Search New York City Public Records

New York City public records span five boroughs and dozens of city agencies, making the search process more complex than in most other parts of the state. Each borough is also its own county, so court records, land filings, and vital records are split across five County Clerk offices plus several city-level departments. The Department of Records and Information Services, known as DORIS, acts as the central archive for city government records. The NYC Municipal Archives holds millions of historical documents going back centuries. Whether you need a court file from Queens, a property deed from Brooklyn, or a birth certificate from Manhattan, knowing which office to contact first will save you time and effort.

Five Boroughs, Five Counties

New York City is made up of five boroughs. Each one maps to a county. This matters because court records and land filings are kept at the county level in New York State. Here is the breakdown:

• Manhattan = New York County
• Brooklyn = Kings County
• Queens = Queens County
• The Bronx = Bronx County
• Staten Island = Richmond County

When you look for court records or land documents, you go through the County Clerk in the borough where the case was filed or the property sits. Each borough has its own Supreme Court, Civil Court, and Criminal Court. The eCourts portal lets you search cases across all five boroughs from one place, which makes things much easier. Supreme Court civil cases show up in the WebCivil Supreme search. Local civil and housing court cases are in WebCivil Local. Criminal cases can be checked through the Criminal History Record Search for a $95 fee.

DORIS and the Municipal Archives

The Department of Records and Information Services sits at 31 Chambers Street, Room 103, in lower Manhattan. You can reach them at (212) 639-9675. DORIS oversees two main things: the Municipal Library and the Municipal Archives. The library holds city publications, reports, and studies. The archives hold historical records from city agencies going back to the 1600s.

The Municipal Archives collection is huge. It has birth records from Manhattan dating back to 1847 through 1909. Death records go from 1795 to 1948. Marriage records cover 1847 to 1949. These older vital records are open to the public and useful for genealogy work. The archives also hold millions of photographs, maps, court records from the old Court of General Sessions, and records from city agencies that no longer exist. You can visit in person or use the online gallery to browse digitized items. Some finding aids are posted on the DORIS website to help you figure out what they have before you visit.

City agency records eventually end up at DORIS too. When a city department is done with its files, those records get transferred to the archives after a retention period. This means DORIS has records from the Police Department, the Board of Education, the Department of Buildings, and many other agencies. Not all of it is open to the public, though. Some records have restrictions based on age or content. Check with the reference staff before making a trip.

NYC Vital Records

For recent vital records, the NYC Office of Vital Records is the place to go. They are at 125 Worth Street, Room 133, New York, NY 10013. Call (212) 788-4520 for info. This office handles birth and death certificates for events that took place in any of the five boroughs.

Birth certificates cost $15 each. You can order them online, by mail, or in person. Only the person named on the certificate, a parent, a legal guardian, or an authorized representative can get a copy. Death certificates are also $15 and have similar rules about who can request them. For older records not held by the Office of Vital Records, check the Municipal Archives as noted above.

Marriage records work a bit differently in NYC. The City Clerk's office at the Municipal Building, Room 252, handles marriage licenses and ceremonies. You can reach them at (212) 639-9775. If you need a copy of a marriage certificate for a ceremony that took place in NYC, contact this office. For marriage records from 1847 to 1949, the Municipal Archives has them.

The New York State Department of Health also keeps copies of NYC vital records. In fact, divorce records for the entire state, including NYC, are only at the state level starting from 1963. The state office can be slower to process requests, so for NYC events it is often faster to go through the city office first.

How to File a FOIL Request in NYC

Every NYC agency has a Records Access Officer who handles FOIL requests. The process works the same way as anywhere else in New York State. You write to the agency with a clear description of what you want. The agency has five business days to respond. They can give you the records, deny the request with reasons, or tell you they need more time.

NYC has an online portal called NYC OpenRecords that makes filing easy. You pick the agency, describe what you need, and submit. The system tracks your request and sends updates by email. You can also submit requests by mail, fax, or email directly to the agency. The Department of State FOIL page has general guidance on the law and your rights.

Copy fees in NYC follow state law. That means up to 25 cents per page for standard copies. If you ask for records in electronic form, the agency must provide them that way if it can, and the cost should be less than paper copies. Large requests may take weeks or even months, especially from busy agencies like the NYPD or Department of Buildings.

NYC Elections and Voter Records

The NYC Board of Elections runs voter registration and election administration for all five boroughs. Their main office is at 32 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10004. You can also visit their website at vote.nyc to check your registration, find your poll site, and view election results. Voter registration records are public in New York, but they cannot be used for commercial purposes under state law.

Each borough has its own Board of Elections office where you can register, update your info, or get an absentee ballot. Poll site information and district maps are all available online. Election results are posted on election night and updated as absentee and affidavit ballots are counted in the weeks after.

Legal Help in New York City

If you need help with public records or legal matters in NYC, several free and low-cost resources exist. The Legal Aid Society is the oldest and largest provider of free legal services in the country. They have offices in all five boroughs. New York Legal Assistance Group, or NYLAG, offers civil legal services for low-income residents. LawHelp NY at lawhelpny.org connects people with legal aid providers across the state.

The NYC courts also have Help Centers in each borough where you can get free assistance with court forms and procedures. These centers do not give legal advice, but the staff can point you in the right direction and help you fill out paperwork. For property records questions, the Department of Finance has walk-in offices in each borough where you can search and get copies of deeds, tax records, and other property documents.

Public libraries are another good resource. The New York Public Library system has research librarians who can help with genealogy searches and historical records. The Brooklyn and Queens public library systems also have local history and genealogy departments with specialized collections.

Nearby Cities

These cities and towns near New York City also have public records pages on this site: