§ 129.Restrictions on dissemination of coroner photographs and recordings
Title 1. Organization and Jurisdiction · Chapter 6. General Provisions Respecting Courts of Justice · Article 2. Incidental Powers and Duties of Court · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 129 bars making or sharing copies of coroner photographs, negatives, or recordings of a deceased person’s body from an autopsy, except for a related criminal case, a court order issued on notice to the district attorney, or a related civil action under the coroner’s authorization procedure or an heir’s subpoena.
(a)Notwithstanding any other law, a copy, reproduction, or facsimile of any kind of a photograph, negative, or print, including instant photographs and video recordings, of the body, or any portion of the body, of a deceased person, taken by or for the coroner at the scene of death or in the course of a post mortem examination or autopsy, shall not be made or disseminated except as follows:
(1)For use in a criminal action or proceeding in this state that relates to the death of that person.
(2)As a court of this state permits, by order after good cause has been shown and after written notification of the request for the court order has been served, at least five days before the order is made, upon the district attorney of the county in which the post mortem examination or autopsy has been made or caused to be made.
(3)For use or potential use in a civil action or proceeding in this state that relates to the death of that person, if either of the following applies:
(A)The coroner receives written authorization from a legal heir, representative, or family member of that person. The written authorization may be provided before the action is filed or while the action is pending. To verify the identity of the legal heir, representative, or family member, all of the following shall be provided to the coroner:
(i)A declaration under penalty of perjury that the individual is a legal heir, representative, or family member of the deceased person.
(ii)A valid form of identification.
(iii)A certified death certificate.
(B)A subpoena is issued by a party who is a legal heir or representative of the deceased person in a pending civil action.
(b)This section shall not apply to the making or dissemination of a copy, reproduction, or facsimile for use in the field of forensic pathology, in medical or scientific education or research, or by a coroner or any law enforcement agency in the United States for investigative purposes, including identification and identification confirmation.
(c)This section shall apply to a copy, reproduction, or facsimile, and to a photograph, negative, or print, regardless of when it was made.
(d)A coroner is not personally liable for monetary damages in a civil action for any act or omission in compliance with this section.
(e)For the purposes of this section, “family member” means a parent, sibling, or child of the deceased.
Plain-English Summary
Section 129 addresses what happens to the photographs and recordings a coroner takes of a body during a post-mortem examination or autopsy. As a default, that material cannot be copied, reproduced, or shared. The section carves out three situations where dissemination is allowed: for a criminal case connected to the death, under a court order obtained on at least five days’ notice to the local district attorney and a showing of good cause, or for a civil action connected to the death, in which case the coroner needs either written authorization from a legal heir, representative, or family member — verified with a sworn declaration, valid identification, and a certified death certificate — or a subpoena issued by a legal heir or representative in a pending civil case.
The restriction is narrow in scope. It does not reach the ordinary professional uses of this material — forensic pathology, medical or scientific education and research, or investigative work by a coroner or any law enforcement agency, including identifying a body. It also applies no matter when the photograph or recording was made, so material from an old case is covered the same as a new one. Subdivision (d) shields a coroner from civil liability for complying with the section in good faith.
Official Comment
The following official comments are published by the California Law Revision Commission (and, for a few older sections, its predecessor Code Commissioners) alongside the statute itself — not commentary from this site.
2009 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 129 is amended to reflect advances in recording technology and for consistency of terminology. For a similar reform, see 2002 Cal. Stat. ch. 1068 (replacing numerous references to “audiotape” in Civil Discovery Act with either “audio technology,” “audio recording,” or “audio record,” as context required).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a coroner release autopsy photographs to a family member?
Yes, for use in a civil action connected to the death, once the coroner receives written authorization verified by a sworn declaration, valid identification, and a certified death certificate, as Section 129(a)(3)(A) describes.
Does Section 129 stop law enforcement from using autopsy photographs to investigate a death?
No. Subdivision (b) excludes investigative use by a coroner or any law enforcement agency, including for identification purposes, from the section’s restrictions.
How can a court order the release of these materials?
Section 129(a)(2) requires good cause and written notice to the district attorney of the county where the autopsy occurred, served at least five days before the court makes the order.
Does it matter how old the photograph or recording is?
No. Subdivision (c) applies the restriction to any copy, reproduction, facsimile, photograph, negative, or print regardless of when it was made.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1968 1st Ex Sess ch 6 § 1, effective September 25, 1968. Amended Stats 1985 ch 304 § 1; Stats 2009 ch 88 § 16 (AB 176), effective January 1, 2010; Stats 2013 ch 53 § 1 (AB 957), effective January 1, 2014; Stats 2016 ch 467 § 1 (AB 2427), effective January 1, 2017; Stats 2024 ch 654 § 2 (SB 989), effective January 1, 2025.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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