New York Public Records

How the New York Freedom of Information Law works

New York's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) is Article 6 of the Public Officers Law. Any person may ask for agency records and does not have to say why. Requests go in writing, by mail, by hand or by email where the agency accepts it, to the agency's records access officer (Committee on Open Government).

Deadline: within five business days of receiving a written request for a record reasonably described, the agency must make the record available, deny the request in writing, or acknowledge it in writing with an approximate date for its decision. If it grants the request but cannot disclose within twenty business days of the acknowledgment, it must say why in writing and give a date certain (Public Officers Law § 89(3)(a)).

Fees: inspection is free. Paper copies up to 9 by 14 inches cost no more than 25 cents a page; other records cost the actual cost of reproduction, unless another law sets a different fee (§ 87(1)(b)(iii)).

Appeals: a person denied access may appeal in writing within 30 days to the agency's appeals officer, who must answer in writing within 10 business days. After that, the denial can be taken to court in an Article 78 proceeding, and the court may award attorney fees when the requester substantially prevails and the agency missed a deadline, and must award them when the agency had no reasonable basis for the denial (§ 89(4)(c)).

What you cannot get in New York

• Cases that ended in the person's favor: when a criminal action ends in favor of the accused, the record is sealed (Criminal Procedure Law § 160.50).
• Youthful offender records: official records of a youthful offender adjudication are confidential and released only as a statute or the court allows (CPL § 720.35(2)).
• Law enforcement records: records compiled for law enforcement purposes can be withheld when disclosure would interfere with an investigation or judicial proceeding, deprive a person of a fair trial, identify a confidential source, or reveal non-routine investigative techniques (Public Officers Law § 87(2)(e)).
• Privacy and other laws: records whose release would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, or that a state or federal statute exempts, can be withheld (§ 87(2)(a) and (b)).
• Birth certificates: the State Department of Health issues a birth certificate only to the person named, a parent named on it, or others with a New York State court order (NYS Department of Health).

Sealing a conviction in New York

New York clears convictions by sealing. There are two routes.

Automatic sealing (CPL § 160.57, the Clean Slate law): a misdemeanor conviction is sealed once at least three years have passed, and a felony conviction once at least eight years have passed, counted from the latest release from incarceration for that sentence, or from sentencing if there was no incarceration. The court system has until November 16, 2027 to set up automatic sealing, so a conviction that qualifies may still show until then (NY Courts Clean Slate). The person must have no criminal charge pending in New York and must not be under probation or parole supervision. Sex offenses, sexually violent offenses and class A felonies, other than class A drug offenses under Penal Law article 220, are not sealed.

Sealing by application (CPL § 160.59): a person convicted of up to two eligible offenses, with no more than one felony, may apply once at least ten years have passed since sentencing on the latest conviction, or since the latest release from incarceration. Sex offenses under Penal Law article 130, violent felonies and class A felonies cannot be sealed this way. The application goes to the court that handled the most serious conviction.

Once a record is sealed, employers, licensing agencies, landlords and creditors may not ask about it or act on it unless a statute requires or allows it (Executive Law § 296(16)).

How to get your own New York criminal record

The Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is the only official source of New York State criminal history records. The personal request is called a Record Review.

1. Choose the record you need: service code 15464Z for a suppressed record, which leaves out sealed and suppressed entries, or 15465F for an unsuppressed record. Each needs its own request (DCJS Record Review).
2. Book a fingerprint appointment with IdentoGO, the DCJS fingerprint vendor, online or at 877-472-6915, and bring one form of identification.
3. Pay the fee: $17.50 in New York State, or $57.45 at an enrollment center outside the state. If you cannot pay, ask the Records Review Unit, 80 South Swan St., 5th Floor, Albany, NY 12210, for a fee waiver packet.
4. DCJS mails the response within three to four weeks. It cannot be picked up in person.
5. To fix an error, ask the arresting police agency to send the change to DCJS in writing, or get a certified copy of the disposition or sealing order from the court and send it to DCJS.

New York record laws to know

• Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law Article 6; § 89 text): access to agency records, deadlines, fees and appeals.
• Criminal Procedure Law § 160.50: sealing when a case ends in favor of the accused.
• Criminal Procedure Law § 160.57 and 160.59: automatic sealing of older convictions and sealing by application.
• Executive Law § 296(16) (text): bars questions about, and decisions based on, sealed records and arrests that ended in the person's favor, in jobs, licensing, housing and credit, unless a statute requires or allows it.