Probate

Searching probate records in California means working with the Superior Court in the county where the deceased person was domiciled at the time of death. California’s probate system is entirely county-based: there is no statewide probate court and no single portal that covers all 58 counties. The Superior Court in each county handles estate administration, and the court clerk maintains the case files that become public record once an estate is opened. This guide explains exactly how to search probate records in California by county, which online portals are available, and what to do when online access falls short.

How California Probate Works

California probate is governed by the California Probate Code, which requires formal court administration for estates with probate assets exceeding $184,500 (the 2024 threshold, indexed periodically for inflation). Below that threshold, California provides a simplified procedure using a small estate affidavit under Probate Code Section 13100, which does not require court filing and generates no public probate record.

For estates above the threshold, the executor or administrator files a petition with the Superior Court in the county of domicile. The court assigns a case number, schedules a hearing, and the case becomes a publicly accessible court record. California probate cases are filed in the civil division of the Superior Court and are administered by the probate department in larger counties. The probate department in Los Angeles Superior Court, for example, handles thousands of estate cases annually and has developed specialized procedures for managing the volume.

The probate process in California typically takes a minimum of nine months due to the mandatory creditor notice period under Probate Code Section 9100, which gives creditors four months after Letters Testamentary are issued or 60 days after notice is mailed, whichever is later. Complex estates with disputed wills, multiple real properties, or business interests routinely take two to three years. All filings made during that period accumulate in the public court file.

The California Court System and Probate Records

California’s 58 counties each have a Superior Court, and within those courts probate cases are identified by specific case type designators. California probate case numbers typically begin with a prefix indicating the case type and county, followed by a year and sequential number. In Los Angeles County, probate case numbers begin with BP (for probate). In other counties the prefix varies.

The records held in a California probate file include:

Petition for Probate: the initial filing identifying the decedent, the proposed executor or administrator, and the estimated estate value. This document is public and establishes the basic facts of the proceeding.

Will: the original will submitted for probate, which becomes a permanent part of the public court file once admitted. Any codicils (amendments) to the will are also filed.

Inventory and Appraisal (I&A): the formal listing of all probate assets and their appraised values, prepared by a court-appointed probate referee. The I&A is one of the most detailed financial documents in the public probate record.

Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration: court orders authorizing the executor or administrator to act. These are public documents but copies for legal use require court certification.

Notice of Proposed Action: a formal notice required under Probate Code Section 850 before the executor takes certain actions without a court hearing. These filings reveal decisions about estate assets.

Final Accounting and Petition for Final Distribution: the accounting of all estate income, expenses, and proposed distributions filed at the end of administration. This document shows how assets were ultimately divided among beneficiaries.

Searching California Probate Records Online

California does not have a statewide court record portal covering probate cases across all 58 counties. Instead, each county Superior Court maintains its own case management system, and online access varies significantly by county.

Los Angeles County: The Los Angeles Superior Court provides the Court Case Access portal at lacourt.org, which allows free name-based searching of civil and probate cases. Case dockets are viewable online, and many case documents are available through the court’s MyLACourt document imaging system.

San Diego County: San Diego Superior Court provides free online case searching at sdcourt.ca.gov. Probate case dockets and basic case information are available through the online portal.

Orange County: Orange County Superior Court provides free online case access through the court’s website. Case summary information and docket entries are viewable without charge.

Santa Clara County: Santa Clara Superior Court provides case searching through its online portal. Probate cases are searchable by party name with case type filtering.

Alameda County: Alameda County Superior Court provides online case access through its court website. The Odyssey system used in some Alameda departments allows name-based searching.

Sacramento County: Sacramento Superior Court provides online case searching through its website portal covering probate and civil cases.

Smaller and rural counties: Courts in smaller California counties often have limited or no online case access. San Bernardino, Riverside, Fresno, and Kern counties have online systems with varying levels of document access. Counties with populations under 100,000, such as Alpine, Modoc, Sierra, and Trinity, may have no online case access at all.

To find the online access portal for any California county Superior Court, search for “[county name] Superior Court case search” or navigate through the California Courts website at courts.ca.gov, which links to each county court’s website.

How to Search Probate Records in a California County Court

When using a California Superior Court online portal to search probate records, follow these steps:

Step 1: Navigate to the correct county. Identify the county where the deceased person was domiciled at death and locate that county’s Superior Court website.

Step 2: Find the case search function. Look for a case access, case search, or civil case lookup link. In some California courts this is labeled Civil, in others it appears under all case types.

Step 3: Filter by case type. Enter the decedent’s name and select probate as the case type if the system allows filtering. California probate case types include probate, estate, will contest, guardianship, and conservatorship.

Step 4: Review the case list. If multiple cases appear, look for the case involving an estate or will matter. The case title in California probate is typically “Estate of [Decedent Name]” or “Conservatorship of [Name].”

