How to Search Orange County Court Records
There is no single search that covers every Orange County case. The records split across several free state systems and one paid county system. Use WebCivil Supreme for New York Supreme Court civil matters. Use WebCriminal for many criminal cases that have a future court date. Use WebSurrogate for estate and probate files. Use the Orange County Clerk for certified copies and recorded court papers. Each tool covers a slice of the whole, so the first step is always to match the case type to the right court and the right portal.
Before you start, gather what you know. A party name helps. An index number or case number helps more. A filing year narrows a long list fast. Online case data is not the same as a certified copy, so plan a second step if you need a stamped document for court, immigration, or a benefits claim.
- Decide the case type. Divorce, foreclosure, and large civil suits route to Supreme Court. Felonies route to County Court. Misdemeanors, traffic, and small claims sit in City or Justice Courts. Estates go to Surrogate's Court.
- Open the matching portal. WebCivil Supreme for civil, WebCriminal for criminal appearances, WebSurrogate for estates.
- Search by party name or by index/case number. Add a filing year or select Orange County courts to cut the result list.
- Open the case to review parties, status, and calendar dates. Note the index or case number for any follow-up.
- Order a certified copy from the Orange County Clerk or the court's Chief Clerk when you need an official document.
The state case portals are free. The screenshot below shows the WebCivil Supreme search page, the main tool for Orange County civil cases, available through the NY Courts WebCivil Supreme portal.
WebCivil Supreme returns past, present, and future case information for New York civil Supreme Courts only, so other case types still need their own portal.
The Orange County Judicial System
Orange County sits in New York's 9th Judicial District, which also covers Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester. New York's court names confuse many searchers. The Supreme Court is the main trial court, not the top court. The Court of Appeals is the highest court in the state. In Orange County, the Supreme Court hears broad civil cases, divorce, separation, and annulment. The County Court handles felony trials and limited civil claims up to $25,000.
Below those courts sit the Family Court, the Surrogate's Court, three City Courts, and the town and village Justice Courts. Each level keeps its own records and its own clerk. The chart shows the basic path a case can follow.
Case flow: Justice / City Court › County Court › Supreme Court › Appellate Division › Court of Appeals
| Court | Jurisdiction | Case Types |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court | General civil, statewide | Divorce, foreclosure, large civil suits, injunctions |
| County Court | Felony and limited civil to $25,000 | Felony trials, some civil, criminal appeals from lower courts |
| Family Court | Family matters | Custody, support, paternity, abuse/neglect, juvenile |
| Surrogate's Court | Estates | Wills, administration, trusts, guardianships, adoptions |
| City Courts | Local, civil to $15,000 | Misdemeanors, traffic, small claims, housing |
| Town/Village Courts | Local Justice Courts | Traffic, small claims, evictions, misdemeanors |
The district administrative office sits at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in White Plains, phone 914-824-5100. For more on the trial courts, see the Orange County Supreme Court page and the Orange County City Courts page.
Types of Court Records Available in Orange County
Orange County produces many record types because so many courts share the work. Civil and criminal files are the most searched. But family, probate, traffic, and matrimonial records all live in their own systems too, and each carries its own access rules.
Which court made the record tells you where to look and what you can see.
- Civil records - Supreme Court suits over $25,000, foreclosure, and contract disputes, searchable on WebCivil Supreme.
- Criminal records - County Court felonies and City Court misdemeanors. See Orange County arrest records for the full picture.
- Family records - custody, support, and paternity, kept by Family Court and largely closed to the public.
- Probate records - wills and estates filed at the Orange County Surrogate's Court.
- Traffic records - tickets handled by City, Town, and Village Courts, separate from your DMV driver record.
What Orange County Court Records Show
A court record holds the facts of a case from filing to disposition. The exact fields change by case type, but most Orange County records share a common core. Civil Supreme matters use an index number. WebCriminal uses a case number or summons number. The table breaks down the fields you will see most often.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Index / Case Number | The unique ID for the case; the key to ordering copies. |
| Filing Date | When the case began; WebCivil exposes filing years from 1983 on. |
| Parties | Plaintiff or petitioner, defendant or respondent, and other roles. |
| Court and Part | Which Orange County court and which judge or part holds the case. |
| Status | Open, active, restored, disposed, or sealed. |
| Disposition | The outcome, such as a judgment, plea, dismissal, or sentence. |
Sealed cases and matrimonial files do not show full detail to the public. Social Security numbers, account numbers, and minor or victim identities are kept out of public view by law.
