Dutchess County Clerk Records

The Dutchess County Clerk Role

The Dutchess County Clerk has served as keeper of land recordings and legal filings for more than 300 years, since 1715. The current clerk is Bradford Kendall. The office is at 22 Market Street in Poughkeepsie, in the County Office Building near the courthouse. Beyond records, the clerk administers the Oath of Allegiance to new citizens, processes passport applications, serves as chief notary of the county, supports business filings and veterans services, and runs DMV services as agent for the state.

Land and Court Records at the County Clerk

The clerk records and indexes a wide range of filings. On the land side, that means deeds, mortgages, assignments, and discharges. On the legal side, it means judgments, liens, business certificates, and recorded court items like indictments, convictions, and clerk's minutes. The office also holds historical records through a separate Ancient Document Search covering filings from 1721 to the 1840s.

• Deeds, mortgages, assignments, and discharges.
• Judgments, default judgments, and transcripts of judgment.
• Mechanic's liens, federal tax liens, and UCC filings.
• Business certificates, DBAs, and partnership filings.
• Recorded court items such as indictments, convictions, and clerk's minutes.
• Domestic partnership registrations and separation agreements.

For the court-side filings and case search portals, see Dutchess County court records. The clerk's recorded items and the court's case files work together but live in different systems.

The Document Search Walkthrough

The County Clerk Document Search lets a user view digital images of more than 1.3 million filed documents. Viewing is free. A watermark-free print or download costs $0.50 per page. Certified copies come through the Record Room. The search ignores capitalization and special characters like apostrophes and ampersands. Blank searches are not allowed, so a user must enter at least one criterion.

Note: more specific criteria return fewer results, so adding fields narrows a long hit list.

County Clerk Copy Fees

The County Clerk fee schedule is set under CPLR § 8019 and local rule. The most common charges are search fees, copy fees, and certified copy fees. The table below lists the fees people request most often.

The Dutchess County Clerk fee schedule lists copy, certified copy, index number, lien, and search fees in full.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy is the version that courts and agencies accept as proof. The County Clerk issues certified copies of recorded documents through the Record Room and the online cart. The steps below cover the standard request.

1. Search the document in the Document Search and open the image to confirm it is the right one.
2. Note the document number, liber, page, and recorded date.
3. Enter the number of certified copies and add a mailed certified copy to the cart, or visit the Record Room.
4. Pay the certified copy fee; the clerk-prepared rate is $1.25 per page with a $5 minimum.
5. For exhibits or papers with uncertain page counts, mail the request with a not-to-exceed check payable to the Dutchess County Clerk.

The certified copies help page walks through ordering through the search and cart. A request may be rejected if the description is too thin to locate the document.

Forms and Guidebooks

The County Clerk publishes forms and guidebooks for the filings the office handles. These include business and lien filings, the domestic partnership affidavit, and pistol permit paperwork. Each form lists the required documents, the fee, whether notarization is needed, and how to submit.

The forms and guidebooks page lists DBA, index number, mechanic's lien, domestic partnership, pistol permit transfer, satisfaction of judgment, passport, and other forms.

NYSCEF and Court Filings

The County Clerk works with the state e-filing system. NYSCEF handles electronic filing for participating New York courts, and the clerk page links the e-filing notice for matters routed through the County Clerk. A divorce or civil case that needs an index number starts at the County Clerk, then proceeds through the court and NYSCEF where required.

Frequent searchers can create accounts, and existing second-floor searcher accounts can be used online. The County Clerk does not accept personal checks over $400. For e-filed court documents, the court records page covers the NYSCEF case search side.

DBAs, Passports, and Other Services

The County Clerk does more than record documents. A person starting a business files an Assumed Name Certificate, or DBA, at the office, after checking name availability. Partners file a Business Certificate for Partners. The clerk also processes passport applications, serves as chief notary of the county, and offers veteran discount applications and veterans services. DMV transactions run through the office as agent for the state.

Pistol permit paperwork is handled here too, including a request for a pistol permit transfer from Dutchess to another county and a public-records exemption request for firearms licenses. Each service has its own form and fee on the forms and guidebooks page, so it helps to read the requirements before visiting the Record Room.

Related Dutchess County Searches

The clerk's office touches court records, public records, and vital records. The pages below cover the related record sets.

• Court records: case search portals and certified dispositions.
• Public records: the FOIL framework for agency records.
• Marriage and divorce records: domestic partnership and historical marriage records.
• Surrogate's Court: estate filings and certified copies.