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 newspapers for Santa Clara County. Our access to the San Jose Mercury News is from 1886-1922 and from 1984 to present.
Submitting a Request
Complete the Obituary Search Request Form (below) to submit your request.
- All requests are fulfilled on a first come, first served basis.
- Obituaries are published no earlier than 1 week after a person's passing. Please wait at least 1 week after a person's passing before requesting obituary search assistance.
- Allow 2-4 days for us to respond to your request.
- We cannot guarantee that we will find the information you 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 Ancestry.com, which is available for free in-library only, with the California Death Records (1940 – 1997) and/or the Social Security Death Index search tools.
- Review our Digital ReeL archive for specific local newspaper titles and dates available to us before submitting your request.
For additional useful obituary research resources, visit the Genealogy & Obituaries page.
Obituary Search Assistance
Please include the first and last name of the deceased and the date of death at minimum.
"*" indicates required fields