Access Orange County Clerk Records

The Orange County Clerk Role

The Orange County Clerk is a county records office, not a court clerk. New York uses county clerks to hold many Supreme Court and County Court filings, recorded land records, judgments, business certificates, maps, and more. Kelly Eskew serves as County Clerk. The office also handles notary functions, passport acceptance, pistol permit work, and the county's online record links. So the Clerk is where deeds, mortgages, liens, and court papers come together in one place.

This role is broad. A title searcher uses the Clerk for land records. A litigant uses the Clerk for a certified judgment. A new business files a certificate here. The Clerk does not run the courtrooms or set the calendars. That daily court work belongs to each court's Chief Clerk, which you can read about on the court clerk offices page. The County Clerk and the court Chief Clerks split the work, and knowing which one to call saves a wasted trip.

Orange County Clerk Office Contacts and Hours

The Clerk's public office sits in the Government Center on Main Street in Goshen. The main line handles general questions, and several direct lines route specific requests. Hours run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The contact card below lists the office and its main lines.

Direct lines split the work. Certified Copies is 845-291-3287. Court Papers is 845-291-3286. The Record Room line is also 845-291-3287. Recording Documents is 845-291-3292. The general fax is 845-378-2368. Pick the line that matches your task and you skip a transfer.

Some services run on a shorter clock than the main office. The Clerk FAQ states pistol permits and passports are handled only from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Maps can be filed only until 4:30 p.m. as well. So a visitor coming for a permit, a passport, or a map filing should arrive well before that cutoff, not at 4:45 p.m. The office is on the first and second floors of the Government Center, and the public-facing record room is where file review takes place. Plan time-sensitive paperwork around these windows.

Orange County Clerk Court Papers and Copies

The Clerk keeps Supreme Court and County Court filings and can certify copies. To order a copy, the office asks for the index number, the type of record sought, the filing date, and the names of the parties or the business. A certified copy carries a stamp and is accepted in court. Plain online case data is not the same as a certified copy, so plan a second step when you need an official document.

The public may view legal and court documents other than matrimonial or sealed records. Matrimonial files show up on record-room screens but are not open to the general public. For Family Court records, the Clerk routes requesters to Family Court at 845-476-3520. The steps below cover a standard certified-copy request.

1. Gather the case facts. Have the index number, record type, filing date, and party or business names ready.
2. Pick the right line. Call Court Papers at 845-291-3286 or Certified Copies at 845-291-3287, or visit in person.
3. State the document you need and confirm the fee and any wait time with the office.
4. Show identification if the file is restricted, such as a divorce record.
5. Pay the fee and pick up or receive the certified copy. Divorce copies can take at least five days.

Orange County Clerk Online Records Through IQS

Online land records run through IQS, a records management company the county links directly. The portal is at searchiqs.com, and questions about online record search go to IQS at 800-320-2617. Image access is paid and set by account type. The portal covers the land index and document images, not court case data, which lives in the free state portals instead.

The IQS Orange County records portal is shown below, reached through the IQS Orange County records portal.

The portal sometimes shows a login or access screen before search. The county sets the access fees by one-day, in-state, and out-of-state accounts, and adds a per-page or per-document charge for prints and downloads. The county describes this service on its Online Records page, which lists the access tiers and the IQS phone line. For state court case lookups instead, see Orange County court records.

Orange County Clerk Fee Schedule

The county publishes the IQS access fees and a couple of court-payment fees. The fee depends on how long you need access and whether you print images. The table sums the published costs.

The county fee schedule is shown below, on the Orange County Clerk fee schedule page.

Payments into court need a certified or bank check or a money order. Personal checks and cash are not part of this process, so prepare the right form of payment first. The $8 fee covers a certified copy and processing for items like mechanic's liens, surplus money, and a court order. A broker's affidavit runs $25, again by certified or bank check or money order. These are court-payment items, separate from the IQS land-record access fees above. Confirm the current amount before you mail anything.

Divorce Record Access Rules

Divorce is a Supreme Court matter, and the file runs through the Clerk's Court Papers section. Access is limited. The plaintiff, the defendant, or attorneys of record can obtain records with identification. A nonparty cannot just walk in and read a divorce file. New York law and the Clerk's own policy keep these records closed to the general public.

A nonparty needs a court order or a notarized statement from a litigant. That statement must spell out exactly which documents are to be reviewed, obtained, or certified. The authorized person must show identification at the time of request. Certified copies of divorce files can take at least five days. The request fields are listed below.

More on matrimonial files sits on the marriage and divorce records page.

Records the Orange County Clerk Does Not Handle

The Clerk does not hold every record people expect. Marriage records are not at the County Clerk. They sit with the town or city clerk that issued the license. Birth and death records come from the local registrar where the event happened. So a marriage-record search must find the issuing municipality, not just the county.

Family Court records are not at the County Clerk either. The Clerk routes those requests to Family Court at 845-476-3520, and Family Court files are largely closed to the public. Estate and will records go to the Surrogate's Court, searchable through WebSurrogate. Knowing what the Clerk does not handle is half the battle in a records search.

Here is a quick guide to where these records actually live:

• Marriage records: the town or city clerk that issued the license, not the County Clerk.
• Birth and death records: the local registrar of the municipality where the event took place.
• Family Court records: Orange Family Court at 845-476-3520, with most files closed to the public.
• Estate and will records: Orange Surrogate's Court and the WebSurrogate portal.

One thing the Clerk does hold is the county's older court history. Official county records guidance notes that historical Orange County Supreme Court and County Court files sit at the County Clerk's Office. So old judgments, deeds, mortgages, naturalization papers, and maps are not all in the modern online portals. A deep search of an older case may still mean a trip to the record room in Goshen. Note: matrimonial files appear on record-room screens but stay closed to nonparties.

When to Contact a Court Chief Clerk Instead

The County Clerk is not the only clerk in the county. Each court also has a Chief Clerk who runs daily court operations, calendars, and court-specific records. The County Clerk holds the recorded filings and certified copies for Supreme and County Court. The court Chief Clerk handles calendar questions, scheduling, and records tied to the courtroom.

So call the County Clerk for a certified copy, a deed, or a judgment. Call the court Chief Clerk for a calendar date, a court-specific form, or a question about how a case is moving. The full list of court Chief Clerks and what each one handles sits on the court clerk offices page. For broad access rules, see Orange County public records.

One example makes the split clear. Say you need a certified copy of a Supreme Court judgment to enforce it. That copy comes from the County Clerk's Court Papers section in Goshen. But if you want to know when your case is next on the calendar, that answer comes from the court's Chief Clerk, not the County Clerk. The two offices share a courthouse town but handle different parts of the same case. When in doubt, call the County Clerk first for filed and recorded records, and let them point you to the court clerk if the question is about scheduling.