Guide To the County Clerk

Welcome to the County Clerk’s Office. Created by the New York State Constitution, the Office of the County Clerk serves as Clerk of the Supreme and County Courts and as an agent for the state and federal governments. The Clerk also records documents relating to real property in Nassau County and maintains the official index of real property ownership.

As County Clerk, my primary objective is to promote real-time services and facilitate enhanced access to serve the residents of Nassau County. We are constantly working to strip away layers of bureaucracy, improve access to official records, and streamline operations while containing costs.

The County Clerk’s Office processes $300 million per year in transactions, has many statutory duties, and assists the courts, legal professionals, and the public. In an effort to acquaint you with the departments within our office, this guide details the services available and provides information regarding document filing and data retrieval.

Of course, should you need assistance during your visit to our office, any member of the County Clerk staff will be happy to aid you.

Very truly yours,

DEPARTMENTS

The following is an overview of the departments within the Clerk’s Office:

LAND RECORDS

The County Clerk is the official registrar of deeds, mortgages, assignments of mortgages, satisfactions of mortgages, judgments and liens. The Clerk indexes and maintains these documents, which become public record.

Land Recording Department ROOM 105
Section Block & Lot ROOM 111
Map Filings ROOM 111
Map Room LOWER LEVEL
Deeds & Mortgages LOWER LEVEL

COURT RECEIVING

The County Clerk is the Clerk of the Supreme and County Courts and maintains court files for civil and criminal matters.

Court Document Room ROOM 106
Court Recording ROOM 108

LICENSING & RECEIVING

Notary Services ROOM 107
The County Clerk is the Chief Notary Public of Nassau County and has a notary public on staff for use by the general public. The Clerk also records notary public renewals commissioned in Nassau County and can authenticate a notary’s signature against that which is on file.

Registrar of Assumed Business Names ROOM 107
The County Clerk accepts and files certificates of persons conducting business under an assumed business name, commonly referred to as Doing Business As (D/B/A) filings, in accordance with New York State General Business Law (Section 130).

Passport Acceptance Agent ROOM 107
The County Clerk acts as a U.S. Passport application acceptance agent for the United States Department of State.

PUBLIC ACCESS DATABASE
Information recorded in this office after 1992 is maintained on the County Clerk’s database and is available by accessing the public terminals. Many documents recorded by the County Clerk are electronically imaged and immediately retrievable for public inspection. Documents may be searched by name, court index number, or Section, Block and Lot. An image can be reproduced by purchasing a print card.

Public Access Terminals are located in:
Lower Level - Deeds & Mortgages
Room 106 - Court Document Room
Room 107 - Licensing & Receiving
Room 108 - Court Receiving
Room 111 - Section, Block & Lot

COURT RECORDING - ROOM 108

INDEX NUMBERS
To commence a Supreme Court action, an index number must be purchased from the County Clerk’s Office. Index number applications are available online at: www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/clerk/. The index number application must contain a caption identical to that of the documents presented for filing.

To file a Summons & Complaint, a Summons with Notice, or a Petition to Commence a Special Proceeding, one original and one copy of the document must be presented to the Clerk.

When filing an Order to Show Cause, the original Order to Show Cause must be submitted to the County Clerk with the appropriate filing fee.

The following are some types of documents filed in this division:

Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI)
Note of Issue
Jury Demand
Small Claims Assessment Review petition (SCAR petition)

COURT RECORDING

All Court records (including decisions, stipulations, and orders) are forwarded from Supreme Court to the County Clerk’s Office for entering into the Clerk’s minutes.

Documents that may be filed for the following matters include:

Name change
Divorces/Separation Agreements
Foreclosures
Affidavits of Service
Consent to Change Attorney
Incapacitated persons
Motions and Cross-Motions
Counterclaims
Notices of Appeal to Appellate Division

Note: Orders are delivered from the Supreme Court to the County Clerk’s Office on a daily basis. Each delivery is accompanied by a “transmittal” sheet. If a Judge signed an order but it cannot be located in the Clerk’s database, the court transmittal indicates whether the order has yet to be forwarded by the Court. Transmittal sheets are kept in chronological order and list documents by index number, parties, judge, and order type.

RECEIVING - ROOM 107-108

JUDGMENTS

While an order or judgment may be signed by a judge, it is not deemed entered until recorded by the County Clerk’s Office.

This division files judgments and other types of documents, including:

Money judgments
Default judgments
Affidavits and confessions of judgment
Transcripts of judgment
Foreign judgments
Mechanics’ liens
Notices of Pendency (Lis Pendens)
Family Court orders
Notices of Violation

DOCUMENT ROOM - ROOM 106

The Clerk’s minutes list documents entered under an index number and are available on the public access database. These documents are received from attorneys, parties, courts, and process servers. Minutes are public information.

When ordering documents for copying, please provide the staff with the following information:
Index number
Type of record sought
Filing date
Name of parties or a business name

Case files from approximately the last five years are available upon request. Older files are archived off premises in the County’s Records Center and must be ordered. These files are generally retrieved within five business days.

Note: The public can view any Supreme Court document except for matrimonial or sealed records. Matrimonial records are listed on the public access computer screens but the files are not accessible to the general public. Matrimonial files may only be accessed upon presentation of proper identification by the parties to the action and their attorneys of record.

