How to Search New York County Civil Court Records
Local civil cases in Manhattan are indexed in WebCivil Local, run by the New York State Unified Court System. The portal covers NYC Civil Court, small claims, and housing matters. A search works best when you know the index number, but a party name search also works. WebCivil Local returns case type, parties, filing year, status, and any future court date.
The landing page below opens the search menu and lets a user choose an index number search, a party name search, an attorney search, or a judge search.
From that menu the system asks for the court and the search type before it shows the input fields.
- Open WebCivil Local and pick the search type that fits what you know: index number, party name, attorney, or judge.
- Select the court. Choose "New York County Civil Court" to limit results to Manhattan local civil cases.
- Enter the index number if you have it. The full format looks like CV-000044-06/AU; you may enter 44-06 alone, but more than one case can match.
- For a name search, type the party name and pick whether the party is plaintiff, defendant, or either.
- Add a case type or filing year to narrow a long result list.
- Open the case to read the parties, status, and next appearance, then request documents from the Civil Court clerk if needed.
Document images are not always online for local civil cases. For older or paper files, the courthouse clerk's office at 111 Centre Street is the place to ask.
What the New York County Civil Court Handles
The Civil Court is a lower court with set limits on what it can decide. It takes civil claims up to $50,000. Small Claims, a part of the Civil Court, hears money disputes up to $10,000 with simpler rules and no need for a lawyer. The Housing Part handles landlord-tenant cases, repair orders, and illegal lockout claims.
Bigger civil matters do not belong here. A divorce, an Article 78 case against a city agency, a commercial dispute over a large sum, or a foreclosure goes to the Supreme Court Civil Term instead. Manhattan civil practice splits along the dollar amount and the subject, so the same address on Centre Street can hold two very different courts.
The Civil Court for New York County sits at 111 Centre Street, a building it shares with the Supreme Court Criminal Term. Housing Court matters and small claims parts run out of the same court system but may sit in different rooms and on different calendars.
New York County Civil Court Case Type Codes
WebCivil Local uses a short letter code at the front of each index number to mark the case type. The code tells you what kind of dispute the file holds before you even open it. The codes below appear in the WebCivil Local case type list.
| Code | Case Type | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| LT | Landlord-Tenant | Housing Part cases: nonpayment, holdover, eviction, repairs. |
| SC | Small Claims | Money claims up to $10,000 under simplified rules. |
| CV | Civil | General civil money claims up to $50,000. |
| CC | Consumer Credit | Debt and consumer credit collection actions. |
| MI | Miscellaneous | Other local civil matters not in a set category. |
| NC | Name Change | Civil Court name change petitions. |
| RE | Replevin | Claims to recover specific personal property. |
| TS | Tax Surcharge | Tax-related local civil filings. |
A name change filed here gets the NC code, though some name change matters are filed in Supreme Court instead. The County Clerk notes that New York County name change records may sit at 60 Centre Street or 111 Centre Street and can be sealed by court order under Civil Rights Law § 64-a.
WebCivil Local Search Fields for New York County Civil Court
The WebCivil Local search form sets out every field a user can fill. The index number field uses structured boxes and dropdowns, while the name and attorney fields are plain text. The screenshot below shows the combined search page.
Confirm the court reads "New York County Civil Court" before you submit, since the portal also lists community justice centers and other local courts.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Index Number | Structured text | Yes for index search | Format CV-000044-06/AU; 44-06 alone may match many cases. |
| Case Type Prefix | Dropdown | Part of index | CC, CV, LT, MI, NC, RE, SC, TS. |
| Court Code | Dropdown | Part of index | NY marks the New York County Civil Court. |
| Party Name | Text | Yes for name search | Search plaintiff, defendant, or either. |
| Attorney Name | Text | Yes for attorney search | Attorney or firm name. |
| Judge Name | Text | Yes for judge search | Local civil judge field. |
| Court(s) | Multi-select | Optional | Includes New York County Civil Court and community justice centers. |
| Year of Filing | Dropdown | Optional | 2026 through 1983. |
| Case Status | Radio | Optional | Open (Active, Restored) or All. |
| Output | Radio | Optional | HTML on page or PDF download. |
New York County Civil Court vs Supreme Court Civil Term
People often mix up the two civil courts in Manhattan. They sound alike but handle different cases, hold different records, and use different search portals. The table below sets them side by side.
| Feature | NYC Civil Court | Supreme Court Civil Term |
|---|---|---|
| Claim limit | Up to $50,000; small claims to $10,000 | No dollar limit |
| Typical cases | Small claims, consumer debt, housing, landlord-tenant | Divorce, Article 78, foreclosure, commercial, large tort or contract |
| Search portal | WebCivil Local | WebCivil Supreme |
| Record keeper | Civil Court clerk | New York County Clerk |
| Main building | 111 Centre Street | 60 Centre Street |
If a case is too big for Civil Court, it moves to Supreme Court. For the full picture of Manhattan trial courts, see the New York County Supreme Court page and the broader court records guide.
Note: A search in the wrong portal returns nothing even when the case exists, so match the case type to WebCivil Local or WebCivil Supreme first.
Small Claims and Housing Court in New York County
Small Claims is the most used part of the Civil Court. A person can file a claim up to $10,000 without a lawyer, and the clerk gives a hearing date. Records show the parties, the claim amount, the hearing date, and the judgment. Many small claims cases settle or end with a default judgment, both of which appear in the file.
Housing Court is the landlord-tenant arm of the Civil Court. It hears nonpayment cases, holdover cases, repair orders known as HP actions, and illegal lockout claims. A Housing Court file may hold the petition, the lease, stipulations of settlement, a judgment of possession, and a warrant of eviction.
The warrant of eviction confuses some readers. It is a civil court enforcement paper, not a criminal arrest warrant. To check criminal warrants instead, use the New York County warrant page.
What a New York County Civil Court Record Shows
A public case detail page returns a standard set of fields. Document images are not promised for every local case. The fields below reflect the standard WebCivil Local result structure.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Index Number | Case type, sequence, year, and court code, such as CV-000044-06/NY. |
| Court | New York County Civil Court, Housing Part, or Small Claims Part. |
| Parties | Plaintiff or petitioner and defendant or respondent. |
| Case Type | LT, SC, CV, CC, and the other local civil codes. |
| Filing Year | Year filter runs from 1983 to 2026. |
| Status | Open, active, restored, disposed. |
| Future Appearance | Next court date for pending cases. |
| Judge | Assigned local civil judge and part. |
To follow case dates by email, the eCourts gateway links eTrack, which sends appearance reminders for tracked cases. For the calendar view of upcoming dates, see New York County court dockets.
New York County Civil Court Location
The Civil Court for New York County is at 111 Centre Street, in the Civic Center district near Foley Square. The building is a short walk from the Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street and the Criminal Court at 100 Centre Street. Bring a government ID for record review, and check the room number on any notice before you travel, since several Centre Street buildings look alike.
NYC Civil Court, New York County
111 Centre Street
New York, NY 10013
Housing Part, Small Claims, and general civil
The official NYC Courts overview links each local court with its address, hours, and clerk contacts. The County Clerk handles Supreme Court files only, so Civil Court filings and copies go through the Civil Court clerk, not the County Clerk Records Department.