A “DBA” (shorthand for “doing business as”) is officially referred to as an “Assumed Business Name” in New York State law. Section 130 of the State's General Business Law sets out the requirements and conditions of DBAs. Banks require a certified copy of your filed DBA before they will allow you to open a bank account for your new business. You may wish to consult with an attorney before filing any DBA forms.

You can purchase blank DBA forms at a legal supply store. We have also created blank forms for your use, which you can pick up at our office or download the form from the choices below. These forms are in "PDF" format, which means you can print the blank form from your computer. We are not able to offer online filing of DBA forms.

Please note that once filed a DBA is a public document. This means that anyone can see it, and may mean that you will receive offers from people seeking to do business with you. My office does not provide your name and address for these solicitations, but we cannot stop people from looking at these public DBAs and making their own lists.

Download the DBA Form You Need

• Individual Person Filing a DBA
• More Than One Person Filing a DBA as Partners
• Amendment to an Existing DBA
• Discontinuance (Terminating a Previously-Filed DBA)

Please Tell Me How Things Went: consider completing our customer survey about filing your DBA after you have filed it. You may receive a copy of the survey by mail from the Albany County Executive along with other information for new businesses.

We appreciate your business!

Note: This is very different from a Public Information/FOIL request. See note below.

Deeds and mortgages from 1980 to the present are available online – please visit our Online Records Search for more information. If you need a copy of a deed or mortgage recorded here before 1980, you will need to send a search fee of $5.00 payable to "Albany County Clerk."

Court Records filed here for County Court and for State Supreme Court for any year also have the same $5.00 search fee. Court records are not available online.

The same search fee applies to all other documents (for example, tax warrants, DBA's, and Power of Attorney.)

For all documents please provide details of the document you request that we search for, including the name(s) of the parties involved and the approximate date of the recording or filing.

If you prefer you may also visit our office during regular business hours to search for any of the above documents that are not otherwise sealed or restricted. There is no search fee for such in-person visits, but the copy fees below still apply.

Regular copies of any document are 65 cents per page, with a minimum of $1.25. Certified copies of documents are $1.25 per page, with a minimum of $5.00, again payable to "Albany County Clerk." "Certified" copies include a signed statement of the County Clerk's office that the document has been compared with the original and is a true copy, and include a raised seal on the certification and the document. Certified copies are legally acceptable in place of the original document in legal matters.

Please Note: that all of these fees are specified by State law, and supersede the 25-cents-per-page fees of the Freedom of Information law ("FOIL.") You do not need a FOIL request to view records held by the County Clerk's office, but you do have to pay the $5.00 search fee (unless you come here to search the record yourself.) We cannot accept requests to search these records by either e-mail or fax, since the payment of the search fee and the fee for copies must accompany your request.

New York State requires this form to be filed when an out-of-state resident sells property in Albany County.

• Nonresident Real Property Income Tax Form (IT-2663) 2014
• 2014 Instructions

From the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

We provide the images of deeds and mortgages of properties in Albany County owned by individuals, corporations and other organizations, starting with documents from 1980.

You can also access images of judgments, liens, DBA’s, lis pendens, UCC’s and warrants.

Online Records Search

Step 1

An original deed form must be completed, signed and notarized. Since it is a legal document, we suggest that you consult an attorney. If you would like to proceed alone, the form can be purchased at a legal supply store. The deed should have a legal description of the property. All names and addresses must be filled in on the document. We request black ink on the document.

Step 2

A TP584 Tax Affidavit must be completed and signed. Non-residents of New York State also have to file an IT-2663 Tax form.

Step 3

Complete Form RP-5217-PDF, which must be downloaded from this NYS Department of Taxation & Finance webpage.

