Office Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410
Physical Address: 1501 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone Number:(916) 445-2684
Hours:Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Required Information: full name of the deceased person, sex of the deceased person, date of death (month, day, year or series of years to be searched), city or county of death, Social Security number; you’ll also need to provide information about yourself: full name, your relationship to person named on the certificate (father, mother, self, etc.), your mailing address (include city, state and zip code), your daytime phone number, a copy of your photo ID, and your signature.
Years Available: N/A
Search Fees: A death record is $12.
Retrieval Timeframe: Death records that were created from 1995 to present can take up to two weeks; death records that were created from 1905 to 1994 can take up to 10 weeks.
Notes: Authorized death record requests will need to have a sworn, notarized statement included.
Marriage Records
California Office of Vital Records - MS 5103
Mailing Address:Post Office Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410
Physical Address: 1501 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone Number:(916) 445-2684
Fax: N/A
Hours:Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Required Information: full names of the husband and wife, including wife's maiden name, date of marriage, provide at least year of the event, and the city or county where marriage license was issued; you’ll also need to provide information about yourself: full name, your relationship to person named on the certificate (father, mother, self, etc.), your mailing address (include city, state and zip code), your daytime phone number, and your signature.
Years Available: N/A
Search Fees: The fee for a marriage record is $14. If you would like to amend a marriage record, it is $20.
Retrieval Timeframe: Requests for a marriage record can exceed 6 months in processing time.
Notes: Authorized marriage record requests will need to have a sworn, notarized statement included.
Divorce Records
California Office of Vital Records - MS 5103
Mailing Address:Post Office Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410
Physical Address: 1501 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone Number:(916) 445-2684
Fax: N/A
Hours:Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Required Information: full names of the husband and wife, including wife's maiden name, date of the divorce, and city or county where divorce was granted; you’ll also need to provide information about yourself: full name, your relationship to person named on the certificate (father, mother, self, etc.), your mailing address (include city, state and zip code), your daytime phone number, and your signature
Search Fees: The fee for a divorce record is $13.
Retrieval Timeframe: A divorce record request can take up to six months to process.
Notes: Authorized divorce record copies will need to have a sworn, notarized statement included with your request.
State Property Records
California State Controller’s Office
Mailing address: Post Office Box 942850, Sacramento, CA 94250-5872
Physical address: 777 South Figueroa Street, Suite 4800, Los Angeles, California 90017 (the office has two locations)
Phone: (916) 445-2636 (Sacramento)/ (213) 833-6010 (L.A.)
Fax: (916) 322-4404 (Sacramento)/ (213) 833-6011 (L.A)
Hours: N/A
Controller: John Chiang
Where to Find State Court Records
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
Mailing address: Office of Communications, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California 94102-3688
Physical address: see above
Phone: (415) 865-7740
Fax: N/A
Hours: 8:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday.
Note: This office does not maintain court records for the following kinds of cases: powers of attorney; divorce decrees; criminal records; criminal case histories; complaints, other pleadings or judgments; traffic tickets; or information on specific cases. You’ll need to visit the Superior Court in the specific county where the case took place in order to obtain this kind of court record.
Specific Court Records
Supreme Court of California
Mailing address: 350 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA 94102-4797
Physical address: see above
Phone: (415) 865-7000
Fax: N/A
Hours: 8:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday.
California Court of Appeals
Mailing address: Varies – there are six districts
Physical address: see above
Phone: Varies – there are six districts
Fax: N/A
Hours: 8:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday.
Supreme Court Opinions
