Elmira City Court

Criminal Searches

UCS Criminal History Record Search Program

Certificate of Disposition Form


Criminal Record Searches

Effective July 14, 2003, all criminal history searches will be conducted by the Office of Court Administration Criminal History Search Unit in New York City. The Court will no longer conduct criminal history searches. The cost for the search is $95.00 per name. The application, instructions and form can be accessed through the UCS Criminal History Record Search Program. However, the Court will continue to conduct manual searches for any case filed where exact date of arrest is not known for the purpose of obtaining a specific disposition. The fee for a manual record search will remain at $5.00 for each two (2) year period or portion thereof (years to be searched must be indicated).

If you are requesting "poor person status" to waive the cost of the search fee, your search application and indigence application must be sent to the Criminal History Search Unit.

If your agency is exempt from search fees pursuant to statute, the prescribed search form and your request on letterhead indicating the reason for the exemption must be forwarded to the Criminal History Search Unit.

A request for a manual record search prior to 1990 through the individual local court must be in writing and should include, at a minimum, the name of the defendant, date of birth and years to be searched. The request must also be accompanied by the appropriate search fee ($5.00 per two year period or portion thereof). The required fee must be paid in cash or money order payable to the City Court. Your request can be addressed to the Clerk of the Court.

If you will be requesting copies of documents or a Certificate of Disposition and you know the docket number of the case you are looking for or the year of the case, and you are only looking for that particular case, the requirement for search fees may not be necessary (Fees).

If a case is sealed and you are the defendant, proper proof of identification and a notarized written statement will be required to release the information. If you are acting as an agent for an individual that has a sealed record, you must provide a notarized statement from the defendant indicating permission for the sealed record information to be released.

If a record is sealed and you are not the defendant or do not have the written notarized permission of the defendant, the Court can not acknowledge that a record exists (Criminal Procedure Law sec. 160.50) and the search results will not include any mention of the record.

If a defendant is adjudicated a Youthful Offender, information is not available to the defendant without a formal motion or notarized statement from defendant, to the Court, stating reason requesting release of information. (Criminal Procedure Law sec. 720.35). Please note that if the record is sealed as a Youthful Offender, the approval of the Judge adjudicating YO status is required even if the defendant is requesting information.


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Certificate of Disposition

A Certificate of Disposition is an official court document affixed with the Court Seal that indicates the disposition of the case.

The Court will not prepare a Certificate of Disposition in advance of the receipt of the proper fee. The required fee must be paid in cash or money order payable to the City Court.

If a case is sealed and you are the defendant, proper proof of identification and a notarized statement will be required to prepare a Certificate of Disposition. If you are acting as an agent for an individual that has a sealed record, you must provide a notarized statement from the defendant indicating permission for the sealed record information to be released in the form of a Certificate of Disposition.

If a record is sealed and you are not the defendant or do not have the written permission of the defendant for the release of the information, the Court can not acknowledge that a record exists (Criminal Procedure Law sec. 160.50 ).

If a defendant is adjudicated a Youthful Offender, information is not available to the defendant without a formal motion or notarized statement from defendant, to the Court, stating reason requesting release of information. (Criminal Procedure Law sec. 720.35). Please note that if the record is sealed as a Youthful Offender, the approval of the Judge adjudicating YO status is required even if the defendant is requesting information.