Free Service

• The Santa Clara County Library District provides a free, three per month, obituary/death notice search request service.
• We perform searches only for persons whose obituary appeared in the San Jose Mercury News, or in the local community newspaper for Santa Clara County. Our access to the San Jose Mercury News is from 1886-1922 and from 1984 to present.
• Please review our newspaper holdings page for specific newspaper titles and dates available to us before submitting your request.
• We cannot guarantee that we will find the information you request.
• You may complete the Obituary Search Request Form (below) to submit your request.

Helpful Hints

• To expedite your search, please provide the date of death when requesting this service. You can verify the name and the date of death using California Death Records (1940 – 1997) and/or the Social Security Death Index.
• All requests are fulfilled on a first come, first serve basis.
• Please allow 2-4 weeks for us to respond to your request.
• For additional useful resources for obituary search assistance including fee-based services, visit Obituary Research in the Bay Area & Silicon Valley.