Civil Actions

A civil action represents a law suit of one or more parties or businesses against one or more other parties or businesses. An Index Number is assigned by the County Clerk's Office to initiate a civil action. The cost of obtaining an Index Number is $210.00. Checks should be made payable to the Erie County Clerk. An application for an Index Number can be obtained in the Clerk's Actions and Proceedings Section.

If a Request for Judicial Intervention pertains to a commercial transaction, a Commercial Division Certification must be completed. The form for this Certification can be obtained in the Actions and Proceedings Section of the County Clerk's Office, or by clicking here.

The fee for a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) is $95.00.

Subsequent to starting a civil action, additional documents relating to the action may be filed with the County Clerk. A civil action file may include court orders, affidavits, summons, complaints or any document pertaining to that action and bearing the assigned index number. If you do not know the index number assigned to your action, a $5.00 fee will be charged for every two years searched. Search requests should be presented in person at the Clerk's Office.

Filing for Divorce: Free packets on how to file for uncontested divorce are available at the Chief Clerk's Office, ground level at 25 Delaware Ave. or by calling 845-9301.

Criminal Proceedings

Individuals may not initiate criminal proceedings directly. A person wishing to initiate a criminal proceeding must consult an attorney, a law enforcement agency or the District Attorney's Office.

Closed criminal records filed by the New York State Supreme Court and Erie County Courts are located in the offices of the Erie County Clerk. Only felony convictions are filed in the Clerk's Office. In requesting a criminal file it is helpful to have an index number and the year of filing. Only the defendant and/or the attorney of record may have access to any sealed records. A court order is required to unseal a record.

Federal, city and town proceedings are the responsibility of those government bodies, and records relating to those proceedings are not filed with the Erie County Clerk.

Additional Information

All instruments filed with the Erie County Clerk's Office must bear original signatures.

Index numbers are assigned to open a file where all later papers are kept, those documents will be identified with the same index number. Index numbers are assigned only to those actions and proceedings issued by the New York State Supreme Court or the Erie County Courts.

Information about court dates, jury duty, bail bond hearings or small claims is provided by the respective courts. Telephone numbers can be obtained in the blue pages of your telephone directory.