Our office is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Due to limited staff, and to avoid long wait times, we encourage you to continue to mail nonessential transactions.

Effective August 12, 2024, no walk-ins allowed after 4:00PM.

Credit Cards NOT accepted. Cash, check or money order only.

• We accept eRecordings.
• Recordings by mail: other non-court transactions, including land records, received by mail (notary renewals, misc. filings, liens, DBAs) are accepted for processing.
• DBAs sent by mail MUST include the notarized form (available on this site), a return envelope for the copy, and a certified check or money order for $30.00 payable to the Albany County Clerk.
• Court filings: As per the most recent advisory, all filings with the exception of foreclosure actions are accepted by mail or eFiling. We are now accepting court documents that are not mandatory eFilings over the counter.
• Requests for copies by mail: Please give as much information as you can and include a SASE along with a check or money order payable to the Albany County Clerk. Most land records are available online. If the copy requested is a divorce proceeding, the request must be notarized, as these are restricted documents only available to the parties and/or their attorneys. Make the $5.00 fee payable to the Albany County Clerk

We  appreciate your patience as we await clarification from the courts about changes in NYS law.

For forms, resources and more, please visit Pistol Permits, Amendments & Gunsmith/Dealer Licenses »

The Search Room is open without appointments, but please note:

• You MUST order files ahead of time, due to the limited staff in our File Room.
• You can either fax your request to (518) 487-5099 or leave your request in the appropriate basket in the Record Room.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to get back to regular office operations!

We will continue to update any changes as they occur.

County Clerks in New York State have varied duties. All sixty-two (62) Clerks are clerks of their respective Supreme Courts and County Courts (although since the 1977 takeover of most local courts by the State of New York, the County Clerk's role is primarily that of record-keeper.) Outside of New York City's five counties, all County Clerks are elected for a four year term and are also the land records recorders for their respective counties.

New York City's five County Clerks are appointed, and only the Richmond County Clerk (Staten Island) serves as land records recorder in that county. The New York City Register holds the land records for the remainder of that city, and is the only member of our Association who is not a County Clerk.

Fifty-one (51) of the sixty-two (62) County Clerks also operate local offices for motor vehicle registrations and related work as agents of the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles. County Clerks in the many smaller counties are also Commissioners of Jurors in their counties, and other possible County Clerk duties range from Records Management and Public Information to Pistol Permit issuance and Passport Application acceptance. In New York State, County Clerks are not generally involved in the administration of elections.

The Albany County Clerk’s Office and the Albany County Hall of Records are well-known as the County’s record keeper from all deeds and mortgages in the County, to every record of Albany County State Supreme Court and the Albany County Court, to the inactive records of County agencies to the City of Albany agencies as well.

The Albany County Clerk’s Office has an extremely large financial responsibility. By law, we charge fees for our services. The Albany County Clerk’s Office generates a modest surplus that goes towards assisting Albany County to keep taxes at a low moderate amount. In 2015 this office took in over 30 million dollars in revenue. Of that amount, over 2.8 million dollars was net revenue for the operation of the County Clerk’s Office. The other millions of dollars generated in revenue were distributed directly to the State, County along with the Cities, Towns and Villages within Albany County.

The County Clerk supervises a staff of 28 people at the County Court House in addition to a staff of 18 at the County Hall of Records. The Albany County Clerk’s 2015 annual expenses totaled $2,156,013. This amount subtracted from the net 2015 revenues of $2,812,905 means that this department overall returned a surplus of $656,892. The surplus of funds assists Albany County with lowering taxes. This surplus also assists the Albany County Executive and the Albany County Legislature’s initiative of being below the 2% tax cap.

The Albany County Hall of Records preserves County records dating back to the Dutch Colonial days. The Hall of records also assists our County and city agencies in managing over 105,000 cubic feet of inactive records. With advanced technology this office handles more and more tasks online. Deed and Mortgage records recorded since 1980 are available online. Also, an increased number of court cases are being filed electronically rather than on paper. In 2015 the Albany County Clerk’s Office received 1625 e-filed cases. To view these files, go to www.nycourts.gov/efile.

