Obituary Requests

Requesting obituaries through Sonoma County Library

Staff will research these as time permits, and will send you their results within a month.  Because of the high volume of obituary inquiries we receive, we may need to limit the number of active requests per patron at any given time.

Please provide:

• the full name of the deceased
• date of death
• place of death, if known

Send your request to:

Sonoma County Library
Attn.: Reference
3rd and E Streets
Santa Rosa, CA 95404

You may obtain a person’s death date over the phone by contacting the Sonoma County Clerk’s office at 707-565-2645.

We also ask for your help by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope with each obituary requested. You will be notified even when the information is not found.

While we do not charge for this service, donations are welcome.

It is also possible to conduct a free search for obituary notices by name, from 1994 onward, on the Press Democrat search page. Use “Archive Search” (NOT “Find it Fast” search).

If you have a significant number of requests or are under time constraints, you may want to consider contacting the Sonoma County Genealogical Society or the Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library for the name of a professional researcher.

You may also contact the Research Department of the Press Democrat at www.pressdemo.com/library/about.html

You are invited to come into any one of our branch libraries for assistance with obituary searches.