How to Look Up Probate Records in California

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated October 2026.

Usually a relative has died and you’re wondering whether anyone opened a case, or someone has been vague about what a will says. The rules are simple once you know which court holds the file and what the court treats as private.

This page covers the Superior Courts in Ventura, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties, because that’s where our clients’ cases are filed. Every court web page and fee below was checked in October 2026. Court sites change their links and fees, so confirm with the clerk before you pay or drive anywhere. If a trust is involved instead, see how to look up a trust in California.

Are probate records public in California?

Yes. California Rules of Court, rule 2.550(c), says court records are presumed to be open unless the law makes them confidential or a judge seals them.

A probate case file typically holds the petition, the will, notices to heirs, the inventory and appraisal of the estate’s assets, creditor claims and the court’s orders. Anyone can ask to see it. You don’t need to be related to the person, and you don’t need to give a reason.

Some documents are sealed by a judge, some case types are confidential by statute, and some courts keep certain records off the internet while leaving them open at the courthouse. The section on confidential records below lists the ones that come up most.

How do I look up probate records in California?

Search the Superior Court in the county where the person lived at death, using the decedent’s name or the case number if you have it. Probate is generally filed in the county where the person lived, so that’s the court to start with.

1. Gather the name, the date of death and the county

   Use the full legal name. Nicknames won’t match. The date of death helps you tell two people with the same name apart. If the person owned real estate in more than one county, check each one, because a second case can be opened where the property sits.

2. Ventura County Superior Court

   The court’s Case Inquiry page says Civil, Probate and Small Claims cases are in one database, and that anything missing there is available only through the Records Department at the courthouse. The public portal itself, Ventura Superior Court Public Access, says you need to create an online account to use it, and that what it shows is limited to what California Rules of Court, rules 2.501(b), 2.503(b) and 2.503(c) allow.

   Probate files are kept at the Juvenile Courthouse, 4353 Vineyard Avenue in Oxnard. The court’s Records page lists the Oxnard Records office at (805) 289-8820, open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. That page also says viewers at the Oxnard courthouse must be a party to the case, which conflicts with the general in-person instructions on the Case Inquiry page. Call before you make the trip.

   The court doesn’t send copies by fax or email. You can request them in person or by mail using form VSC-REC-001 (Juvenile, Adoptions and Probate Records), and the court warns that off-site files may take at least two court days and mailed requests several weeks. A will lodged with the clerk after death carries a $50 lodging fee, according to the court’s Probate page.

3. Los Angeles County Superior Court

   The court runs two public tools. If you have a case number, the Probate Case Access page pulls up the case summary. If you only have a name, Public Access Online Services searches litigant names in civil, small claims, family law and probate cases. The court says the results list litigant names, case types, filing dates, filing locations and the number of imaged documents available. Probate searches go back to 1983, and the court notes the site is updated daily. Each search carries a fee. The guest rate on the court’s page is $4.75 per search, and registered users pay on a sliding scale starting at $1.00 per search.

   The court’s probate FAQ, Where do I check if a Probate action has been filed?, says to bring the decedent’s full name and date of death. You can call the Probate Division at (213) 830-0800 or ask at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 N. Hill St., Room 429, or the Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster. If a case exists, the clerk gives you the case number, and you can then view the file in the Case Summary tool or at public terminals in any courthouse. The clerks’ offices are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

4. Santa Barbara County Superior Court

   The court’s Case Records Search opens with a usage agreement you accept before searching. The court says the Public Index can’t be copied or redistributed without its consent. It also says that, under California Rules of Court, rule 2.503, it restricts some documents from remote display, though those records may still be available at the Records Department.

   The court’s Court Records page says the easiest way to find a record is by case number, and that public access terminals are in the lobbies of the Figueroa, Miller and Lompoc divisions. South County Records is at 118 E. Figueroa Street in Santa Barbara, (805) 882-4778. North County Records is at 312-E East Cook Street in Santa Maria, (805) 614-6414. Both are open 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekdays. Copy requests use the court’s Copy Request Form, can be made in person, by mail or by email, and the court asks you to allow up to 14 business days.