Public Access Laws for Orange County Court Records
New York treats court records and agency records under two different rules. Court case files are governed by Judiciary Law, not by the Freedom of Information Law. The NY Courts FOIL page states plainly that court-record requests should not go to the Office of Court Administration under FOIL. Agency records, such as many sheriff and county administrative files, do fall under FOIL. So an Orange County court records search runs through a court clerk, while a request for a sheriff report may run through a FOIL request instead.
A handful of statutes shape what you can see and what stays closed. The key ones are below in plain English.
Key Statutes:
New York Judiciary Law § 255 - a court clerk must search files on request, for lawful fees, and certify the result.
New York Public Officers Law § 87 - the FOIL section that opens agency records, with exemptions for privacy and law enforcement.
New York Domestic Relations Law § 235 - limits access to divorce and matrimonial files to the parties, their lawyers, or a court order.
New York Family Court Act § 166 - Family Court records are not open to indiscriminate public inspection.
More detail on requests and fees lives on the Orange County public records page.
Records That Are Restricted or Confidential
Not every Orange County court record is open. Family Court files are closed by Family Court Act § 166. Divorce and matrimonial files are limited by Domestic Relations Law § 235 and the County Clerk's own policy. Sealed criminal cases fall under Criminal Procedure Law Article 160, and the names of sex-offense victims are protected by Civil Rights Law § 50-b. Adoption files, juvenile matters, and grand-jury minutes are also kept confidential.
To view a sealed or restricted file, a person usually must be a party, a lawyer of record, or hold a court order. New York also runs several sealing tracks, including automatic Clean Slate sealing and petition-based sealing after ten years. The right court for any petition is the court that handled the original case.
Specialty Courts and Programs in Orange County
Orange County does not publish one central problem-solving court page, but a few programs are well documented. The Family Court refers many custody, visitation, and child-support cases to mediation before the first appearance before a judge. A neutral leads the talks, cannot force a deal, and parties never have to settle. The legacy Supreme and County Court page also lists a Regional Child Victims Act Part, a special part for cases that often carry victim-identity protections.
The District Attorney runs specialized prosecution units and a Community Advisory Board with seven regional boards that meet about twice a year. These are not courts, but they shape how cases move through the local system. A few terms come up often in this work.
- Mediation
- A neutral helps parties try to settle without a judge ordering the result.
- Diversion
- A path that may resolve a case through a program instead of a standard conviction.
- Disposition
- The final outcome of a charge or case.
Orange County Sheriff and Jail Information
The Orange County Sheriff runs the Correctional Facility at 110 Wells Farm Road in Goshen, phone 845-291-7713. Sheriff Paul Arteta leads the office, reachable at 845-291-4033. The Sheriff's Investigations unit handles arrest warrants, bench warrants, probation warrants, and family court warrants prepared by local and county courts.
Orange County does not post a public online jail roster in the sources reviewed. To confirm custody, call the jail or use VINELink, which the Sheriff links for custody alerts. For the full process, see Orange County inmate records, check release help on the released inmates page, and look up active warrants through Orange County warrant records.
Marriage, Divorce, and Surrogate's Court Records
These three record types each route to a different office, and that trips up many searchers. Marriage records are not held by the County Clerk. They sit with the town or city clerk that issued the license. Divorce is a Supreme Court matter, and the file runs through the County Clerk's Court Papers section, with access limited to parties and their lawyers. Estates and wills go to the Surrogate's Court, searchable through WebSurrogate.
The screenshot below shows the WebSurrogate portal, the free state tool for Orange County estate files, linked from the NY Courts WebSurrogate site.
For step-by-step help, see marriage and divorce records and Surrogate's Court records. A few estate terms appear again and again.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named in a will to settle the estate.
- Administration
- The estate process used when there is no will.
Searching Criminal Cases and Court Dates
Criminal records in Orange County split by court. The County Court handles felonies. The three City Courts and the Justice Courts handle misdemeanors, lesser offenses, and traffic. WebCriminal is the state tool that shows many criminal cases with a future appearance date. It supports three searches: case identifier, defendant name, and court calendar. The site warns of occasional update delays, so a missing case may simply need a later search.
The WebCriminal home page is shown below, reached through the NY Courts WebCriminal portal.
