California Code, Health and Safety Code - HSC § 102380

The county recorder and the local registrar of births and deaths, with the approval and under the supervision of the State Registrar and with the approval of the board of supervisors of any county or city and county by ordinance, may authorize the transfer of special county records of deaths and marriages and local registrar's records of deaths for events that occurred subsequent to July 1, 1905, to a private nonprofit agency or public agency that shall preserve the records for local public use. The receiving agency shall protect and preserve the records to assure access for any person who has a need or interest in reviewing the records, and shall prohibit the photocopying or sale of copies of the records, but may convert the records to microform format.

If the office of the local registrar or the county recorder does not have copies of the records, that office is hereby authorized to accept them from the county recorder or local registrar.