Probates and Wills (San Francisco County)

From 1906 to present, probates and wills are held by the San Francisco Superior Court (shown in picture at right)map. Wills may be filed by living persons, while probates are court proceedings that occur after death. The will is usually included in the probate papers as well. The probate record contains a Register of Actions, which list of the documents filed for the case. This register is important to review first to determine which records you would like to be copied if you are not viewing them in person first (probate records may range from a few pages to hundreds of pages). Every probate has a case number, which is needed if you request the Superior Court to retrieve any case file.

After the researcher has a case number, they can request to review the case file either in person at the Superior Court (and make copy requests), or request paper copies of the file via postal mail using the following request form:

Civil Records Request Form

Note: Older case files are stored offsite. If you request to see them in person, you will have to wait until they are retrieved, which will not be the same day. Contact the department to determine the retrieval time.

Before 1906

Wills and probate court records before 1906 were destroyed by the 1906 Great Earthquake & Fire. However, probate notices and information were often printed in the local newspapers. Other available early indexes and records:

• Index of all Estates in Probate in the City and County of San Francisco from 1850 to 1886 (FamilySearch) Note: There are two name lists in this index: (1) Probate Court (image 936) and (2) Superior Court (image 1044). PDF
• Wills, 1906-1922 (FamilySearch)

• L Probate Notice Index, 1883
• Reports of Decisions in Probate (cases from pre-1910) (Internet Archive)
  • Volume 1
  • Volume 2
  • Volume 3
  • Volume 4
  • Volume 5

As mentioned above, a case file number is required to request further information from the Superior Court. They can be found in the Public Records Room on microfilm (1906-1986) or computer database (1987-present). In addition, FamilySearch has the following index online:

• Probate Index, 1906-1977 (FamilySearch)

FamilySearch also has some of the Registers of Actions as well:

• Probate Register of Actions, 1906-1942 (FamilySearch)