California, County Birth and Death Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes birth and death records from 1800 to 1994. The collection consists of an index and images to registers, records, and certificates of county birth and death records acquired from county courthouses. This collection contains some delayed birth records, as well. Some city and towns records are also included. Some images are not available for viewing between the years 1824-1974.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. Some images in this collection are not available for viewing. For additional information about image restrictions, please see the Restrictions for Viewing Images in FamilySearch Historical Record Collections page.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth
 * Child's birth date
 * Place of birth
 * Name of Child
 * Gender
 * Race or Color
 * Number of children in family
 * Living or stillborn
 * Names of Parents
 * Race and nativity of parents
 * Father's occupation
 * Parents' birth place
 * Age of parents
 * Residence
 * Maiden name of mother
 * Legitimacy of child

Death
 * Death date
 * Place of death
 * Name of deceased
 * Age at death
 * Gender
 * Nativity
 * Cause of Death
 * Attending physician

Coverage Table and Map
Details on the number of records available by county, and number of records per year are available at California, County Birth Records and California, County Death Records.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date of the birth or death
 * The county where the birth or death occurred

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select the County/Town
 * 2) Select the Record Type, Date Range and Volume to view the images.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
If these are indexes, the original records may contain additional information than was not indexed, or the information might have been indexed incorrectly. You may want to search for the original record.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the information found in the birth or death records to locate family in probate records
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in census records
 * Search for death or burial information in BillionGraves Index

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching a nearby county
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of California
 * California Guided Research
 * California Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research: 1850-1905 | 1905-Present

Known Issues With This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.