NO FILE OR PORTION THEREOF MAY LEAVE ROOM 106. PURSUANT TO NEW YORK STATE PENAL LAW, IT IS A MISDEMEANOR TO ALTER OR DEFACE COURT PAPERS. ANY VIOLATOR WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.

BUSINESS NAMES - ROOM 107

Any business planning to operate in Nassau County under a name other than the principal’s own name must file a Business Certificate with the County Clerk’s Office. The business name should be researched to confirm that it does not conflict with names already existing in the County Clerk’s database.

This division maintains the following documents:

Business certificates (D/B/A)
Business Amendments
Business Discontinuances

NOTARY DIVISON - ROOM 107

The County Clerk’s Office maintains a record of notary public commissions and their signatures. The public may access these records to verify and authenticate the official signature of the notary at the County Clerk’s Office.
PASSPORTS - ROOM 107
The County Clerk’s Office is an official U.S. Passport Acceptance Center. Anyone traveling outside the U.S., including children and infants, is required to have a passport. Applications are accepted and processed daily until 3 p.m.

UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE FILINGS (UCC) - ROOM 107

Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings result from some form of commercial transaction involving a debtor and a secured party. A common transaction triggering a UCC filing is a cooperative interest purchase where the secured party (lender) files a UCC Financing Statement to protect its interest. Every Financing Statement submitted must include valid section, block and lot numbers.
LICENSES - ROOM 107

The Nassau County Clerk accepts several federal, state and county licenses and certificates for filing. The office is responsible for:

Recording Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD-214) and providing certified copies upon request.
Issuing Veterans’ Peddlers licenses
Recording Firefighter Exemption certificates
Maintaining Naturalization records from 1899 to 1987

LAND RECORDING - ROOM 105

This division records documents relating to real property, specifically, deeds, mortgages, mortgage assignments and mortgage satisfactions. To record a document against real property, the Section, Block and Lot of the property must be on the first page of the document. All documents must be in recordable form and contain all necessary recording information. Visit us online for schedule of fees for real property filings at: www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/clerk/

This office records:

Mortgages
Deeds
Satisfaction of Mortgages
Powers of Attorney

SECTION BLOCK & LOT - ROOM 111

The County Clerk maintains the Land Records registry for all property located within the County. When Nassau County was formed in 1899, this registry was maintained in Index Books, which were later replaced by property cards, and since 1992, on the Clerk’s database. All media document a property’s genealogy. If the property document in question is not listed on the Clerk’s database, search the property cards by Section, Block and Lot, proceed to the lower level, access the specific Liber, and review the document.

This division also maintains maps of real property located in Nassau County. For information about a specific parcel of real property, identify the Section, Block and Lot, the owner’s name, or have the recording information (Liber and Page) of the real property document being researched. This information is also available on the Clerk’s public access database, which allows a search for Section, Block and Lot by property address.

After determining the existence of a document and obtaining the Liber and Page in the Books or on the Property Cards, visit the Lower Level where the documents can be viewed.

DEEDS & MORTGAGES - LOWER LEVEL

Mortgage and Deed documents can be obtained from this division. Mortgage and deed documents are catalogued by Liber and Page numbers, which are unique identifiers for each particular document. Documents may be accessed only by providing the Liber and Page number, which may be obtained in Room 111.

The public access database is available to search for Mortgage and Deed Libers from July 1, 1992 to the present. Prior to 1992, documents can be found in books, microfiche or microfilm.

Books
Tan Books:
Deeds: 1-7721 Dated: 1/3/1899 to 8/31/1967 Mortgages: 1-8166 Dated: 1/3/1899 – 8/31/1967

Blue Books:
Deeds: 9801-10462 Dated: 3/31/1987 – 9/9/1994

Red Books:
Mortgages: 11950-15954 Dated 4/1/1987 – 2/3/1994

Liber books are arranged in chronological order on shelves. Locate the document, bring the book to a public copier to make a copy. Please return the book to the shelf when finished.

Microfiche

Deeds: 7722-9800 Dated: 9/1/1967 – 3/31/1987
Mortgages: 8167-11949 Dated: 9/1/1967 – 3/31/1987

Microfilm

Deeds: 10463-10510 Dated: 9/9/1994 – 1/27/1995
Mortgages: 15955-16261 Dated: 2/3/1994 – 4/29/1994

Both microfiche and microfilm are located behind the Information Counter in Room B-1. Present the staff with the Section, Block & Lot and Liber and Page information. The staff will pull the appropriate medium, which can be reproduced at one of the printers.
Filed Maps
The Lower Level has subdivision maps on file, copies are available to purchase for a fee per each map sheet.

The Nassau County Clerk DOES NOT maintain the following documents:

Birth Certificates
Death Certificates
Marriage Licenses*
*except for those filed from 1907 to April 29, 1935

Marriage Licenses and Birth Certificates

The Nassau County Clerk’s Office does not issue or file marriage licenses. To obtain or get a copy of a Marriage License, contact the city or town clerk of residence. Birth Certificates are obtained at the Town or Village Clerk’s Office where the birth occurred.
The New York State Department of Health Vital Records Office provides eligible applicants with copies of birth and death certificates for births and deaths in New York State outside of New York City (1881-present), marriage licenses obtained in New York State outside of New York City (1880-present) and dissolution of marriage certificates for all of New York State (1963-present).

Consult their website at: http://www.health.state.ny.us/vital_records/ for information on applying for copies of documents.