Who may request
Immediate family or a legal representative. Access rules tighten for recent records.
Timing
The $30 search fee includes one copy or a no-record letter. Mail is slow. Some county clerks issue local deaths.
Notes from the desk
Deaths in the five boroughs are not New York State records. Use the New York City desk.
If the death was anywhere in the five boroughs, do not write to Albany.
New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island) is a separate office.