Court House Records in Cortland County

Cortland City Clerk's Office
25 Court Street
Cortland, New York 13045

To Whom It May Concern:

In Cortland County, you have to write to the Town, City, or Village Clerk where the Birth or Death occured to obtain information. To obtain Marriage record information, you have to write to the Town or City Clerk where the couple purchased their Marriage License. We did not start keeping records until 1882. If this information does not help you, possibly the Cortland County Historical Society (607/756-6071), 25 Homer Avenue, Cortland, New York 13045 might have some information on the family.

The following is a list of City, Town and Village Clerks in Cortland County:

*NOTE: All Vital Records for the Village of McGraw are with the Town Clerk of the Town of Cortlandville.

1. Genealogical Research

Uncertified copies or abstracts from records of birth, death, and marriage may be provided for genealogical research purposes subject to the restrictions specified in this summary. All requests must be submitted in writing and include payment of the applicable statutory fee. The applicant shall be required to pay the specified fee for the time spent for the search and uncertified copy of notification of no record.

2. Who is authorized to do the searching?

Record searches shall be conducted only by the following persons in the files maintained by their respective agencies.

a. authorized employees of the State Department of Health;
b. a local registrar, deputy registrar, or an authorized employee of the registrar;
c. a town or city clerk, deputy clerk, or an authorized employee of the town or city clerk.

3. What records are available?

a. No information shall be released from a record of birth which has been placed in a confidential file pursuant to Public Health Law Section 4138.


b. No information shall be released from a record of birth unless the record has been on file for at least 75 years and the person to whom the record relates is known to the applicant to be deceased.


c. No information shall be released from a record of death unless the record has been on file for at least 50 years.


d. No information shall be released from a record of marriage unless the record has been on file for at lest 50 years and the parties to the marriage are known to the applicant to be deceased.


e. The time periods specified in (3B), (3C), and (3D) are waived if the applicant is a descendant or has been designated to act on behalf of a descendant of the person whose record is being requested. A descendant is a person in the direct line of descent. The applicant shall provide documentation of descendancy prior to the release of information in those instances where a waiver of the waiting period is requested. A party acting on behalf of a descendant shall further provide documentation that the descendant authorized the party to make such application.


f. All uncertified copies, abstracts, or information issued for genealogical research purposes shall be clearly marked with the statement "For Genealogical Purposes Only."

4. Genealogy Fee Schedule

Fee schedule per one spelling of name. Fee varies depending on requested number of years to be searched. Unused fees will be refunded.

Write to the following address and request form DOH-1562:
New York State Department of Health
Vital Records Section, Genealogy Unit
Empire State Plaza
Albany, New York 12237-0023

Fee - $11.00 includes search and uncertified copy or notification of no record.

Original records of births and marriages for the entire state begin with 1881, deaths begin with 1880, EXCEPT for records filed in Albany, Buffalo and Yonkers prior to 1914. Applications for these cities should be made directly to the local office.

The New York State Department of Health does not have New York City records except for births occurring in Queens and Richmond counties for the years 1881 through 1897.

.