Obituary searches are free and available for residents of San Mateo County. For non-residents of San Mateo County, a $20 nonrefundable fee per name will apply. If an obituary can be found, the Library will send the requestor an electronic copy of the obituary as it appeared in the newspaper.

• Searches are conducted for persons whose obituary appeared in San Mateo County newspapers up until 2009. Microfilm service was discontinued for the San Mateo Times after 2009.
• The Library cannot guarantee that an obituary will be found.
• All requests are fulfilled on a first come, first serve basis.
• Allow 14 days for the search to be completed and for the Library to respond.
• Provide the date of death when requesting this service. Verify the name and the date of death using California Death Index (1940-1997) and/or the Social Security Death Index.

You are welcome to visit the San Mateo Main Library to conduct your own obituary searches using the Library’s microfilm holdings and the Ancestry.com database (available for use within the library).

To request an obituary, complete the Obituary Search Request Form, include a $20 nonrefundable check payable to the San Mateo Public Library (if non-resident of San Mateo County) and mail to:

San Mateo Public Library
ATTN: Obituary Request
55 W. 3rd Ave.
San Mateo, CA 94402