Last 3 years: DPH Office of Vital Records. More than 3 years ago: County Clerk. Both list City Hall Room 160. CDPH mail is slower statewide backup.
Who may request
Child, spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or state-registered domestic partner, plus funeral staff, court order, power of attorney, executor with estate papers, or a government agency on official business, as listed on sf.gov. Anyone may request an informational copy. Banks want authorized.
What to bring
Unexpired government-issued photo ID. Foreign-government IDs are accepted on the last-3-years page. Confirm pickup ID rules on the page you use.
Where to write or visit
City Hall, Room 160, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102. Deaths in the last 3 years: Department of Public Health Office of Vital Records (sf.gov/death-certificate-under-three-years). Older than 3 years (after 1906): Office of the County Clerk. CDPH is the statewide mail backup.
Notes from the desk
$26 per certified copy, including additional copies, on the County Clerk fee table this check (effective 1 Jan 2026). There is no cheaper extra. City and County of San Francisco is one jurisdiction, not a separate city and county pair. Online orders, where offered, go through a vendor. This desk takes no cut.