Search Bronx County Court Dockets

How to Read a Bronx Court Docket

A docket is the chronological spine of a case. In Bronx Supreme Court Civil Term, the docket starts when the index number is purchased and the summons and complaint are filed with the Bronx County Clerk. Each later filing, motion, order, stipulation, judgment, or note of issue gets its own dated entry. The docket also records appearance dates, the court part the case sits in, the assigned justice, and the purpose of each appearance. A reader who learns the field labels can pull a clean status read in under a minute.

Bronx criminal dockets follow a different rhythm. Misdemeanor and summons cases at Bronx Criminal Court start at arraignment, then move through pre-trial parts, motion schedules, plea or trial dates, and disposition. Felony cases at Bronx Supreme Criminal Term add grand-jury action, indictment, superior court informations, and longer motion calendars. The docket entry shows the case status, the next court date, the court part, the judge, and the appearance purpose code.

Surrogate files use a third pattern. A probate or administration file shows the petition, citations, jurisdiction proofs, the will if any, objections, decrees, letters, accountings, and final closing papers. The Bronx Surrogate's Court at 851 Grand Concourse, 3rd Floor, posts post-2014 public document images on the statewide WebSurrogate portal subject to 22 NYCRR § 207.64 privacy rules.

Across all three court tracks, the docket is the official record. It is not a summary. It is the timeline the clerk is required to keep. For a fuller walk through the underlying records, see the Bronx County court records page.

WebCivil Supreme Calendar Search

The civil docket calendar lives at WebCivil Supreme calendar search. The form is the right tool for "what is on the judge's calendar next week" or "what appearances does this attorney have scheduled in Bronx Supreme this month." The form forces a court selection first, then exposes a part dropdown, a justice dropdown, a date range, and a sort field. Output can be HTML, PDF, or EMAIL with multiple addresses separated by semicolons. The Prior From date can be set up to 14 days in the past, which makes it useful for catching missed appearances.

For a single-case docket view, the better entry point is the index search at WebCivil Supreme. Limiting the court list to Bronx Supreme returns results faster, since the form has to search fewer dockets.

WebCriminal Calendar Search

Criminal dockets are calendared through WebCriminal. The court calendar form for criminal matters forces a court selection, a start date, and an end date. Court Part and Judge Name dropdowns populate after the court is picked. Bronx options include Bronx Criminal Court, Bronx Criminal Court - Summons, and Bronx Supreme Criminal Court. Output can be displayed on page, sent as a PDF, or emailed.

WebCriminal also runs a defendant search and a case identifier search. A defendant search needs at least the first two characters of first and last name, or the first five characters of a corporation name. A case identifier search takes a case number or a summons number. For finished Bronx Supreme criminal cases, the Criminal Term Central Clerk's Office on the second floor at 265 East 161st Street still holds the official paper file and issues certificates of disposition.

Bronx Supreme Court Parts and Judges

Bronx Supreme Court is divided into parts. A part is a courtroom plus the assigned justice and staff. Civil parts handle tort, malpractice, labor law, foreclosure, Article 78, name change, and matrimonial work. Criminal parts handle felony indictments, motion practice, plea calendars, suppression hearings, and trials. Each docket entry tags the part code and the assigned justice, so a reader can see at a glance which courtroom the case is in.

Parts shift over time as judges rotate, retire, or take new assignments. Hon. Alvin Yearwood serves as Administrative Judge for the Bronx Supreme Criminal Term at 265 East 161st Street. The Bronx sits in the 12th Judicial District, and the 12th Judicial District landing page publishes administrative orders, judge lists, and current calendars. The justice dropdown in WebCivil Supreme and the judge name dropdown in WebCriminal populate from the live court database, so the names available there reflect current assignments.

For appearance purposes that mention a referee, a Court Attorney Referee, or a Special Referee, the part code can look unfamiliar. The court part still appears on the docket; the difference is who is sitting that day. Foreclosure parts in particular use referee parts for settlement conferences under CPLR 3408.

Surrogate File History on WebSurrogate

Surrogate dockets sit on WebSurrogate. The file history for a probate, administration, small estate, guardianship, or accounting matter shows the petition, the citation, jurisdiction proof, the will, objections, decrees, letters testamentary or letters of administration, inventories, accountings, and final discharge. Post-February 19, 2014 public document images are available subject to 22 NYCRR § 207.64 confidentiality rules. WebSurrogate blocks restricted files; it does not redact documents, so a restricted file simply does not open.

Bronx Surrogate's Court posted an April 15, 2026 notice that accounting and miscellaneous proceedings, including pleadings and motion papers, may be e-filed through NYSCEF but will not be processed until the court receives a hard copy of the petition or accounting as applicable. Discovery motions are not permitted without a prior court conference. That timing rule matters for docket readers because an NYSCEF entry can sit "filed" without yet being processed by the Surrogate's Court.

