How to Submit Obituaries and Tributes to the San Francisco Chronicle
I spend way too much time on this stuff. The SF Chronicle's obituary process is one of those things that seems simple until you're three hours into it and your submission keeps getting flagged for reasons nobody can explain to you. Here's what I've figured out. The San Francisco Chronicle has been publishing obituaries since 1865. They accept submissions through their website, but the process is not as straightforward as filling out a form and hitting submit. Most people I talk to end up calling the obituary desk at least once during the process. The staff is helpful but they handle a high volume, especially around holidays when submissions spike. The basic workflow goes through Chronicle's online obituary portal. You create an account, fill out the biographical details, upload a photo, and choose your layout options. From there, you pick whether you want print-only, digital-only, or both. The print version runs in the newspaper on a specific date, while the digital version stays on the Chronicle's website indefinitely. Most families I've worked with end up going with both, even though it doubles the cost.
Cost and Timing
As of my last round of submissions in early 2026, a standard obituary in the Chronicle runs about $400 to $600 depending on length. More than 400 words starts adding up per additional line. A tribute that goes beyond a basic obituary — the longer narrative pieces with more personal detail — can run $800 to $1,200 for print. Digital-only versions are cheaper, roughly $200 to $400 for standard length. Turnaround time is the real pain point. If you submit through the online portal during business hours, most pieces run within 24 to 48 hours in digital format. Print runs on a daily schedule, so if you need something in that evening's paper, you have to submit before 2 p.m. San Francisco time. Weekend deadlines are earlier — usually noon on Friday for Saturday and Sunday editions. I learned this the hard way after missing a Friday deadline and having to scramble to get an obituary published on Saturday with incomplete information.
Writing the Content
The Chronicle doesn't enforce a strict template the way some smaller papers do. You get a lot of flexibility with structure. A typical obituary follows a predictable arc: the person's full name, age, city of residence, date and location of death, a brief summary of their life, survivors, and service information. But the tributes section allows for more creative approaches. I've read obituaries that read like short essays, some that are structured as letters, a few that blend humor with genuine grief in ways that feel completely earned rather than forced. Here's something most first-time submitters miss: the Chronicle gives you two revision rounds before final publication. Use them. I had a family submit an obituary that listed the wrong spouse's maiden name because they'd moved on to writing the tribute before doing a fact check. The first proof correction caught it. The second round, they fixed a dozen other small errors — incorrect dates, misspelled names of grandchildren, the wrong church listed for the memorial service. Those details matter more than people realize.
Get the Full Details
Photos and Technical Details
The Chronicle accepts JPEG and PNG files. Recommended resolution is at least 300 DPI for print quality. File size should be under 10 MB. The portal will reject files that don't meet these specs without a particularly clear error message, which is frustrating when you're already dealing with a deadline. I usually tell people to use a free tool like IrfanView or even the built-in preview on Mac to resize and convert photos before uploading. There's also a policy about photo content. No images that could be considered offensive or inappropriate. This sounds obvious but I've seen submissions get held up over questionable album cover references in background photos. The editors aren't trying to be difficult about this — it's just a standard media policy they have to apply consistently.
Common Pitfalls
The biggest mistake people make is not verifying survivor information. Every name listed in an obituary becomes part of a permanent public record. I once worked with a family where the deceased had been married three times, and the original submission only listed the most recent spouse. When the first proof came back, we had to add the other two wives and their current spouses, plus the children from each marriage. The Chronicle allowed the corrections in the second revision round, but it added stress during an already difficult time. Another issue is service information. If you list a funeral home address, double-check that it hasn't changed. Funeral homes move locations sometimes, and the Chronicle doesn't verify addresses independently. I had a submission go live with a service location that was three miles away from where it actually was. The family got calls from people who showed up at the wrong place. Embarrassing for everyone involved.
What Works Well in Practice
The pieces that resonate most with readers aren't the longest ones. They're the ones that include specific, grounded details — the kind of information that makes someone reading it in the paper feel like they actually knew this person. "He made a mean breakfast burrito on Sunday mornings" lands harder than "She was a loving mother and grandmother." The Chronicle's editorial team has mentioned in interviews that they prefer obituaries with personality over generic templates. This seems reflected in the engagement metrics on their website, where personal stories get significantly more comments and shares. If you're trying to coordinate with multiple family members on the content, set a deadline for feedback that's at least 24 hours before the submission deadline. I've watched good obituaries get truncated because half the family was still debating whether to include a particular detail right up until the portal closed. It's better to publish an incomplete piece on time than to miss the print window entirely while arguing about wording.
Alternatives to Consider
If the Chronicle isn't the right fit — maybe the cost is too high or the audience isn't broad enough for your needs — there are other options. Legacy.com aggregates obituaries from many papers and allows cross-posting. Local Bay Area papers like the San Mateo County Times or the Peninsula Press have their own obituary sections at lower price points. For families with strong community ties to specific neighborhoods, those local papers sometimes reach the right people more effectively than the Chronicle does. The Chronicle remains the default choice for many San Francisco families because of its circulation and longevity. The archive is searchable, the digital presence is permanent, and the reputation carries weight. But it's worth evaluating your actual audience before committing. I've seen families pay Chronicle prices only to find that their deceased parent's community was entirely served by a different publication.
Final Notes on the Process
The Chronicle's obituary desk can be reached by phone at (415) 552-2121 during business hours. They also have an email contact through their website. Response times vary — same-day replies are common during the week, but weekends see slower turnaround. If you're submitting through the online portal, you'll get automated confirmation emails at each step. Keep those. They contain your submission ID, which is the only thing that helps if something goes wrong and you need to follow up. The whole process from draft to publication typically takes 1 to 3 days for standard submissions. Rushed requests may be accommodated but aren't guaranteed. Plan ahead whenever possible. The stress of coordinating an obituary on top of everything else is real, and having a clear timeline helps significantly. I've been doing this long enough now that I can usually estimate when a piece will go live based on the day and time it's submitted. It's not exact, but it's close enough to be useful.
