Westchester County Clerk’s Office is Open to the Public by Appointment Only

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
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.      

Naturalization Ceremonies Suspended

UPDATE: Due to the continued spread of COVID-19, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced the naturalization services held at the Westchester County Courthouse have been suspended until further notice.

The Clerk's Office understands this 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 at present, it is just too much of a risk."

The United States Immigration & Naturalization Service Citizenship Branch located in Manhattan schedules the dates for the Naturalization ceremonies and, to date, has not informed the Clerk's office on when the Naturalization Ceremonies will resume.

You may call the USCIS office for information on the date of your Naturalization ceremony. The phone number is 1-800-870-3676.

Veterans:  Don’t Miss Out to File For Free!

DD-214’s Filing Safeguards One of Your Most Important Documents

Veterans, did you know you the Office of the Westchester County Clerk has been sanctioned to serve as a safe and local depository for your military records?

The Clerk's office encourages all U. S. Military Veterans living in Westchester to file a copy of their discharge papers with our office. If you file a copy here and ever have the unfortunate scenario of losing or damaging your discharge papers, the Clerk's office will provide a copy free of charge.

"Anyone who has served in the military knows how important their discharge papers are." Said Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni. "From receiving benefits to being given a proper military funeral, having a backup copy for safekeeping is invaluable."

"You served your country, now let us serve you." Said Idoni.

Please note that only the veteran, parent, spouse, dependent or child of the veteran, a representative of the estate of a deceased veteran, or a public official acting within the scope of their employment may obtain a copy of any filed DD-214. All military records are kept sealed for privacy protection purposes.

For more information, please visit https://www.westchesterclerk.com/services/veterans.

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.

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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