Step 5: Access the docket. The case docket lists every filing chronologically. Key documents to look for include the petition for probate, the will (if admitted), the inventory and appraisal, and the final accounting.

Step 6: Request document images. Many California courts provide scanned document images through the online portal. Los Angeles County’s MyLACourt system is among the more comprehensive. Where images are not online, submitting a copy request to the court clerk is the next step.

Requesting California Probate Records In Person or by Mail

For courts without comprehensive online document access, or for certified copies needed for legal purposes, contact the probate clerk directly.

In person: Visit the civil or probate filing window at the county Superior Court. Bring the case number if known, or the decedent’s name and approximate death date. Court staff can confirm whether a probate case was filed and provide access to the case file or process a copy request.

By mail: Write to the civil division of the relevant county Superior Court. Include the decedent’s full legal name, approximate date of death, and the specific documents requested. Include a check payable to the clerk of court for the applicable fees and a self-addressed stamped envelope. California Superior Court copy fees are set by Government Code Section 70626 and are currently $0.50 per page for plain copies and an additional $25 for certification of documents.

Copy fees: California probate document fees include: plain copies at $0.50 per page; certified copies at $25 plus $0.50 per page; exemplified (triple-certified) copies at $50 plus $0.50 per page for documents requiring authentication for international use.

Historical California Probate Records

For historical research involving probate records from the 19th and early 20th centuries, several sources supplement the current court system.

California State Archives: The California State Archives in Sacramento holds transferred court records from many counties, including probate files from the Gold Rush era and early statehood period. The Archives’ online catalog at oac.cdlib.org lists their holdings by county and time period.

FamilySearch: FamilySearch has digitized California probate records from many counties, with coverage strongest for pre-1950 records. The FamilySearch catalog lists California probate collections by county, and many records are freely viewable online without visiting a courthouse.

California Digital Newspaper Collection and Ancestry.com: Probate notices were published in local newspapers in California from the earliest settlement period. The California Digital Newspaper Collection at cdnc.ucr.edu provides free access to digitized California newspapers. Ancestry.com holds digitized California probate records and indexes from several counties.

County Recorder deed records: For probate proceedings that involved real property, the recorded deeds transferring property from the estate to heirs appear in the county recorder’s deed index and provide evidence of the probate outcome even when the court file is incomplete.

California Probate and the Small Estate Threshold

Because California’s small estate affidavit threshold of $184,500 is among the highest in the country, a significant portion of California estates are settled without any court filing. For these estates, no probate record exists in the Superior Court system. The affidavit itself is not filed with any court; it is presented directly to the asset holder.

Researchers searching for a California probate record who find nothing in the court system should consider whether the estate qualified for the small estate affidavit procedure. If total probate assets were below the threshold, no court case was opened, no will was admitted to the public record, and the estate was settled privately without generating a searchable public record.

For more on California county public records and the structure of California’s court and recorder system, see the California county records guide. For general guidance on probate records and the probate process, see How to Find a Will in Probate Court and What Is Probate and How Does It Work.

California Probate Records for Real Estate Research

California probate records are particularly valuable for real estate researchers because California’s real property market generates substantial estate activity, and probate sales of real property are common in all 58 counties. When a property appears in the California probate system, the probate record provides documentation of the ownership chain that supplements the County Recorder’s deed records.

Probate referee appraisals: The inventory and appraisal document in a California probate file contains the probate referee’s appraised value of all estate real property as of the date of death. This court-supervised appraisal is conducted by a court-appointed probate referee, one of a statewide panel of referees appointed by the State Controller’s office. The referee’s appraised value establishes the stepped-up tax basis for the heirs and provides an independent valuation not available through any other public record.

Confirmed sale orders: When a California probate estate sells real property, the executor must typically obtain court confirmation of the sale under Probate Code Section 10300 unless the will grants the executor full independent authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA). A confirmed sale generates an Order Confirming Sale of Real Property, which is a public court record. This order shows the approved sale price, the buyer, and the court’s finding that the sale was in the estate’s best interest.

Petition for Final Distribution: The final accounting in a California probate case identifies which beneficiaries received specific real property assets. Researchers who need to trace the chain of ownership from an estate to the current owner can use the final distribution order to identify the transferee before the recorded deed reflects the change.

When California Probate Records Involve Multiple Counties

California estates involving real property in more than one county generate records in multiple courts. The primary probate proceeding is filed in the county of the decedent’s domicile. If the estate includes real property in other California counties, the executor typically records a certified copy of the order for final distribution or a trustee’s deed in each county’s recorder’s office rather than filing a separate ancillary probate proceeding.

For out-of-state property owned by a California decedent, a separate ancillary probate proceeding must be filed in the state where the property is located. California will not have probate records for out-of-state property; those records are held by the courts in the relevant other states.