(a) Application. The fees of a county clerk specified in this article shall supersede the fees allowed by any other statute for the same services, except in so far as the administrative code of the city of New York sets forth different fees for the city register of the city of New York and the county clerk of Richmond, and except that such fees do not include the block fees as set out in the Nassau county administrative code or the tax map number verification fees on instruments presented for recording or filing as set out in the Suffolk county administrative code, which are to be charged in addition to the fees specified in this article. This subdivision does not apply to the fees specified in subdivision (f) of section 8021.
§ 8019.County clerks generally.
Article 80. Fees · Last amended 2019 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 8019 sets baseline rules for county clerk fees: that the article's fees generally supersede other fee statutes, that clerks may require legible copies, that clerks need not make court-ordered entries without proper notice, that the state and City of New York pay no fees to city-county clerks, and that page size and copy fees are standardized.
Full Text of CPLR 8019
(b) Legible copies. Whenever a paper or document, presented to a county clerk for filing or recording, is not legible or otherwise suitable for copying or recording by the photocopying process, the county clerk may require a legible or suitable copy thereof along with such paper or document, and the same fees shall be payable for the copy as are payable for the paper or document.
(c) Notice to county clerk. A county clerk need not make an entry which is required by a court order unless proper notice is given to the clerk by a party to the action or a person legally interested therein.
(d) Exemptions for state or city of New York. A clerk of a county within the city of New York shall not charge or receive any fee from the city of New York or the state of New York or from any agency or officer of either acting in official capacity.
(e) Size of page and type. For purposes of this article, the size of each page accepted by a county clerk for recording and indexing shall not exceed nine inches by fourteen inches, except that in the counties of Cattaraugus, Columbia, Delaware, Herkimer, Monroe and Otsego, the size of the page shall not exceed eight and a half inches by fourteen inches, and every printed portion thereof shall be plainly printed in not smaller than eight point type. The county clerk acting as recording officer may in special circumstances accept a page exceeding the size or with smaller print than that prescribed herein, on such terms and at such fee, subject to review by the supreme court, as he may deem appropriate, but the fee for such recording and indexing shall not be less than double the fees otherwise chargeable by law therefor.
(f) Copies of records. The following fees, up to a maximum of forty dollars per record shall be payable to a county clerk or register for copies of the records of the office except records filed under the uniform commercial code:
1. to prepare a copy of any paper or record on file in the office, except as otherwise provided, sixty-five cents per page with a minimum fee of one dollar thirty cents;
2. to certify a prepared copy of any record or paper on file, sixty-five cents per page with a minimum fee of five dollars twenty cents;
3. to prepare and certify a copy of any record or paper on file, one dollar twenty-five cents per page with a minimum fee of five dollars;
4. to prepare and certify a copy of a certificate of honorable discharge, except as provided for in the military law, two dollars fifty cents; and 5. to prepare a copy of any paper or record on file in the office in a medium other than paper, the actual cost of reproducing the record in accordance with paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section eighty-seven of the public officers law.
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 8019 lays down cross-cutting rules for county clerk fees rather than fees for a single service. Subdivision (a) provides that the fees set out in this article supersede fees allowed by any other statute for the same service, with named exceptions for the New York City administrative code's treatment of the City Register and the Richmond County clerk, and for certain Nassau County block fees and Suffolk County tax map verification fees, which are charged in addition to the article's fees. Subdivision (b) lets a clerk demand a legible or otherwise suitable copy of a paper that cannot be copied or recorded by the photocopying process, charging the same fee as for the original. Subdivision (c) excuses a clerk from making a court-ordered entry unless a party or other legally interested person gives the clerk proper notice of the order.
Subdivision (d) exempts the state and the City of New York, and their agencies and officers acting officially, from fees charged by a clerk of a county within the city. Subdivision (e) standardizes the page size a county clerk must accept for recording and indexing, nine by fourteen inches generally, eight and a half by fourteen inches in six named counties, with a minimum print size, though a clerk may accept larger or smaller-print pages at a fee no less than double the ordinary charge, subject to review by the supreme court.
Subdivision (f) sets fees, capped at forty dollars per record, for copies of clerk's office records other than records filed under the Uniform Commercial Code: sixty-five cents per page to prepare an uncertified copy, sixty-five cents per page with a five-dollar-twenty-cent minimum to certify a prepared copy, a dollar twenty-five per page to prepare and certify a copy, two dollars fifty cents to prepare and certify a copy of an honorable discharge certificate, and actual reproduction cost for copies made in a medium other than paper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the fees in CPLR 8019 override fees set by other statutes?
Generally yes. Subdivision (a) states that the article's county clerk fees supersede fees allowed by any other statute for the same service, subject to a short list of named exceptions.
Can a county clerk require a legible replacement copy of an illegible document?
Yes. Under subdivision (b), if a paper is not legible or otherwise suitable for photocopying, the clerk may require a legible or suitable copy filed along with it, charged the same fee as the original.
Must a county clerk act on a court order without being notified?
No. Subdivision (c) provides that a clerk need not make an entry required by a court order unless proper notice of the order is given by a party or another legally interested person.
Are the state and New York City exempt from county clerk fees?
Yes, within the counties comprising the city. Subdivision (d) bars a clerk of a county within the City of New York from charging the city, the state, or their agencies or officers acting officially.
What page size must a county clerk accept for recording?
Up to nine by fourteen inches generally, or eight and a half by fourteen inches in Cattaraugus, Columbia, Delaware, Herkimer, Monroe, and Otsego counties, with print no smaller than eight-point type, under subdivision (e).
How much does it cost to get a certified copy of a record from the county clerk?
Under subdivision (f), preparing and certifying a copy costs a dollar twenty-five per page with a five-dollar minimum, subject to an overall cap of forty dollars per record.
Amendment History
Add, L 1963, ch 532, § 55, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 1964, ch 476, § 23; L 1965, ch 773, § 16, eff Sept 1, 1965; L 1988, ch 192, § 3, eff July 31, 1988; L 2003, ch 62, § 24 (Part J), eff July 14, 2003; L 2008, ch 223, § 7, eff Aug 6, 2008; L 2019, ch 55, § 1 (Part SS), effective April 12, 2019.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: county clerk fees generallycounty clerk page size requirementscounty clerk copy feesCPLR 8019 exemptions