Erie County Public Records

Erie County public records are maintained by the County Clerk, the Unified Court System, and several county agencies in Buffalo. As the most populous county in western New York, Erie County generates a large volume of court filings, land transactions, and vital records requests each year. The county is part of the Eighth Judicial District. Erie County gets four eCourts data updates per day, making it one of the best counties for online court record searches. The County Clerk at 92 Franklin Street in downtown Buffalo handles land records, court files, and other public documents with multiple office locations across the county.

Erie County Clerk's Office

The Erie County Clerk serves as Clerk of the Supreme and County Courts and maintains land records for the entire county. The office records deeds, mortgages, judgments, liens, and other land-related documents. Erie County offers online access to land records through the Erie County Clerk Online Records system. You can search by name, document type, date range, and other criteria. Records in the online system typically go back to the 1980s, giving researchers several decades of searchable data.

Copy fees at Erie County are 25 cents per page for standard copies. Certified copies cost $5.00 plus copy fees. The office accepts cash, checks, and credit cards at most locations. Multiple office locations serve different parts of the county, so check which one is closest to you.

How to Search Erie County Records

Erie County is one of the best counties in New York for online record searches. Court data updates four times per day in the state eCourts system. WebCivil Supreme has civil cases going back to about 1988 for Erie County. That is nearly four decades of searchable court data. Search by name, index number, or attorney for quick results.

Pending criminal cases in Erie County appear on WebCriminal. This system shows cases with future court dates only. For a more complete picture, the Criminal History Record Search from the Office of Court Administration costs $95 and covers convictions and open cases from all 62 counties. It uses exact name and date of birth matching. Results are reviewed by staff before being sent by email.

The Erie County Clerk Online Records system handles land record searches. Look up deeds, mortgages, judgments, and other filings by name, document type, or date range. The Erie County Real Property Tax Services office keeps a separate database for property assessments, tax maps, and ownership info. Search by address, parcel number, or owner name.

For probate records, the Erie County Surrogate's Court at 25 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo handles wills, estate administration, and guardianship cases. Estate records are public and can be searched by the name of the person who died.

Types of Public Records in Erie County

Erie County has a massive volume of public records across all categories. Court records are the biggest set. The Supreme Court handles major civil matters and felony cases. The County Court deals with lesser criminal cases. Both courts have their files maintained by the County Clerk. Under Public Officers Law Section 87, court records are open to the public unless a judge orders them sealed.

Land records in Erie County cover deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, assignments, judgments, liens, and federal tax liens. These documents form the chain of title for all real property in the county. There are no limits on who can search them. Anyone can look up land records for any reason. Property tax records are kept separately by the Real Property Tax Services office.

Vital records for Erie County go through the New York State Department of Health. However, the state notes that it does not maintain records filed in Buffalo prior to 1914. For older Buffalo vital records, check with the city. A certified copy from the state costs $30. Birth records from 75+ years ago and marriage and death records from 50+ years ago are available to anyone as genealogical records for $22 per copy.

Business entity records are at the Department of State Corporation Database. This free tool covers all businesses registered in New York, including the many thousands based in Erie County.

FOIL Requests in Erie County

New York's Freedom of Information Law gives you the right to request records from any Erie County government office. Under Public Officers Law Article 6, a record is anything an agency keeps in any form. Reports, files, computer data, emails, maps, and photos are all covered. Send your written request to the Records Access Officer at the specific agency.

The agency has five business days to respond. They will either provide the records, deny the request with written reasons, or send an acknowledgment with a timeline. Copy fees are capped at 50 cents per page for standard-sized documents. If the request needs more than two hours of staff time, the agency can charge labor costs at the rate of its lowest-paid employee who can do the work.

If your request is denied, file a written appeal within 30 days to the agency head. Include your original request and the denial letter. If the appeal is also denied, you can take it to court under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules. The Committee on Open Government at (518) 474-2518 provides free guidance on FOIL rights and can help with questions about accessing Erie County public records.

Erie County Legal Resources

Erie County has many legal aid organizations and public resources for record searches. The Department of State FOIL page provides full instructions for making records requests to state agencies. For voter registration data, the Erie County Board of Elections maintains the local portion of the NYSVoter system. Under Election Law Section 5-614, personal identification numbers are blocked from public access.

Register to vote or update your information at the Online Voter Registration portal. The State Board of Elections oversees the statewide voter list. Criminal Procedure Law Section 160.50 seals records of arrests that do not lead to convictions. Civil Rights Law Section 50-a, repealed in 2020, formerly protected police discipline records. Those records are now accessible through FOIL in Erie County and across the state.

The Division of Criminal Justice Services handles fingerprint-based criminal criminal history searchs. This is a separate system from the court-based CHRS search. DCJS checks are restricted to authorized agencies and specific statutory purposes. The CHRS system is available to the general public for $95.

Cities and Towns in Erie County

Erie County is home to Buffalo and several other major communities. The city of Buffalo is the county seat and second-largest city in New York State. All court and land records for Erie County residents are filed through the County Clerk. Each city and town also has its own local clerk for municipal records and FOIL requests.

Other communities in Erie County include Orchard Park, West Seneca, Lancaster, Clarence, and East Aurora. Records for these areas go through the Erie County Clerk for court and land matters.

Nearby Counties

Erie County sits in western New York along Lake Erie. Here are the neighboring counties.