# Access to Public Records? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 5, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198 "2018-02-05T02:15:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![perfidia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfidia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfidia)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/1 "2018-02-05T02:15:58Z")
Is there any way I can find the death records of a person I use to know, that passed away about two years ago, in CA? The info I found was very general. Everything I’ve tried to look at, wants me to sign up for a trial period, which I really don’t want to do. I thought public records were free and open to be viewed by the public? Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you! \* -Ella\* ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/2 "2018-02-05T03:17:28Z")
Do you mean the death certificate? You can contact the county recorder of births, deaths and marriages in the county where they died. List [here](https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/Pages/County-Registrars-and-Recorders.aspx). Be aware a death certificate gives fairly little information, here’s a [sample](http://www.brsata.com/postpic/2015/10/blank-death-certificate-california_151671.jpg). Sorry for your loss. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/3 "2018-02-05T04:48:37Z")
Have you tried googling the person’s full name for the newspaper obituary? narrow down the search if you know the city of death. If that fails,. try googling a family member with fairly unusual name, as you can often get an obituary hit based on the names of survivors. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/4 "2018-02-05T07:11:21Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Do you mean the death certificate? You can contact the county recorder of births, deaths and marriages in the county where they died. List [here](https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/Pages/County-Registrars-and-Recorders.aspx). Be aware a death certificate gives fairly little information, here’s a [sample](http://www.brsata.com/postpic/2015/10/blank-death-certificate-california_151671.jpg). Depending on the county, you’ll probably have to retrieve the death certificate in person, and know the date of death, as well as the complete name of the decedent. ---
**Author:** ![perfidia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfidia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfidia)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/5 "2018-02-05T08:22:32Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Do you mean the death certificate? You can contact the county recorder of births, deaths and marriages in the county where they died. List [here](https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/Pages/County-Registrars-and-Recorders.aspx). Be aware a death certificate gives fairly little information, here’s a [sample](http://www.brsata.com/postpic/2015/10/blank-death-certificate-california_151671.jpg). > > Sorry for your loss. Thank you, araminty. No, it’s not a death certificate I’m really wanting. I was really wanting to find the info through the internet, since we moved out of state, of where he passed. Actually, the person was a professor of languages at a college I attended eons ago. When I googled his name it brought up the college where he taught and there was the condolence to his family. I have googled his name and it comes up, but the outfits show very little and then the catch is, that I can view the rest of the information, if I sign up for a trial. I guess I was hoping more for a newspaper obituary, but it’s been a couple of years ago, that he passed. Thank your response. -Ella ---
**Author:** ![perfidia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfidia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfidia)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/6 "2018-02-05T08:42:39Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Have you tried googling the person’s full name for the newspaper obituary? narrow down the search if you know the city of death. If that fails,. try googling a family member with fairly unusual name, as you can often get an obituary hit based on the names of survivors. Hi jtur88: Yes, I’ve tried googling the person’s full name and that’s how found out the person had passed, but the info was very limited. Thank you for the suggestion of googling a family member. I’ll give that a try and thanks again for your response. -_Ella_ ---
**Author:** ![perfidia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfidia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfidia)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/7 "2018-02-05T08:53:23Z")
Thank y’all for your responses! I appreciate the help and suggestions. -Ella 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/8 "2018-02-05T11:12:14Z")
Assuming he was still employed at the time of his death, you could also email his head of department at the college. They may be aware of any professional tributes that appeared in journals and newsletters. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/9 "2018-02-05T12:44:29Z")
Try [Legacy](http://www.legacy.com/), they combine a lot of obituaries on their site. They should all be free, though I only know that they are for my area. It looks like they might go back to around 2000, but I would guess that really depends on what newspapers they pull from. You might not find anything if they only have a Death Notice which is different from an obituary. Death Notices are usually just a line or two that says the name and when they died. You can also try the Social Security Death Index, though a few years ago they stopped putting out the most recent deaths. I don’t know how long they wait now, but I believe it’s around five years. There’s also [Find a Grave](https://www.findagrave.com/), which might have a burial location which could tell you more. Though that information is entered by volunteers so they may not be listed. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/10 "2018-02-05T14:15:00Z")
Welcome to the StraightDope Message Board … **perfidia** … grab a soda out of the frig and sit a spell … ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/11 "2018-02-05T14:54:01Z")
The sites that come up on google are compilers of public records. They have to make money, so they charge you to see what they found. They are generally web crawlers, so make connections where they see them, but are not always right with regards to matching data to a specific person correctly… but they can be a start in the right direction, at a cost. The public records are free, but no-cost doesn’t mean they are readily available online. Some information is accessible only in person, or via the sources’ IT infrastructure directly. I run into this with tax maps. Some GIS sites are amazing and give every bit of information needed. Some give none, and a visit to town hall would be required to get more data on a given plot of land. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/12 "2018-02-06T01:19:03Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > The sites that come up on google are compilers of public records. They have to make money, so they charge you to see what they found. They are generally web crawlers, so make connections where they see them, but are not always right with regards to matching data to a specific person correctly… but they can be a start in the right direction, at a cost. > > The public records are free, but no-cost doesn’t mean they are readily available online. Some information is accessible only in person, or via the sources’ IT infrastructure directly. I run into this with tax maps. Some GIS sites are amazing and give every bit of information needed. Some give none, and a visit to town hall would be required to get more data on a given plot of land. Public records aren’t necessarily free. The [California Department of Public Health](https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/Pages/Vital-Records-Obtaining-Certified-Copies-of-Birth--Death-Records.aspx) is the agency to contact for copies of birth or death records in California. They charge $21.00 for a copy. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/13 "2018-02-06T01:51:43Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Have you tried googling the person’s full name for the newspaper obituary? narrow down the search if you know the city of death. If that fails,. try googling a family member with fairly unusual name, as you can often get an obituary hit based on the names of survivors. Not everybody who dies gets an obituary. My father-in-law died recently, and the family decided not to publish an obituary. ---
**Author:** ![perfidia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfidia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfidia)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/14 "2018-02-06T09:23:11Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Welcome to the StraightDope Message Board … **perfidia** … grab a soda out of the frig and sit a spell … Thank you for the warm welcome, watchwolf! I really appreciate it. -Ella 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![perfidia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfidia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfidia)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/access-to-public-records/808198/15 "2018-02-06T09:29:54Z")
And thank you to ALL of you for your feedback and input! It’s very much appreciated! -Ella