The defendant search needs only the first two letters of a first and last name. The table lists the main fields on that search.
| Field | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Name | Text | Conditional | At least the first two letters when searching a person. |
| Last Name | Text | Conditional | At least the first two letters when searching a person. |
| Corporation Name | Text | Conditional | Or the first five letters of a business name. |
| Court | Dropdown | No | All Courts, or pick Orange County Court, the City Courts, and more. |
| Output | Radio | No | Show on the page or build a PDF. |
For deeper guidance, see Orange County court records and court dockets.
County Clerk Records and Certified Copies
The Orange County Clerk is the hub for Supreme and County Court filings, land records, judgments, and certified copies. The office is at 255 Main Street in Goshen, phone 845-291-2690, open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Online land records run through IQS, a records company the county links directly. The IQS access fees are set by account type.
The county online records page is shown below, with the IQS access and fee list, on the Orange County Clerk online records page.
For court papers and certified copies, the Clerk asks for the index number, record type, filing date, and party names. The fee table below sums the published IQS access costs.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| IQS one-day account | $15 |
| IQS one-day print/download | $5 per document |
| IQS in-state account (90 days) | $150 |
| IQS out-of-state account (90 days) | $600 |
| IQS 90-day print/download | $0.50 per page |
The county court records page is shown below, with divorce, criminal records, and copy guidance, on the Orange County Clerk court records page.
More on the office sits on the Orange County Clerk page.
Federal Courts Serving Orange County
Federal cases from Orange County are heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The district draws jurors from Orange and seven other counties. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the same district also serves the county, and White Plains is the practical federal courthouse for the lower Hudson Valley.
Federal dockets are searched through PACER, the official federal records system. The SDNY District Court and the SDNY Bankruptcy Court publish court news and locations. Federal inmates are found through the Bureau of Prisons locator.
Recent Court and DA Updates in Orange County
The Orange County District Attorney's office has been active in early 2026. District Attorney David M. Hoovler was sworn in for a fourth term on January 7, 2026, with County Clerk Kelly Eskew giving the oath. Days later the office added four assistant district attorneys. In February 2026, Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher Borek received the Robert M. Morgenthau Award from the state district attorneys association.
The DA also announced a plan to bring decentralized policing under one records-management system, using new technology to serve police, probation, the DA, and the defense bar. For attorney help, the Legal Aid Society of Orange County represents people who cannot afford counsel in criminal and family court.
Courthouse Location and Contact Information
The main courthouse for Supreme, County, and Family Court records sits at 285 Main Street in Goshen. The County Clerk is a short walk away at 255 Main Street, and the Surrogate's Court is at 30 Park Place. The contact cards below cover the offices most searchers need.
Orange County Supreme & County Court
285 Main Street
Goshen, NY 10924
845-476-3500
Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Orange Surrogate's Court
30 Park Place
Goshen, NY 10924
845-476-3655
Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where is the Orange County Clerk's Office? The Clerk's Office is in the Government Center at 255 Main Street, Goshen, NY 10924. It handles court-paper copies, certified copies, recording, passports, and notary functions. Pistol permits and passports are processed until 4:30 p.m.
Which court handles divorce? Divorce, separation, and annulment are Supreme Court matters. Forms come through the state uncontested divorce packet or by calling Supreme Court at 845-476-3430.
Note: Parking and accessible parking are in the municipal lot; transit is limited, so allow extra time when driving to Goshen for a hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the public view Orange County court records?
Yes, for most case types. The County Clerk says the public may view court documents other than matrimonial or sealed records. Matrimonial files appear on record-room screens but are not open to the general public. Family Court files, sealed criminal cases, and sex-offense victim details carry their own limits. For the access framework, see public records.
Does Orange County publish an inmate roster?
No public online roster was found in the county sources reviewed. To confirm custody, call the jail at 845-291-7713 or use VINELink. State prison custody is searched through NY DOCCS, and federal custody through the Bureau of Prisons. The full process is on the inmate records page.
How do I get a certified court copy?
For Supreme and County Court papers, contact the Orange County Clerk Court Papers section at 845-291-3286 or certified copies at 845-291-3287. Provide the index number, record type, filing date, and party names. Certified divorce copies can take at least five days. See the County Clerk page for details.
Are marriage records at the County Clerk?
No. The Clerk FAQ says marriage records come from the town or city clerk that issued the license. Birth and death records come from the local registrar where the event happened. You need the issuing municipality, not just the county. More sits on the marriage and divorce page.
More answers live on the Orange County Court Records FAQ page.