The small estate path is separate. Under official Bronx Surrogate's Court guidance, small estates apply when the decedent left personal property under $50,000 in their name only. The Small Estate Department phone is 718-618-2309. For broader probate coverage, see the Bronx Surrogate's Court page.

Appearance Purposes and What They Mean

The "appearance purpose" code on a Bronx docket entry tells a reader why the case is on the calendar that day. Civil and criminal codes are different. Reading the purpose is the fastest way to know whether the next date is a substantive hearing or a scheduling check.

Conference

Status check or scheduling appearance. Often used in civil parts for preliminary, compliance, or status conferences under CPLR 3408 in foreclosure.

Motion

Argument or submission on a written motion. The moving party and opposition are expected to appear or submit.

Hearing

Evidentiary or non-evidentiary hearing, including suppression, framed-issue, and traverse hearings.

Trial

Bench or jury trial date. May be a start date or a "for trial" calendar call.

Arraignment

First appearance in a criminal matter. Charges are read and bail or release conditions are addressed.

Sentencing

Imposition of sentence after a plea or verdict in a criminal case.

Plea

Calendar date set for a defendant's formal answer to charges.

Codes can vary by court. The codes in a Bronx Criminal Court summons part are not the same as the codes in Bronx Supreme Criminal. WebCriminal includes the purpose text on the calendar output, which avoids guesswork.

Docket Limits and Update Delays

WebCriminal posts a notice that it is experiencing intermittent delays in updating case information for a limited number of cases and advises users to search again later if expected cases or details are unavailable. That delay is a real source of confusion. A case that was arraigned this morning may not appear on WebCriminal until the next business day. A plea entered late in the day may not refresh on the calendar until overnight processing runs.

Bronx County Clerk records have their own cutoff. Pre-1992 Supreme Court index numbers are on microfiche and require in-person search or staff search at the Bronx County Clerk records room. The online Bronx County Clerk online portal exposes guest-level case search; an attorney or authorized account can see additional case detail.

Some cases will not appear at all. Sealed cases under CPL 160.50, 160.55, 160.58, and 160.59 are not searchable through WebCriminal. Family Court files are not openly indexed under Family Court Act § 166. Divorce decrees and matrimonial files are restricted under Domestic Relations Law confidentiality rules. Surrogate confidential personal information is blocked at the file level.

Sample Bronx Docket Entry Fields

The docket exposes a small but specific set of fields. The portals do not always show every internal field, and document images depend on whether the case is e-filed through NYSCEF, restricted, or pre-electronic. The inventory below covers the public-view expectations across WebCivil Supreme, WebCriminal, and WebSurrogate.

Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, minor-identifying information, sealed criminal results, adoption records, and confidential personal information are redacted or withheld from the public view.

Getting Official Copies of Docket Entries

The online docket is not a certified record. Courts, agencies, lenders, immigration officers, and out-of-state requesters often need a certified or exemplified copy of a docket entry, an order, a judgment, or a disposition. For Bronx Supreme civil and matrimonial files, the certified copy request goes to the Bronx County Clerk at 851 Grand Concourse, Room 118. Requests must be in writing with a self-addressed stamped envelope, and payment is by U.S. postal money order, certified check, or New York attorney's check. Personal checks are not accepted.

For Bronx Supreme criminal dockets, the Criminal Term Central Clerk's Office on the second floor at 265 East 161st Street issues certificates of disposition. Photo ID is required at the counter. For Bronx Criminal Court misdemeanor and summons dockets, the certificate of disposition request goes to the Criminal Court clerk at the same court address area. For Surrogate dockets, certified copies of decrees, letters testamentary, and letters of administration come from the Bronx Surrogate's Court at 851 Grand Concourse, 3rd Floor. The Bronx Defenders, profiled on the Bronx Defenders about page, handle public-defense matters and can help with sealed-case verification for clients.

1. Pull the docket on the correct portal and confirm the case, court, and date.
2. Identify which clerk holds the file. Supreme civil and matrimonial go to the County Clerk. Supreme criminal goes to the Criminal Term Clerk. Surrogate goes to the Surrogate's Court.
3. Prepare a written request with case name, index or case number, filing year, the document needed, and the requested certification type.
4. Include the correct fee in a money order. Use separate money orders for search fees, certification fees, and exemplification fees.
5. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope or appear in person with photo ID.

Related Bronx Docket Resources

For the full case-record walkthrough behind the docket, see Bronx County court records. For arrest, booking, and custody data that often precedes a criminal docket entry, see Bronx arrest records and the Bronx inmate search. For warrants and case status checks, see Bronx warrant search. For FOIL agency records that are not court dockets, see the Bronx public records page.