Divorce File Request – Onondaga County, NY

The Divorce File Request is the Onondaga County Clerk form on which a party to a divorce, or an attorney representing a party, asks the office for copies of documents from a divorce action brought in Onondaga County Supreme Court.

The form explains the rule behind it. According to Section 235 of the Domestic Relations Law, the Clerk's office cannot provide copies of documents in a divorce proceeding to anyone other than the parties involved and their attorneys of record at the time of the proceeding. Anyone who is not a party can instead obtain a Certificate of Dissolution, which states only the party names and the date of the dissolution. A fee applies to that certificate.

For eligible requesters, the form works as a sworn statement. The undersigned states that they are one of the parties to the divorce action, and gives the plaintiff's and defendant's names at the time of the divorce, the year the action was brought (an approximate year is accepted) and the index number if known. An attorney section covers requests made by counsel. A notary block at the bottom is completed by a notary public or County Clerk staff.

The form is not a request for a Certificate of Dissolution and it is not a court filing. It is one of the documents listed on the Onondaga County Clerk's Forms & Links page.

The main group is the people who were parties to a divorce action in Onondaga County Supreme Court. If you were the plaintiff or the defendant, you can use this form to obtain copies of the documents in that case.

• Attorneys: an attorney representing one of the parties completes the attorney section. If the attorney requesting documents differs from the attorney of record, proof of representation must be provided.
• Non-parties: the form states that the Clerk's office cannot provide copies of divorce documents to anyone who was not a party or an attorney of record at the time of the proceeding. A non-party may obtain a Certificate of Dissolution instead, which shows only the party names and the date of the dissolution.

The Onondaga County Clerk's forms page adds that the Clerk and her staff cannot give legal advice or help in completing forms.

Use this form when you are a party to a divorce, or an attorney for a party, and you need copies of documents from a divorce proceeding brought in Onondaga County Supreme Court. The form sets no deadline and no filing window. The request is also not tied to a particular stage of the divorce: it is made to obtain copies of documents after the action exists in the Clerk's records.

Before you send the request, the form tells you to call the Clerk's office at (315) 435-2227 to verify the fees. The form states no processing time.

The form describes two ways to get your request accepted: in person with satisfactory identification, or by mail with a notarized signature.

• In person: the office provides copies to the party after they show satisfactory identification in person.
• By mail: sign the statement on the form and have your signature notarized. Mail it to: Onondaga County Clerk, 401 Montgomery Street, Syracuse NY 13202.

A mailed request must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a check or money order for the processing and certification fees. Fees apply to regular copies (charged per page) and certified copies (a set fee for documents of four pages or less, with an additional charge for each page over four). The form does not print a payment method other than check or money order. The form tells you to call (315) 435-2227 before sending the request to verify the current fees.

FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the Clerk's channels above.