Find New York County Court Clerks

Who the New York County Court Clerks Are

Manhattan splits its court clerk work two ways. The elected New York County Clerk holds the official Supreme Court case files and the business and lien filings. That is one job. The Chief Clerk of each court division is a different role. These clerks are employees of the state Unified Court System, and they run day-to-day court operations: intake windows, part assignments, calendar calls, and the record rooms tied to each courthouse.

The Supreme Civil Term page makes the split clear. It names a Chief Clerk and Executive Officer who manages court clerks, back offices, operations, and programs. It treats that role as separate from the County Clerk, who receives the papers that start a case and keeps the official file. So a person filing a new Supreme civil case deals with the County Clerk for the file, but deals with the court's own clerks for motions, parts, and trial scheduling once the case is moving.

Each division has its own building. That matters more in Manhattan than in most counties. A Family Court clerk sits at 60 Lafayette Street. A Surrogate's Court clerk sits at 31 Chambers Street. A Criminal Term clerk works out of 100 Centre Street. The work does not cross buildings, so the right office depends on the case type.

New York County Clerk vs Court Chief Clerks

The two clerk roles get confused often, and the names sound alike. The table below lays out who each one is, what each holds, and where to go. Use it to decide which office to contact before you call or visit.

For the elected office and its fee schedule, see the full New York County Clerk page. The rest of this page covers the division Chief Clerks.

New York County Court Division Clerk Offices

Six trial divisions handle Manhattan court matters, plus a community court and a summons part. Each has a clerk's office or record desk at a fixed address. The table pulls the official addresses and phone lines for the main court clerk contacts.

The Civil Court phone line was not listed in the official source, so call the court directory or visit the building at 111 Centre Street for that division's clerk desk.

Supreme Court Civil Term Clerk

The Supreme Civil Term clerk's office runs the busiest trial court in Manhattan. The main facility is 60 Centre Street on Foley Square, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., phone 646-386-3600. The official page names Administrative Judge Suzanne J. Adams and Chief Clerk VII Peter A. Sorrento. Related Civil Term facilities sit a short walk away at 80 Centre Street, 111 Centre Street, and 71 Thomas Street.

The Chief Clerk's staff manages parts, calendars, and back-office court operations. Filing the papers that start a civil case still goes through the County Clerk, who keeps the file at 60 Centre Street. Once a case is open, the court's own clerks handle part assignments, motion calendars, notes of issue, and trial scheduling. Self-represented litigants can also use the Public Access Library at 80 Centre Street, Room 468, for procedural materials and rule books.

For the trial court's structure and how civil cases move through it, see the Supreme Court page.

Supreme Criminal and NYC Criminal Court Clerks

Criminal court clerks in Manhattan work mainly out of 100 Centre Street, shared by Supreme Court Criminal Term and Manhattan Criminal Court. The Criminal Court general information line is 646-386-4511. Court hours run 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or later if sessions run long, and courtroom doors open at 9:15 a.m. As of August 1, 2024, the Criminal Term runs 29 courtrooms across two buildings with 37 distinct Court Parts; 100 Centre Street holds 24 parts and 111 Centre Street holds 13.

The clerk's office and part clerks handle arraignments, calendar calls, and the paper that moves a criminal case from one part to the next. Summons cases are handled separately. The Summons Court clerk's office sits at 1 Centre Street, 16th Floor, with clerk lines at 646-386-4869 and 646-386-4950. Building rules at the criminal courthouse ban cameras, recording gear, and require phones and smart watches to be off in courtrooms.

WebCriminal only shows pending cases with future appearance dates, so the part clerk is often the better source for the status of a moving case. For arrest and booking records, see New York County arrest records.

Family Court Clerk in New York County

The New York County Family Court clerk's office is at 60 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10013, phone 646-386-5223. A separate Help Center for self-represented users runs at 646-386-5340. Family Court records carry strong privacy limits, so the clerk's office controls who can see a file. Everyone entering the building must pass through a magnetometer, and the entrance has ramps for accessibility.

Family Court clerks handle filings for child support, custody, visitation, family offense, abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, guardianship, and adoption. Most of these files are not open to the public. Active cases with future appearance dates may show in WebFamily, but the underlying papers stay restricted. A party, attorney of record, or authorized person usually must work through the clerk's office to view or copy a file.

Surrogate's Court Clerk in New York County

The Surrogate's Court clerk runs estate and probate operations from 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007, between Centre and Elk Streets. The office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; main phone 646-386-5000; fax 212-266-9844. The official page names Surrogates Hilary Gingold and Rita M. Mella, Chief Clerk Gunwanti Singh, and Deputy Chief Clerk Veronica Sanchez.

This clerk's office takes filings for wills, probate, estate administration, accountings, and guardianship matters. A separate Records Search and Certifications desk handles record lookups and certified copies at 646-386-5090. The same building also holds older County Clerk hard-copy court files on the 7th Floor, so a visitor pulling an old Supreme file may end up here rather than at 60 Centre Street.

For the full estate process, fees, and how to search probate files, see the Surrogate's Court page. For the official Supreme Court files held by the elected clerk, see New York County court records.

How to Reach the Right New York County Court Clerk

Picking the right clerk's office comes down to the case type and the building. The wrong office cannot pull a file it does not hold, so a quick check first saves time. Follow these steps before a call or visit.

1. Name the case type. Civil, criminal, summons, family, or estate each route to a different division.
2. Match the division to its building. Supreme Civil is 60 Centre; criminal is 100 Centre; family is 60 Lafayette; estates are 31 Chambers.
3. Decide whether you need the file or the case status. Official Supreme files come from the County Clerk; live part and calendar status comes from the court's clerk.
4. Call the division clerk line in the table above to confirm hours and what to bring.
5. Bring a government ID. Screened court buildings require ID, and record review often holds your ID while a file is in your hands.

Related New York County Clerk Resources

For the elected clerk's records department, fees, and certified copies, see the New York County Clerk page. For searching case files across all systems, see New York County court records. For the trial court itself, see the Supreme Court page. For estates and probate, see the Surrogate's Court page.