N.Y. Public Health Law § 4139: Certificates of dissolution of marriages to be filed with the department; duties of county clerks in connection therewith

§ 4139. Certificates of dissolution of marriages to be filed with the

department; duties of county clerks in connection therewith. 1. No

interlocutory decree, judgment or order of divorce, annulment, or other

dissolution of marriage shall hereafter be filed or entered in the

office of any county clerk of this state, unless there is submitted

therewith, a certificate of dissolution of marriage on a form

prescribed, printed and furnished by the commissioner. Such form may

contain a confidential section for statistical and research purposes.

Such section shall not be subject to subpoena or to inspection by

persons other than the commissioner or authorized personnel of the

department. The commissioner may, however, pursuant to appropriate rules

assuring that the identity of individuals will not be revealed, approve

the inspection and use of such confidential sections for scientific

purposes.

2. Such certificate shall contain the names and addresses of the

attorneys for the parties thereto, the names, social security numbers

and addresses of the parties to the action, and such other information

as prescribed by the commissioner, including but not limited to such

information as may be requested by the federal agency in charge of vital

statistics.

3. At such times as the commissioner shall direct, the county clerk of

each county shall transmit to the department the certificates of

dissolution of marriage so filed in his office for each case where the

decree became final during the previous months. Such certificates of

dissolution of marriage shall be kept on file and properly indexed by

the department.

4. A certified copy or certified transcript of such certificate may be

furnished to either party to the action by the commissioner. A certified

copy or certified transcript of such certificate may be furnished by the

commissioner to one other than a party to the action, only upon order of

a judge of a court of record, or a judge of a family court, granted upon

application of such other person, with or without notice, upon showing a

proper or judicial necessity therefor, which order and the papers

accompanying same shall be filed by the commissioner and given the

indexed number of the certificate of dissolution to which it relates.

The commissioner shall be deemed to have complied with the applicable

provisions of this subdivision by the issuance of a certified transcript

of the desired certificate instead of a certified copy thereof except

where the requester shall show, to the satisfaction of the commissioner

or his designated representative, a demonstrated need for such certified

copy, or where a court order rendered pursuant to the provisions of this

subdivision contains an express recital or direction therein that the

issuance of a certified transcript of such certificate instead of a

certified copy thereof shall not be considered to be in compliance

therewith.

5. Whenever in his opinion, information as to the dissolution of a

marriage is required for a legal or other proper purpose, the

commissioner may make a search of the files and, if the record of

dissolution of marriage is found, he may furnish to the applicant, in

the form of a certification, the names of the parties to the dissolved

marriage, the name of the county and county seat of such county in which

the decree dissolving the marriage was granted, and the date the decree

was entered.

6. The commissioner shall be entitled to a fee of thirty dollars for

each certification, certified copy or certified transcript of

certificate of dissolution of marriage furnished.

7. For a search of the files where no such certification, certified

copy, or certified transcript is furnished, or for a certification that

a search discloses no record of a dissolution of marriage, the

commissioner shall be entitled to a fee of thirty dollars.

8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, the federal

agency in charge of vital statistics may obtain from the department at a

fee acceptable to the commissioner, information from certificates of

dissolution of marriage for use solely as statistical data without the

order of a justice of the supreme court. For other official purposes,

subject to the provisions of subdivision four of this section,

certifications, certified copies, or certified transcripts of

certificates of dissolution of marriage may be furnished, at a fee

acceptable to the commissioner upon specific request therefor by a

department of the state of New York or of the government of the United

States.