​On March 1, 8, 12, and 14, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency to support storm response and relief efforts in 43 counties; Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, and Yuba.

These Proclamations support impacted residents in all the counties under a storm state of emergency by waiving fees to replace certificates such as birth, death, marriage, and dissolution of marriage records, and provides flexibility to help hospitals and care facilities in impacted areas continue providing services.

Pursuant to these Proclamations of a State of Emergency, fees for certified copies of birth, death, marriage, and dissolution of marriage records are suspended for any individual who lost such records as a result of the winter storm. These Proclamations will remain in effect until the Governor terminates the State of Emergency. These Proclamations are available for viewing at: 

• GSS_9534-1E-20230301160031 (ca.gov) (PDF, 2MB)
  
• 3.8.23-SOE-Storms-Additional-Counties.pdf (ca.gov)​  (PDF)
  
• SOE-3-12-23-March-Storms-Additional-Counties.pdf (ca.gov)  (PDF)
  
• GSS_9320_2-20230314171904 (ca.gov)​  (PDF, 1.6MB)
  

When requesting free copies of a vital record, survivors of the winter storm should state on the application, “Winter Storm,” and complete the enclosed sworn statement declaring under penalty of perjury that they are a survivor. The sworn statement for winter storm survivors is a combined sworn statement which also includes the sworn statement required by Health and Safety Code Section 103526. For requests sent to theCalifornia Department of Public Health – Vital Records (CDPH-VR), survivors should additionally make the notation “Winter Storm” on the front of the mailing envelope, for faster processing.

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