Orange County Court Clerk Offices

How New York Splits Clerk Duties

New York does not put all clerk work in one office. The duty splits in two. The County Clerk is a county records office that keeps Supreme and County Court filings, recorded land records, and certified copies. That office sits at 255 Main Street in Goshen and does not run the courtrooms. You can read about it on the Orange County Clerk page.

The other half of the work belongs to each court's Chief Clerk. A Chief Clerk runs the court's calendar, schedules matters, and keeps court-specific records and files. Every court in the county has one. So a single county can have a County Clerk plus a Chief Clerk for the Supreme and County Court, the Family Court, the Surrogate's Court, and each City Court. The two roles work side by side, but they are not the same office.

County Clerk vs Court Chief Clerk

The simplest way to pick the right office is to ask what you need. A stamped, certified copy of a recorded filing is County Clerk work. A question about a hearing date or a court part is Chief Clerk work. The grid below lines up what each one handles.

This split is why a phone call sometimes bounces. Ask for a certified judgment at a courtroom desk and you may be sent to the County Clerk. Ask for a calendar date at the County Clerk and you may be sent to the court. Match the task to the office first.

Supreme, County, and Family Court Chief Clerks

The main courthouse at 285 Main Street in Goshen houses the Supreme, County, and Family Court Chief Clerks. The Supreme and County Court share one Chief Clerk team. Family Court has its own. The cards below give the office contacts for these three.

The Supreme and County Court Chief Clerk handles civil and felony case operations. The Family Court Chief Clerk runs the calendars for custody, support, and protection matters, and those records are closed to the public. The Surrogate's Court Chief Clerk handles estate and will files. For court details, see the Supreme Court and Family Court pages.

Each of these clerks owns a different slice of the county's court records. Chief Clerk Lynn McKelvey and Deputy Christopher Beck oversee the Supreme and County Court files at 285 Main Street, which means the broad civil docket, divorce and matrimonial matters in Supreme Court, and the felony work that runs through County Court. Family Court, under Chief Clerk Diane S. Gould and Deputy Denise Memmelaar, manages petitions for custody, visitation, child support, paternity, and orders of protection. Those files are sealed from the general public. Surrogate's Court, with Chief Clerk Amy Miller and Deputy Kerri Serkes at 30 Park Place, holds wills, estate administrations, trusts, infant guardianships, and adoption files. The estate files are largely searchable through WebSurrogate, while adoption matters stay closed.

City Court Chief Clerks in Orange County

The three City Courts each have their own Chief Clerk. These courts handle local crime, traffic, small claims, and housing matters, so their clerks field a steady stream of calendar and payment questions. The cards below cover all three.

City Court clerks answer questions about traffic calendars, small claims, and payment cutoffs. The full court details, schedules, and judges sit on the Orange County City Courts page. For copies of recorded filings, the County Clerk remains the certified-copy office.

Each City Court clerk runs a busy local docket. Chief Clerk Jamie Cevetillo and Deputy Linda Boos staff Middletown City Court, which sets a traffic calendar, a civil calendar, and a landlord-tenant calendar on fixed days each week. Newburgh City Court, with Chief Clerk Deirdre Premuto and Deputy Luz Rodriguez, splits its filing lines so that civil, traffic, and housing matters route separately from criminal matters. Port Jervis City Court, under Chief Clerk Teri Androvette, is the smallest of the three but handles the same mix of traffic, misdemeanor, small claims, and civil work. A request tied to a specific City Court case starts with that court's clerk, since the County Clerk does not keep the day-to-day City Court files.

What Each Orange County Court Clerk Keeps

The records a Chief Clerk keeps depend on the court. Each court produces its own kinds of files, and the clerk for that court manages them. The Supreme and County Court clerk team handles civil case files, felony case operations, and the calendars for those matters. The Family Court clerk keeps custody, support, paternity, and protection files, all of which are closed to the public by law. The Surrogate's Court clerk keeps estate, will, and guardianship files.

The City Court clerks keep traffic, misdemeanor, small claims, and housing files for their cities. Because these courts move a high volume of routine matters, the City Court clerks often field payment and calendar questions more than anything else. A request for a court-specific record starts with the clerk for the court that heard the case. The County Clerk steps in for recorded filings and certified copies of Supreme and County Court papers. The two work together, but the file you want decides which one to call. Always have the index or case number ready, since it lets a clerk find a file far faster than a name alone.

How to Reach the Right Orange County Clerk

Picking the right office is mostly about the task. A short set of steps takes the guesswork out of it. Run through them before you call so you reach the right desk the first time.

1. Name the task. A certified copy or a recorded filing points to the County Clerk. A calendar date or court form points to the Chief Clerk.
2. Name the court. Supreme, County, Family, Surrogate's, or one of the three City Courts each has its own Chief Clerk.
3. For Supreme or County Court certified copies, call the County Clerk Court Papers section at 845-291-3286.
4. For a hearing date or court question, call that court's Chief Clerk using the numbers above.
5. Have the index or case number ready. It speeds up every clerk request.

Note: Family Court records are closed to the public, so the Family Court Chief Clerk cannot release files the way a civil clerk can.

Common Reasons to Call an Orange County Court Clerk

Most clerk calls fall into a few buckets. People want a court date. People want to file a paper or check that one was received. People want a court-specific form. People want to know what to bring to a hearing. A Chief Clerk handles all of that for the court they serve. They do not give legal advice, but they do explain process and point you to the right desk.

A court date question is the most common. WebCriminal can show many future criminal appearances, but a clerk can confirm a date or explain a change. A filing question is next. The clerk can tell you whether a document landed and what step comes next. Forms are a frequent reason too, since each court has its own set. For self-help forms across the state, the NY CourtHelp site is a strong first stop before a call.

What a clerk cannot do is bend a rule or release a closed file. Family Court records stay closed. Sealed cases stay sealed. A clerk follows the law on access, the same as a judge. Knowing those limits keeps a call short and useful. For the access framework across all county records, see the Orange County public records page.

The 9th Judicial District Behind the Clerks

Every Orange County court clerk works under a larger structure. The county sits in New York's 9th Judicial District, which also covers Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester counties. The district administrative office sets policy, manages personnel, and oversees court security, interpreters, and case management for all the courts in the district. Its office is in White Plains, and the main district line is 914-824-5100.

This matters when a clerk question goes beyond the local court. A scheduling conflict, an ADA accommodation, or an administrative issue may route up to the district level. The district administration enforces the rules of the Chief Judge and the Chief Administrative Judge across all five counties. So a Chief Clerk in Goshen, Middletown, Newburgh, or Port Jervis follows the same district policies, even though each court runs its own calendar. For most public requests, though, the local Chief Clerk or the County Clerk is the right first call, and the district office handles the broader administrative work.

Related Orange County Court Resources

For certified copies and land records, see the Orange County Clerk. For case lookup and record types, see Orange County court records. The trial and local courts have their own pages at Supreme Court, Family Court, and City Courts.