Clerk's Office

Liens, Judgments and UCC

The Judgment and Lien Department dockets and makes notations relative to Judgments, Orders, Mechanics Liens, Miscellaneous Liens and Satisfaction pieces. This Department also indexes and makes notations relative to Lis Pendens, Federal Tax Liens and Releases of Federal Tax Liens. The preparation and processing of Executions, Warrants, Transcripts and Certificates of Disposition is also the responsibility of the Judgment and Lien Department.

Liens and Judgments

Commonly Used Forms

The following is a list of forms most often filed in the County Clerk’s Office. These forms can be purchased from private publishing companies, such as Blumberg, and are available at most legal stationery stores and the internet. The County Clerk’s Office does not provide these legal forms.  

Federal Tax Liens

Any questions regarding Federal Tax Liens placed by the IRS should be directed to the IRS at 1-800-913-6050. Copies of Federal Tax Liens and releases filed in the County Clerks Office can be obtained at the County Clerks Office for $10. See Services and Fees for appropriate charges. 

Filing A Transcript Of Judgment

To file a transcript once you are awarded a judgment from a District or Justice Court in Suffolk County, you must obtain the original transcript from the court that awarded the judgment and file it with the County Clerk’s Office for a fee of $10.00.

Obtaining A Property Execution  

Once your transcript of judgment is filed with the County Clerk, you may request a property execution (Form #199) from our office for the Sheriff to attempt collection of your judgment. The County Clerk’s fee is $5.00 to issue the Form 199. Please contact the Sheriff  at 852-5600 for their instructions and fees.

Garnishing A Debtor’s Wages 

If you are attempting to garnish the salary of a judgment debtor, you must obtain an Income Execution Form (Form T439) from a legal stationery store or the internet. The form must be filled out and presented to the County Clerk to be endorsed. The County Clerk’s fee is $5.00. Please contact the Sheriff at 852-5600 for their instructions and fees.

Collecting On A Foreign Judgment

If your judgment is from a county other than Suffolk, and you require the Suffolk County Sheriff to attempt collection on your judgment, you must obtain the property execution from the ORIGINAL County and send it directly to the Suffolk County Sheriff. If you have any questions please contact the Sheriff at 852-5600.

Obtaining Proof Of Satisfaction

If you need proof of a Satisfaction of Judgment for a credit reporting agency or to proceed with a real estate closing, access the  Judgment Retrieval System to determine if the judgment is satisfied. If you verify the judgment is satisfied on the web, you can request a Certificate of Disposition from the County Clerk’s Office for a fee of $5.00 (check or money order only). Mail requests Att: Judgment Dept.

All requests should include the name the judgment is against, the amount, creditor and filing date. Once you obtain the Certificate of Disposition from our office, you should keep the original and mail copies to the credit bureau, or, give a copy to the lender if they need it for a mortgage closing.

Discharging Judgments Through Bankruptcy

If judgments were discharged through a U.S. Bankruptcy Court, you must obtain a Certified Copy of a Bankruptcy Court order directing the Suffolk County Clerk to discharge the judgments. This order gets filed with the County Clerk. The specifics of each judgment being discharged (e.g. Amount, Creditor, Index #) must be included in the order and the order must direct the County Clerk to discharge the judgments. If the order does not specifically direct the County Clerk to discharge the judgments, it cannot be accepted by this office.  If you have judgments in more than one county, you will need a separate order for each county.  We cannot accept the Discharge of Debtor paper from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Only the Certified Copy of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court order can be accepted. You must request this from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, it is not issued automatically when you file for Bankruptcy. Once the order is filed, you can obtain a Certificate of Disposition for each judgment discharged to use for credit reporting purposes. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court can be accessed at U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Contacting Credit Agencies

If you need to contact a credit reporting agency about a judgment listed on your credit report, they may be contacted at the addresses below: 

U.C.C.

The Uniform Commercial Code Department functions in a way which ensures the Suffolk County Clerk's Office is in compliance with the Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 and C.P.L.R. Section 8021.

The Uniform Commercial Code Division is responsible for filing and maintaining all records concerning: 

        *Building Loans                                *Federal Tax Liens

        *Mechanics Liens                            *Wage Assignments                UCC Forms

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