All legal records filed in our office are available to the public for inspection unless sealed pursuant to New York State Law. For instance, all matrimonial records are sealed and available only to the parties or the attorneys of record in the action. Other types of actions may be sealed by court order. However, the majority of legal records are not sealed and are available to the public for inspection.
Records can be searched in our office, ordered from our office, requested by mail or searched online using Westchester Records Online.
Searching records In our office
When visiting our office, you can use the free public viewing terminals to view the images of documents filed from 2002 to present. Certified copies may be requested from our staff at the Requisitions Counter. If you are seeking a document from a case commenced prior to 2002, our staff can order the documents from our off-site archive location and provide you with the date of the next scheduled delivery. Our office is located at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Room 330 in White Plains and can be reached by entering through the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. The office is open Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Requesting a legal record by mail
While we do not provide copies of full court files via mail, we will accommodate requests for specific legal records. To request an unsealed legal record, please send a letter which contains as much of the following information as possible: index or file number, the name of the specific document you are searching for such as "a judgment", the name of the parties to the action, and the date the record was filed. Finally, please include a check payable to "Westchester County Clerk" in the amount of $10.00 for index or file number search if not provided, and a certified copy of the first legal record requested, plus an additional $5.00 for each additional record requested. Cash is not accepted and all fees must be included with your written request. Be sure to review the specific identification requirements and fees if you are requesting a copy of a Divorce Decree or other matrimonial record.
Searching our records online
Visit Westchester Records Online to determine whether certain records are on file in the Office of the Westchester County Clerk and to view information about these records. This information is available for civil cases from 1980 to the present and for criminal cases from 1978 to present. Please note that to distinguish a criminal case, you should look for the letters "DA" before the Index/Indictment Number.