Updated October 2026

Each lost document has one agency that replaces it. Start with your ID, because almost every other request asks for it.

The short version

• Driver license, ID card and vehicle title: California DMV.
• Birth, death and marriage records and property records: LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
• In 2025 the DMV and the County waived most replacement fees for fire survivors. Ask whether a waiver still applies before you pay.
• For fire survivors, DMV staff have used the photo on file to verify identity when other ID was lost.

Who replaces what

• Driver license, ID, vehicle title and registration: dmv.ca.gov or 1-800-777-0133.
• Birth, death, marriage and property records: LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. For events outside LA County, contact that county’s recorder.
• Social Security card: ssa.gov.
• Green card: USCIS Form I-90 at uscis.gov.
• Medicare card: 1-800-633-4227 or medicare.gov.
• U.S. passport: travel.state.gov. Report it lost, then apply for a replacement.
• Tax returns: IRS Form 4506 for copies, or a free transcript at irs.gov.
• Military records: National Archives, archives.gov/veterans.

For your rebuild

Permit work goes faster with the property’s old records. If your plans burned, ask the City or County for archived permits and plans, and pull your grant deed from the Registrar-Recorder. Source on 2025 waivers: ABC7, Feb. 2025.

How we use it

Old permits and surveys tell us what you can rebuild like-for-like and what an SB 1123 split could add. For an example of the second, see Mariposa Complex: three homes with attached ADUs on a post-fire lot in Altadena. See all guides on Rebuilding Resources.