New York State Senate
NYS Open Legislation
Official state-law search organized by source type.
New York legal sources
New York law starts with the right court and the right text
GuideWeSpeakLaw EditorialUpdated August 24, 2026Sources reviewed
The state has several trial courts and several record systems. A reliable search begins by identifying what kind of document you need.
Official record
Primary sources
New York State Unified Court System
Structure of the Courts
Official explanation of New York's courts and record custodians.
New York State Unified Court System
e-Courts
Official links to the state's distinct case-search and decision systems.
Choose the source before the search term
Use the New York Senate's Open Legislation site for statutory text. It separates consolidated laws, unconsolidated laws, court acts, legislative rules and other materials, so record the law name, article and section—not just a phrase from a search result.
Use the judiciary for cases and decisions. A statute page tells you what the enacted text says; a complaint shows allegations; a docket shows activity; and a decision shows what a court actually ruled.
New York's court names can mislead newcomers
New York Supreme Court is a statewide trial court, not the state's highest court. The Court of Appeals is the highest court. Other statewide trial courts include the Court of Claims and Surrogate's Court, each with a different role.
That structure matters when a search touches an injury, a claim against the State or an estate. The legal category alone does not identify the correct court or establish that a case exists.
Use the matching e-Courts tool
New York e-Courts links separate searches for Supreme Court civil cases, local civil cases, criminal, family and surrogate matters, along with official decision sources. Start with the court and county when you know them.
Save the case caption, index or docket number, court, county, document title and filing date. Those identifiers make it possible to return to the official record without confusing similarly named parties or cases.
Corrections
Updated August 24, 2026. No corrections are recorded.