Find Westchester County Court Records

How to Search Westchester County Court Records

The court type picks the tool. There is no master search. For Supreme and County Court legal records, judgments, and liens, the Westchester County Clerk runs Westchester Records Online. For civil Supreme Court cases statewide, use WebCivil Supreme. WebCriminal lists pending criminal cases with a future court date. WebFamily shows active Family Court cases. NYSCEF holds e-filed papers and lets the public search as a guest. Estate files sit in WebSurrogate. Start with the official Westchester court overview, which gives the courthouse address, phone lines, and judge list that anchor most searches.

Have a few facts ready first. A party name, a case or index number, or a rough filing date will speed any search. Criminal cases in the Clerk's online system carry the letters "DA" before the index or indictment number.

Use the NYCOURTS Westchester Supreme and County Court page to confirm where a case sits, then open the matching portal from the official New York eCourts service list.

That page sorts the state tools into civil, criminal, family, and case-tracking groups so you can jump straight to the right one.

1. Confirm which court holds the case, then open the portal that matches it.
2. Choose Westchester Records Online for County Clerk legal records, or WebCivil Supreme for civil Supreme Court cases.
3. Enter a party name or the index, file, or indictment number.
4. Narrow by court, case type, or filing date to trim the list.
5. Review the docket entries, parties, and case status.
6. Order a certified copy from the County Clerk if you need one for legal use.

Westchester County Court Records Search Fields

WebCriminal is the state tool for pending criminal cases that have a future court date. Its court dropdown lists the Westchester courts by name. You can pick County Court, Supreme Court, or one of the city courts in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Peekskill, Rye, White Plains, and Yonkers. The form itself is short. You search by a person's name or by a corporation name, then choose how the results display. The notes below explain each field.

The Defendant tab is just one of three. WebCriminal also offers a Case Identifier search and a Court Calendar view from the same menu.

Open the WebCriminal defendant search to run a name lookup across the Westchester criminal courts.

The court dropdown on that page is where you limit results to a single Westchester court instead of the whole state.

Types of Westchester County Court Records

Westchester courts make many kinds of records. Civil Supreme Court files hold pleadings, summons and complaints, motions, orders, and money judgments. They also cover foreclosures, commercial suits, and tax certiorari papers. County Court keeps felony files, indictments, and certificates of disposition. Most of these are public unless a statute or a judge seals them.

Family and matrimonial files follow tighter rules. Surrogate's Court holds wills and estate files. The city and town courts handle local traffic and minor cases. Judgments and liens stay on record as permanent public entries. Which court made the record sets where you look and who can see it.

• Civil records - suits, foreclosures, and money judgments from Supreme Court.
• Criminal records - felony files, indictments, and certificates of disposition from County Court.
• Family and divorce records - divorce is a Supreme Court matter; other family cases sit in Family Court.
• Probate records - wills, estate administration, and guardianship files from Surrogate's Court.
• Judgments and liens - monetary judgments, mechanic's liens, and notices of pendency held by the County Clerk.
• Traffic records - tickets and minor local cases from the city and town courts.

What Westchester County Court Records Show

A court file is built from set fields. Once you know the parts, the file is easy to read. Most Westchester civil and criminal records share the same basic layout. The case number sits at the top. Parties, dates, docket entries, and the final outcome follow. E-filed cases may also link the full document images through NYSCEF when those papers are public.

Some fields are hidden. Court rules protect confidential personal information, so a Social Security number or account number is redacted before a file goes online.

NYSCEF is where e-filed document images live for many newer cases. Guest search there is open to the public.

Search e-filed papers through the NYSCEF guest search when a Westchester case was filed electronically.

The NYSCEF home page links the guest search, the list of authorized case types, and the rules on which documents are available.

Reading a Westchester County Court Records Docket

The docket is the running list of every step in a case. Each line marks a filing or an event with its date. A docket shows the path of a case, but it is not the same as the full file. Pulling the documents themselves may need NYSCEF, a WRO subscription, or a trip to the courthouse. The terms below come up often in Westchester dockets.

RJI

Request for Judicial Intervention, filed when a case needs a judge assigned.

Note of Issue

A filing that says a case is ready for trial.

Disposition

The outcome of a case or a single charge.

Satisfaction

A record that a judgment has been paid.

For the full step list on a case, see Westchester County court dockets. A docket entry is your map to which documents to request next.

Public Access Laws for Westchester County Court Records

Court records are not handled like other government files. New York's Freedom of Information Law covers agency records under the Public Officers Law. Court files are reached a different way. NYCOURTS says access to court records runs under the Judiciary Law, not FOIL. The County Clerk gives the same guidance: court files for the Supreme and County Courts are exempt from FOIL, but most public court files can be requested straight from the Legal Division.

Anyone can ask for an open file. The clerk searches the records and gives copies once the file is open and the fee is paid. You do not have to give a reason. For a certified copy used in a legal matter, the Clerk charges a set fee and may ask for photo ID on sealed or restricted material.

Note: Court files for the Supreme and County Courts are exempt from FOIL, so a court-record request goes to the Clerk's Legal Division, not through a FOIL form.

Records That Are Sealed or Confidential in Westchester County

Some Westchester court records stay closed. Matrimonial and divorce details are confidential under Domestic Relations Law § 235, so only the parties, their attorneys, or someone with a court order may view them. Adoption files are restricted under Domestic Relations Law § 114. Family Court records are not open to broad public viewing under Family Court Act § 166. Juvenile delinquency cases that end in the young person's favor are sealed under Family Court Act § 375.1.

Criminal cases follow their own seals. A case that ends in the accused person's favor is sealed under CPL § 160.50. The Clean Slate law, CPL § 160.57, seals qualifying convictions automatically after set waiting periods, though law enforcement and some agencies keep access. A person may also apply to seal certain convictions under CPL § 160.59 after ten crime-free years.

To seal a conviction by application, you first get a certificate of disposition from the court for each case. That certificate costs $5 outside New York City. You then file the sealing motion, serve the District Attorney, and the court decides. Eligibility is narrow. You can have no more than two convictions total, only one felony, ten years crime-free, no pending case, and no disqualifying offense such as a sex or violent crime.

• Matrimonial and divorce files - Domestic Relations Law § 235.
• Adoption records - Domestic Relations Law § 114.
• Family Court files - Family Court Act § 166.
• Juvenile delinquency - Family Court Act § 375.1.
• Favorable criminal terminations - CPL § 160.50.
• Sex-offense victim identity - Civil Rights Law § 50-b.

To view a sealed file, you usually must be a party, an attorney of record, or hold a court order. The state guide below walks through conviction sealing under CPL § 160.59, with the related rules in CPL § 160.50 and Domestic Relations Law § 235.

In-Person Westchester County Court Records Requests

You can search and copy many records at the courthouse. The County Clerk's Legal Division sits in the White Plains courthouse. Office terminals show document images from 2002 to the present. Older case papers may need an off-site archive pull. Bring a case or index number if you have one, and bring photo ID for any restricted file such as a divorce decree. Hours are Monday through Friday.

The Clerk also issues certified certificates of disposition for Westchester County Court convictions. WRO image access runs on a paid subscription, so plan for that if you need online images rather than office terminals. For the Clerk's full role, see the Westchester County Clerk page.

Related Westchester County Record Searches

You may also need Westchester County court dockets, arrest records, broader public records, estate files from the Surrogate's Court, or copies from the County Clerk. Each search starts with the court that made the file.