Bronx County Court Records Lookup

How to Search Bronx County Court Records

The Unified Court System runs free statewide search portals. For Bronx Supreme Court civil and matrimonial cases, use WebCivil Supreme. For Bronx criminal cases at any court level, use WebCriminal. For Bronx estate matters, use WebSurrogate. For Bronx County Clerk filings, liens, and business records, use the Bronx County Clerk online portal. None of these require a fee or a registered account; an attorney account on the Clerk portal exposes additional case detail.

Before starting, gather a case or index number, a party name, an attorney name if relevant, and the filing year if known. WebCriminal requires at least the first two characters of the first and last name, or the first five characters of a corporation name. WebCivil Supreme is faster when one specific court is selected from the list.

1. Pick the court level. Civil over $50,000 or divorce goes to Bronx Supreme Civil; felonies go to Bronx Supreme Criminal; misdemeanors and summonses go to NYC Criminal Court; estates go to Surrogate's Court; Family Court files are not openly searchable.
2. Open the matching portal. Limit Court(s) to a single Bronx court when the form allows.
3. Enter the index, case, summons, or file number if you have it. Otherwise enter a party name with year of filing if known. WebCivil Supreme exposes filing years back to 1983.
4. Set case status (Open or All), set output to HTML or PDF, and run the search.
5. Open the docket. For documents on an e-filed matter, follow the link to NYSCEF. For certified paper copies, file a written request with the Bronx County Clerk or the criminal clerk.

The public side of the main civil search portal is shown below; it is the same screen used by attorneys, parties, and the public.

The main portal links to index search, party search, attorney/firm search, justice search, calendar, document search, and eTrack alerts.

WebCivil Supreme Search Fields

The WebCivil Supreme case search form exposes a small set of fields. Knowing the field rules avoids wasted searches and missed results.

For attorney, justice, and calendar searches, the form structure changes. The index search screen shown below is the entry point most lay users start with when they have a case number.

The index search form is the fastest path when the index number is known.

Types of Bronx County Court Records

Bronx Supreme Court Civil Term handles cases over $50,000 and matrimonial actions, so a typical civil file will include a summons and complaint, answers, motions, orders to show cause, requests for judicial intervention, notes of issue, stipulations, judgments, and notices of appeal. Foreclosure files add the RPAPL Article 13 papers, lis pendens, and judgments of foreclosure and sale. Tort and personal-injury files dominate the civil calendar.

Criminal records split by court. Bronx Supreme Criminal Term handles felony matters and produces indictments, motion practice, calendars, dispositions, sentencing minutes, and certificates of disposition. Bronx Criminal Court handles arraignments, misdemeanors, DATs (desk appearance tickets), and summonses. WebCriminal exposes case and calendar data; certificates and certified paper copies come from the criminal clerk in person.

• Supreme Court civil - tort, malpractice, labor law, foreclosure, Article 78, name change, matrimonial. Search through WebCivil Supreme.
• Supreme Court criminal - felony indictments, motion practice, dispositions, sentencing minutes.
• NYC Criminal Court - arraignments, DATs, misdemeanors, summonses, preliminary felony steps.
• Surrogate's Court - probate, administration, small estates, guardianships, accountings.
• Housing Court - landlord-tenant, repairs, possession. Online local civil data may show through WebCivil Local.
• Liens, judgments, tax warrants - filed with the Bronx County Clerk Dockets Department.

What Bronx County Court Records Show

A Bronx court record exposes a small but specific set of fields, regardless of the portal used. The official portals do not always display every internal field, and document images depend on whether the case is e-filed, restricted, or pre-cutoff.

Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, minor-identifying information, sealed criminal results, adoption records, and confidential personal information are redacted or withheld. WebSurrogate, for example, blocks restricted files under Surrogate Uniform Rule 207.64.

Bronx Court Calendar Search

WebCivil Supreme has a separate calendar search for civil appearances. The form requires a court selection and then exposes a part dropdown, a justice dropdown, a date range, and a sort field. Output options include HTML, PDF, and email; the email option separates multiple addresses with semicolons. The Prior From Date can be set up to 14 days in the past.

The calendar search is the right tool for "what is on the judge's calendar next week" or "what does this attorney have scheduled in Bronx Supreme." WebCriminal has a parallel calendar search for criminal courts.

Public Access Framework for Bronx Court Records

New York has two separate access tracks. Agency records sit under the Freedom of Information Law in Public Officers Law Article 6, with text published by the New York Department of State. Court records are judiciary records and are controlled by court statutes, judiciary rules, and clerk procedures. FOIL is the right tool for a police report or a city agency record; it is not a shortcut to a sealed Bronx Supreme criminal file or a Bronx Family Court custody file.

Civil cases can be sealed only on written findings of good cause under 22 NYCRR § 216.1, unless another statute or rule controls. Criminal sealing under CPL § 160.50, 160.55, 160.58, and 160.59 follows specific procedures. Family Court Act § 166 bars indiscriminate inspection of Bronx Family Court records. Domestic Relations Law confidentiality restricts matrimonial files. See the Bronx County public records page for the full FOIL walkthrough.

Sealed and Confidential Bronx County Records

Sealed records in Bronx County include CPL 160.50 favorable-termination sealings, CPL 160.55 partial sealings of violations and traffic infractions, CPL 160.58 conditional drug sealings, CPL 160.59 application-based sealings after 10 years, Clean Slate automatic sealings, juvenile delinquency records under Family Court Act § 375.1, juvenile-offender removal records under CPL § 725.15, adoption records, divorce/matrimonial files, mental-health and Mental Hygiene Law matters, grand jury minutes, and Surrogate files restricted under 22 NYCRR § 207.64.

To unseal or open a restricted Bronx file, the requester usually files a motion in the court that holds the record. CPL 160.59 applications include a notice of motion, an affidavit in support, a certificate of disposition, and an affidavit of service on the Bronx District Attorney. The DA can oppose. NY CourtHelp's criminal records sealing overview lists the eligibility rules and the seal-verification request process.

In-Person Bronx Court Record Requests

Paper-record requests go to the relevant Bronx clerk. The Bronx County Clerk takes written Supreme Court requests by mail or in person. The Criminal Term Central Clerk's Office issues certificates of disposition for Bronx Supreme Criminal cases on the second floor at 265 East 161st Street. NYC Criminal Court handles its own clerk requests for misdemeanor and summons cases.

Bronx County Court Records Fees

Bronx County Clerk fees are paid by U.S. postal money order, certified check, or NYS attorney's check; cash is only accepted in person; personal checks are not accepted. Mail requesters must send separate money orders for each two-year search period and separate money orders for certification and exemplification fees.

Related Bronx County Record Searches

For docket-only views and upcoming court dates, see Bronx County court dockets. For arrest records, the booking blotter, and the jail roster overlap, see Bronx arrest records and the inmate search. For civil agency records under FOIL, see Bronx public records. For the Clerk's office responsibilities, fees, and request rules, see the Bronx County Clerk page. For estate matters, see the Bronx Surrogate's Court page.