5. Know what copies cost

   The statewide Superior Court Statewide Civil Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026, sets $0.50 per page for a copy of a record on file and $40 to certify a copy. It also sets $15 for a records search that takes longer than 10 minutes. Ventura and Santa Barbara list the $0.50 and $40 figures on their own pages. Ventura also charges $15 per records search request, up to 15 names. Santa Barbara adds a $1.00 invoice cost-recovery fee and a card surcharge. A certified copy matters if a bank, title company or agency needs proof the copy matches the court’s file.

The online index is a finding tool. It tells you whether a case exists and gives you the case number, and each court’s page above is the place to confirm which documents you can open from home. Anything else comes from the records office.

Can anyone look up someone’s will?

Not while the person is alive, but after death a will that has been filed with the court is generally open to the public.

California has no will registry. While the person lives, nobody has a right to see the will. After death, Prob. Code § 8200 requires whoever holds the original to deliver it to the superior court clerk within 30 days of learning of the death, unless a petition for probate has already been filed, and to deliver a copy to the named executor if the executor can be found. The lodging fee follows Gov. Code § 70626.

Lodging a will and opening a probate case are different things. If a petition is filed, the will is attached to it and becomes part of the public case file. If the will is only lodged, section 8200(c) says the clerk releases a copy after payment of the fee and either a court order for production or a certified copy of the death certificate. So a lodged will isn’t something anyone can ask for over the counter, and the practical route is the death certificate. Our page on whether a will is a public record goes through the full timeline, and what to do if you can’t find the original covers the other direction.

If you believe someone is holding a will and not lodging it, Prob. Code § 8201 lets you petition the superior court to order them to produce it.

Can you see if probate has been granted?

Yes. Look up the case, then read the case history and the orders in the file. A hearing date on the petition means the court hasn’t ruled yet, and an order admitting the will and appointing the personal representative means it has.

The online index will tell you whether a case exists, and the clerk can tell you whether a hearing is set. For the detail, such as the date the court issued letters or whether anyone objected, you need the file itself. Los Angeles says you can view the file by case number in its Case Summary tool or at courthouse terminals. Ventura and Santa Barbara point you to their records offices for anything not in the online database. Timing varies a lot from case to case. Our probate timeline guide explains what happens between filing and the order.

If you’re an heir or beneficiary and nobody is telling you where the case stands, contact our office.

Do all estates have to go through probate in California?

No. Assets that pass by trust, beneficiary designation or joint title don’t go through probate, and small estates can use a shortcut that skips court.

The Judicial Council’s adjusted-amounts table sets the personal property limit at $208,850 for people who died on or after April 1, 2025 (Prob. Code §§ 13100, 13101). Once 40 days have passed since the death, a successor can collect those assets with an affidavit. A separate petition covers a primary residence worth up to $750,000 (Prob. Code § 13151). That petition is still a court filing, so it leaves a public file behind. The affidavit route doesn’t.

Our small estate affidavit guide and the small estate playbook walk through both. The page on small estate limits against home values shows where county prices put families above the line. For numbers on how many cases do reach court, see California probate statistics and probate filings by county. If you’re weighing whether to keep your own family out of court, read avoiding probate in California.

What’s confidential, sealed or missing from a probate file?

A record can be out of reach for several reasons. A separate gap is a case that never opened.

• Documents sealed by a judge. Rule 2.550(d) lets a court seal a record only on express findings, including an overriding interest that outweighs public access.
• Court investigator reports in conservatorships. Prob. Code § 1826(c)(1) says the report is confidential and is made available only to the parties, certain notified persons, their attorneys and the court, though the judge can release it when that would serve the conservatee. Confidential medical information goes in a separate attachment seen only by the proposed conservatee and that person’s attorney.
• Guardianship and conservatorship records online. Rule 2.503(c)(3) bars courts from giving public remote access to these files. The courthouse can still show them. Ventura adds that minute orders in probate guardianships and conservatorships aren’t online at all.
• Confidential cases at the counter. Santa Barbara says access to confidential cases is limited to parties, with government photo ID. Ventura says copies of sealed or confidential documents may not be available without a court order.

The other gap is the case that never opened. A trust administration usually happens without a court case, so there’s no filing to find. The trust itself is private, and what you can request from a trustee depends on your status. Start with how to look up a trust in California. If you’re the successor trustee instead of the person searching, our trust administration page covers what you owe the beneficiaries. And if your own family’s privacy is the reason you’re reading this, a trust is the usual way to avoid a probate case.