The NYSAFE Act, signed into law in January, provided a process for pistol licensees to shield their names and addresses from public disclosure.   The law allows a pistol licensee, or an applicant for a pistol license, to “opt-out” by completing a NYS Firearms License Request for Public Records Exemption form.   Once this request is approved, the name and address of the pistol licensee will not be released in response to a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request.

“A tremendous number of pistol permit licensees have availed themselves of NYSAFE Act provisions and requested that their name not be released in response to a FOIL request,” shared Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni, whose office mailed the form to all active pistol license holders in Westchester County.  “I have heard from a few residents who indicated they ‘missed the deadline’ for seeking an exception, so I want to be sure pistol licensees have the facts,” offered Idoni.  

The NYSAFE Act temporarily froze release of pistol permit licensee information in response to FOIL requests until mid-May to allow for the collection and processing of opt-out forms.  A request for an exception from disclosure can be submitted at any time and will be promptly processed upon receipt.  The opt-out forms are available at the Licensing Division of the Office of the Westchester County Clerk, located at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains and can also be downloaded here.

Electronic recording is now permissible throughout New York State and Westchester County looks forward to you electronically delivering your land records such as deeds and mortgages to our office.  Customers familiar with our Property Records Electronic Portal (PREP) System will simply need to upload a scanned image of a proposed recording at the end of the current PREP process.  Electronic payment will need to accompany your filings, so consider setting up a pre-authorized debit account with our office if you do not already have one.  Read more.