Fees:

• The seller is responsible for the NYS Transfer Tax due at the time of filing. This tax is based on the purchase price of the property. The rate is $4 per thousand.
• The deed costs $45, plus $5 per page to record.
  For example: If the deed is two sided, the fee would be $55.00.
• The TP584 Tax Affidavit costs $5 to file.
• The RP-5217 form costs $125 to file if box 7A, 7B, or 7E is checked, or if both boxes 7G and 8 are checked. The charge is $250 to file if any other box (or no box) is checked.

Step 4

Documents submitted for recording must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope ("SASE") for return of the original document. The address on the envelope should match any "Record and Return" notation on the document itself.

Originals not accompanied by such a "SASE" will not be returned but will be disposed of in accordance with the law. (Originals submitted without a SASE will also be returned to you if you complete this form and mail or deliver the form to the County Clerk's office with your check for $1 payable to "Albany County Clerk." Please allow six weeks for processing.)

To record a mortgage, you must have the original mortgage document completed, signed and notarized. The document should have a legal description of the property.

The mortgage costs $45, plus $5 per page, to record. Documents submitted for recording must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope ("SASE") for return of the original document. The address on the envelope should match any "Record and Return" notation on the document itself. Originals not accompanied by such a "SASE" will not be returned but will be disposed of in accordance with the law. (Originals submitted without a SASE will also be returned to you if you complete this form and mail or send the form to the County Clerk's office with your check for $1 payable to "Albany County Clerk." Please allow six weeks for processing.)

The NYS Mortgage Tax is due at the time of recording. The mortgage tax in Albany County is 1.25% of the mortgage amount. It is broken down into three separate taxes as follows:

• Basic Tax = 0.5%
• CDTA Tax = 0.25% (minus $25 if the property is a 1 or 2 family dwelling)
• Special Additional Tax = 0.25% 
• County Mortgage Tax = 0.25%

The total mortgage tax in Albany County effective 11/1/2005 is 1.25%.

The  Basic Tax and the CDTA Tax are paid by the Borrower; the Special Additional Tax is paid by the Lender.

If an exemption is claimed for the Mortgage Tax the mortgage must be accompanied by two affidavits, an original and one copy. They should state the exemption and should be signed and notarized. The fee to file the affidavits is $5.

The Small Claims Assessment Review provides property owners an opportunity to challenge the assessment on their real property as determined by the Board of Assessment Review (in counties outside Nassau and NYC). It is a less costly and more informal alternative to a Tax Certiorari proceeding. As outlined in Section 730 of the Real Property Tax Law, property owners may petition the court for review of their property assessment before a specially trained hearing officer for a nominal fee of $30.

Visit the NYS Statewide Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR) website to learn "How to File a SCAR Petition" and to find links to instructions & petition forms: How to File a SCAR Petition

Please Note: You will need to file several copies of the completed petition in addition to the original (see the instructions.) Copies made at our office cost 65¢ per page by State law.

Most of these records are immediately available in the Albany County Clerk’s office. For some older records, the Clerk’s office will need to retrieve records from off-site storage, which may take 24 hours.

We are the record keeper for all pistol permits.

We have instructions and links to the forms you need to apply for or amend a permit and to obtain a gunsmith or dealer license.

Pistol Permits, Amendments & Gunsmith/Dealer Licenses

Also known as "Public Information" requests, these requests are governed by New York State’s “Freedom of Information Law” (§§84-90 of the Public Officers Law).

Albany County now accepts Public Information (FOIL) requests through a web portal.

This portal will help you communicate with your government about what documents you need. Some previous requests and responsive documents are viewable online. You may even find what you're looking for without having to submit a new request.

File FOIL a request

Please Note: The FOIL process cannot be used for County Clerk records (e.g., records, deeds and mortgages.)

Honorably discharged veterans of the United States armed forces are entitled to record their discharge certificates (DD214) at the County Clerk's office where they live, free of charge.

Certified copies of recorded discharges will be made, again free of charge, for veterans or their immediate families whenever needed.

Veterans: Recording Discharge Certificate (DD214)