The Albany County Clerk’s Office continues to explore better ways to serve the public electronically with more efficient and effective technology.

The Albany County Clerk serves as the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) Officer of the County as well as a Chairman of the Contracts Administration Board. In 2015 the Albany County Clerk’s Office received 435 requests for information. As a member of the Contracts Administration Board the County Clerk works with the County Executive and the Chairman of the County Legislature to review and discuss proposed contacts between $20,000 and $100,000. While many County Clerk’s in New York State have Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) responsibilities, Albany County does not. The State of New York operates the Albany, New York DMV office directly.

Our office does not hold birth, death and marriage records.

In New York these vital records are kept by the City or Town Clerk where the birth or death occurred. A copy of a marriage license may be obtained in the City, Town or Village where the couple originally obtained the license. The actual marriage ceremony may have taken place in another municipality. Copies of birth, death and marriage records may also be obtained from the NYS Department of Health Vital Records Division. If you need their assistance the website address is www.health.ny.gov/vital_records. The Albany County Clerk does keep divorce records on file if the divorce was granted in Albany County. The divorce records are a part of the Albany County Court proceedings which is why they are kept in the Clerk’s Office.

Our office can’t provide legal advice.

The Clerk’s Office doesn’t have the statutory authority or an attorney on staff to provide any type of legal advice.

• Learn about the policy regarding legal documents and legal advice
• View a list of places where free of low-cost legal advice is available in Albany County

We don't send out lists of records.

There is another question which the Clerk’s staff is asked that we don’t do and that is “we don’t send out lists of records on file here”. An example would be that our staff does not notify credit bureaus about tax liens. Our staff does not send lists of recent deeds to local newspapers. Our staff does not create lists of recent DBA or business filings so that people can send you solicitations or call you to sell any type of items. The county clerk’s office never does any of that.

The Albany County Clerk’s records are public records. However, Credit Bureaus send their staff here to look at these records and newspapers send reporters to look at recent deeds. DBAs and pending foreclosures also attract a lot of attention. The County Clerk’s Office has no control over what Credit Bureaus and newspapers or any other agencies decide what to do with the records they find here. For example, if a Credit Bureau worker mistakenly confused your name with someone else’s regarding a record on file here, you must contact that credit bureau in order to have them correct their mistake.

We are in room 128, on the first floor of the County Court House at the corner of Eagle and Columbia Streets in downtown Albany. The entrance to the County Court House is on Lodge Street.

We are open for business Monday through Friday, from 8:30am - 4:30pm. 

From North of Albany

Take the Northway (I-87) to exit 1 East, then travel east on Interstate 90 to the I-787 South exit ("Albany & Rensselaer.") Proceed south on I-787 to Exit 4B ("Clinton Avenue.") Then see details below.

From West of Albany

Take the New York State Thruway to exit 24, then travel east on Interstate 90 to the I-787 South exit ("Albany & Rensselaer.") Proceed south on I-787 to Exit 4B ("Clinton Avenue.") Then see details below.

From South of Albany

Take the New York State Thruway to exit 23, then proceed north on I-787 to Exit 4 ("North Rt 9 & West Rt 20.") Stay to the right, then follow the signs for "Rt 9 North - Clinton Avenue." Then see details below.

From East of Albany

Take Interstate 90 to the I-787 South exit ("Albany.") Proceed south on I-787 to Exit 4B ("Clinton Avenue.") Then see details below.

Details

• From the Clinton Avenue exit, turn left onto Broadway and head south for 3 traffic signals to Pine Street.
• Turn right onto Pine Street and proceed west (uphill) through the next traffic signal (North Pearl Street, but do not turn here,) staying on Pine Street to the stop sign at Lodge Street.
• The County Court House is the large green-roofed building to your right. The only public entrance is at this (Lodge Street) end.

You may park in the public parking garage on your left, or go one block further up Pine Street and then turn right onto Eagle Street towards the County Court House, and find a parking space. You will need quarters for the parking meters (5 quarters per hour.) The only public entrance to the County Court House is at the Lodge Street end of the building at present.  The Court House is a secure building, so you will need to pass through metal detectors to enter. No weapons of any kind are allowed inside.