Delaware County Public Records Search

Delaware County public records are held by the County Clerk in Delhi and through the state court system. This large rural county in the Catskill Mountains is part of the Sixth Judicial District. The County Clerk at 111 Main Street handles court files, land records, and other public documents. Delaware County covers a big area with a small population spread across many townships. State online tools like eCourts give remote access to court case data, while the Clerk's Office handles land records and other filings in person.

Delaware County Clerk's Office

The Delaware County Clerk serves as Clerk of the Supreme and County Courts. Court records for civil and criminal matters are maintained here. The office also records deeds, mortgages, and other land-related documents for every property in the county. Public access is available at the Main Street location in Delhi.

Standard copies cost 25 cents per page. Certified copies are $5.00 plus page fees. Cash, checks, and money orders are accepted. The Clerk's staff can assist with locating records when you provide names, dates, or document types.

How to Search Delaware County Records

For court records, use the state eCourts portal. WebCivil Supreme has civil cases from the Delaware County Supreme Court starting in 2002. Search by party name, index number, or attorney name. Data refreshes once a day.

Pending criminal cases appear on WebCriminal. Only active cases with future court dates are shown. Closed cases are not included. A statewide criminal criminal history search through the Criminal History Record Search costs $95 and covers every county. Exact name and date of birth matching is required.

Land records are at the Clerk's Office. For property tax and assessment data, Delaware County maintains its own Real Property Tax Services records with ownership info, assessed values, and tax maps. These are separate from the land records at the Clerk's Office, which cover deeds, mortgages, and liens.

Vital records for Delaware County go through the New York State Department of Health. A certified copy costs $30 with standard processing of 8 to 10 weeks. Priority handling adds $15 and cuts the wait to about two weeks.

Types of Public Records in Delaware County

Delaware County holds court records, land records, property tax data, and vital records. Under Public Officers Law Section 87, government records are open unless a specific exemption applies. Court records from the Supreme and County Courts are available through the County Clerk. Family Court records have limited access due to privacy protections.

Land records trace property ownership for every parcel in the county. Deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, assignments, and liens are all on file with the County Clerk. There are no restrictions on who can search them. Anyone can look them up for any reason. Title companies, attorneys, banks, and the public all use these records for real estate transactions and research.

Vital records for the county go through the state Department of Health. Birth records start in 1881. Death records go back to 1880. Certified copies cost $30 with standard processing of 8 to 10 weeks. Genealogical records (births 75+ years old, marriages and deaths 50+ years old) cost $22 and are open to anyone. Local town clerks in Delaware County may process some requests faster than the state office.

Business records for Delaware County entities are in the Department of State Corporation Database, which is free to search. It shows entity name, type, status, filing date, and registered agent information.

FOIL Requests in Delaware County

Freedom of Information Law covers all Delaware County agencies. Under Public Officers Law Article 6, records in any form are subject to FOIL requests. Write to the Records Access Officer at the agency that has the records. Be as specific as you can. The agency has five business days to respond.

Copy fees are 50 cents per page maximum. Labor may be charged for requests needing more than two hours of staff time. Denials can be appealed within 30 days. The Committee on Open Government at (518) 474-2518 provides free help with FOIL questions for Delaware County and all other New York counties.

Delaware County Legal Resources

Voter registration records are kept by the Delaware County Board of Elections. The NYSVoter system includes name, address, party, and voting history. Under Election Law Section 5-614, personal identification numbers are protected. Register or update at the Online Voter Registration portal.

Criminal Procedure Law Section 160.50 seals arrests that do not lead to convictions. Those sealed records are not available to the public and do not appear in any search tool. Civil Rights Law Section 50-a, repealed in 2020, used to protect police discipline records. Those records are now accessible through FOIL in Delaware County.

The Department of State FOIL page has sample request letters and detailed instructions. The State Board of Elections oversees the statewide voter registration system. The Division of Criminal Justice Services handles fingerprint-based criminal history searchs, which are restricted to authorized agencies and separate from the $95 court-based CHRS search that is open to anyone.

Communities in Delaware County

Delaware County includes the villages of Delhi, Walton, Sidney, Margaretville, and Stamford. None meet the population threshold for a separate records page. All court and land records for Delaware County residents are filed through the County Clerk in Delhi.

Nearby Counties

Delaware County sits in the western Catskills region of New York. Here are the neighboring counties.