Westchester County Clerk’s Office Remains Closed to the Public

Court Filings and Land Records and other matters Accepted Electronically or by USPS, UPS, or FedEx, or documents may be delivered to the County Clerk Dropbox in the lobby of the courthouse
Passport Services and Naturalizations remain on hold

IMPORTANT NOTICE

With the restrictions to access to public buildings during the Covid-19 pandemic, the County Clerk’s  Office is happy to announce the addition of Drop Box Service for the delivery of documents. The drop box is located on the first floor of the Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in White Plains.

The Drop Box will be serviced three times daily from this point on. The Clerk’s Office will continue to operate each day except holidays.      

NYS ARCHIVES ANNOUNCES NEW RECORDS RETENTION AND DISPOSITION SCHEDULE -  THE LGS-1

The State Archives is revising and consolidating its local government records retention and disposition schedules and issuing a single, comprehensive retention schedule for all types of local governments on August 1, 2020.

The new schedule, Retention and Disposition Schedule for New York Local Government Records or LGS-1, will supersede and replace:

• CO-2 Schedule for use by counties (2006)
• MU-1 Schedule for use by cities, towns, villages, and fire districts (2003)
• MI-1 Schedule for use by miscellaneous local governments (2006), and
• ED-1 Schedule for use by school districts, BOCES, County Vocational Education and Extension Boards, and Teacher Resource and Computer Training Centers (2004)

Local governments must adopt LGS-1 prior to utilizing it, even if they adopted and have been using the CO-2, MU-1, MI-1, or ED-1 Schedules. Governing boards of local governments will have a five-month period – between August 1, 2020 when LGS-1 is issued and January 1, 2021 when the four existing schedules expire – to adopt the Schedule by resolution. If you need a copy, there is a model resolution in the introduction of each of the existing retention schedules. A new model resolution will soon be available on the State Archives’ website.

Local government records may not be legally destroyed after the end of 2020 unless the LGS-1 is formally adopted. There is no need to notify the State Archives of LGS-1 adoptions, but local governments should keep a record of the date of adoption and maintain the resolution permanently.

The organization and formatting of the LGS-1 is similar to the existing four schedules. Section heading names have been retained. Because of the consolidation, the LGS-1 contains more sections. Local government can ignore those that are not applicable. As with previous schedules, items that are new or significantly revised have been indicated. Each schedule item has been assigned a new, unique number; however, the unique numbers of the four existing schedules have been provided allowing cross referencing. In addition, each schedule item contains the record series title and description, retention period, and any notes.

A copy of the LGS-1 will be available on the State Archives website on August 1, 2020. Additional online resources will include a list of the major revisions to the schedule and a webinar series to introduce the LGS-1. Local governments are encouraged to check the State Archives website periodically for LGS-1 news and updates. By consolidating multiple, disparate retention schedules, the LGS-1 helps to ensure consistent retention and disposition guidance for records that are common to various local governments. It also makes it easier to apply revisions necessitated by changes to laws, regulations or other mandates that affect retention. For more information please contact your Regional Advisory Officer (RAO)  for assistance.

 Westchester County Clerk’s Office Closed to the Public

Court Filings and Land Records Accepted Electronically or by Mail

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK: Effective March 31, 2020, the Westchester County Clerk’s Office will be closed to the public due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to receive allowable court filings through the NYSCEF filing system. For more information on permissible filings, please visit: https://nycourts.gov/efile

We also continue to accept permissible court filings through the mail. For more information, please visit: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/courts/9jd/emergency.shtml

The Clerk’s Office accept land records through the mail or online: https://PREP.WestchesterClerk.com

Mail in Address:

Westchester County Clerk
110 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
White Plains, New York 10601

If you have questions or an emergency,
please call 914-995-3080

We encourage you to email us at one of the following addresses, as staff are working remotely and monitoring our office email inboxes:

Legal Division (general): 
Legal Division (e-filing):
Land Records (general):
Land Records (PREP):
Passports:
Pistol Licenses:

County Clerk Idoni Waives Fees for Online Document Access

Out of an abundance of caution, to protect the safety and welfare of both our customers and staff from the spread of COVID-19, the County Clerk has temporarily suspended the access fee to Westchester Records Online (WRO). This means that you will have online access to documents without the need to visit the office in person.

Future updates will be posted on this website, www.WestchesterClerk.com.

Coronavirus Concerns Spark Changes in Services

County Clerk Idoni Announces Hours and Services Changes

URGENT: County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni announced today that due to the coronavirus pandemic his office will be making some major changes in service delivery in order to protect the general public and his staff from the dangers. Effective Tuesday, March 17th, he has reduced his staffing by fifty percent (50%) each day, while the normal 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. office hours have been reduced to 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Idoni said, “We will be providing almost all the regular services with a few exceptions, while lowering the amount of traffic in and out of the office, as per the Governor’s expectations during the emergency.”

Idoni asks the public to limit their submissions to the office to essential and time sensitive business if at all possible in the short term. Additionally, it is requested that most legal documents be e-filed (courts), e-recorded (land records), or submitted by mail.

In addition the issuance of passport and personal identification cards have been suspended due to their need to be done in person. Naturalization services have been postponed until at least mid-May.

Idoni also wishes to notify the public that while pistol licenses will continue to be processed, due to the closure of some of the courts in Westchester, the approval of some licenses may be delayed in the short term.

The clerk concluded by saying the office will continue to answer all telephone inquiries and e-mails during this time period. The office wishes to maintain most of its services while also insuring that personnel and the general public have been carefully protected.

Should one have any questions, please contact the Clerk’s office at (914) 995-3080.

Naturalization Ceremonies Postponed

UPDATE: Due to the continued spread of COVID-19, the Westchester County Clerk's Office, in coordination with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service USCIS), is postponing the next two Naturalization ceremonies, scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 19th, and Thursday, April 2nd. The Clerk's Office understands this an inconvenience, as many have been waiting for this extraordinary day to be sworn in as an American citizen, but public safety is far too important at this time.

"The best way to combat the Coronavirus is to stop it from spreading by practicing social distancing." stated Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni. "Between new citizens, their families, and staff, the Naturalization Ceremonies are attended by almost 300 people, and as Westchester finds itself the epicenter of the outbreak, it is just too much of a risk."

The Clerk's office will reschedule both dates as soon as possible, and make sure all new citizens will have their day to be sworn in. Those expecting to be sworn in on March 19th should contact USCIS for any updates. In the meantime, the Westchester County Clerk urges the public to please follow the CDC guidelines and listen to local leaders for the best practices to help protect you and your loved ones.

NOTICE OF ADDITIONAL RECORDING FEE EFFECTIVE MARCH 11, 2020

Effective 3/11/2020: There is a $10 additional recording fee for all residential deed recordings.

On December 12, 2019, NYS Real Property Law Section 291 was amended, effective March 11, 2020. The amended legislation requires the County Clerk, upon the recording of a conveyance of residential real property, to “mail a written notice of such conveyance to the owner of record.” The law also provides that the County Clerk is “entitled to charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of mailing” and the “party seeking to record such conveyance shall bear the cost of such written notice.”

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