Vital Records - Birth, Death, Marriage

Public Records

One of the duties of the County Clerk is to serve as the registrar for the county.  As registrar, the Clerk is responsible for the storage and maintenance of the County's historical information.  The Records Department of the Oneida County Clerk's Office has a vast number of historical resources.

The most commonly accessed public records are stored in the County Office Building in downtown Utica on the fifth floor in the Clerk's Office.  Older documents can be found in the Records room located on B1 in the County Office Building and at the Regional Records Center in Westmoreland.  The Westmoreland facility provides a central storage location that is equipped to handle the large volume of documents in the Clerk's care and to ensure their continued preservation.

Many of the records housed in the Office of the County Clerk are public records.  This means that any person is free to browse through them at any point during our normal hours of operation.  These public records include:  mortgages, deeds, civil actions, criminal files, Board of Legislators records, coroner's reports, District Attorney, Sheriff's, and records the County of Oneida has accumulated since the inception of the County in the late 1700's.  Located on the 8th floor of the County Office building are naturalization records dating back to the early 1800's.

Vital Statistics

In New York State the County Clerk's Office is not responsible for Vital Records.  To obtain birth, death, or marriage records, contact the clerk of the town or city where the birth, death or marriage occurred.   For example, birth certificates for persons born at St. Luke's Hospital since May 1957 are housed with the New Hartford Town Clerk.  Birth certificates for persons born at St. Elizabeth's Hospital and St. Luke's before May 1957 are housed with the Utica Department of Vital Records.  You may also obtain records through the New York State Bureau of Vital Statistics.  They can be reached by calling (518) 474-3077 or by visiting their website at www.health.state.ny.us.  You can also contact New York State Bureau of Vital Statistics.