County offices, DMV and town clerks: where to go for what

This guide is for new residents, new homeowners and anyone who has waited in the wrong line at a government office in Central New York. New York splits everyday paperwork among county clerks, town and city clerks, the state Department of Motor Vehicles and local registrars, and the split is not the same in every county.

It covers what each office handles, where the DMV offices are and who runs them, how to get a birth or death certificate, how property tax bills are paid, and the main county offices with links to their official pages. Facts were checked as of October 2, 2026; hours change, so check the office’s page before you go.

Who handles what: the short version

As a rule of thumb, records tied to land, courts and driving go to the county, and licenses tied to daily life at home go to the town or city:

• County clerk: deeds and mortgages, state Supreme Court and County Court records, business certificates (DBAs), notaries, passports in many counties, and the DMV office everywhere in CNY except Onondaga County.
• Town or city clerk: dog licenses, marriage licenses, hunting and fishing licenses in many towns, handicapped parking permits and, in many towns, birth and death records as the local registrar.
• State DMV: runs the two Onondaga County offices directly.
• Tax collectors: the town receiver, city treasurer and school district collect current property tax bills; the county treasurer collects only delinquent taxes in counties such as Oswego.
• Pistol permits: handled by the county clerk, the sheriff or a county pistol licensing office, depending on the county.

What the county clerk does

Madison County describes its clerk as “the keeper of records for land transactions and court proceedings,” and that holds across the region. When you buy a house, the deed and mortgage are recorded with the county clerk. Lawyers file civil cases there, and the clerk keeps judgment and criminal court records. Most clerks also file business certificates for sole proprietors using an assumed name and keep notary public records.

Two counties have tightened online access to property records because of deed fraud. Herkimer County began charging for document images on March 1, 2025, while keeping index searches free, and lets residents sign up for a free email alert whenever a document is recorded in their name. Madison County has charged for images since October 2, 2023.

Passport applications are another county clerk job in much of CNY. Onondaga County’s clerk has added Wednesday evening passport appointments, booked by calling (315) 435-2227.

Pistol permits differ by county

New York’s pistol licensing rules are in section 400 of the state Penal Law. In Oneida and Cortland counties, judges serve as the licensing officers. Who takes your application varies:

• Onondaga County: the Sheriff’s Office Pistol License Unit, where the application fee rose to $60 on January 1, 2025.
• Oneida County: a county pistol licensing office in the County Office Building at 800 Park Ave. in Utica, with the Oneida County Judge as licensing officer and a Rome satellite office open Thursday mornings at 100 W. Dominick St.
• Cortland County: the County Clerk’s office receives applications, which are due within 30 days of fingerprinting, and two judges named on the county’s page act on them.
• Madison County: the Sheriff’s Office processes applications from people who have lived in the county for at least six months, and the County Clerk collects the fees.
• Oswego County: the County Clerk’s office lists pistol permits among the clerk’s services.

DMV offices: county clerk or state

In most of upstate New York, the county clerk runs local DMV offices for the state. Madison County’s DMV page says every transaction at the Wampsville office keeps 10.75 percent of the fees in Madison County, and the county says that helps keep property taxes down. Onondaga County is the exception in CNY; the state DMV operates both offices there as district offices, open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The state’s office list, updated October 2026, shows these locations:

• Onondaga (state-run): Western Lights Plaza, 4671 Onondaga Blvd., Syracuse; and 5801 E. Taft Road, North Syracuse.
• Oneida: Union Station, 321 Main St., Utica; and 301 W. Dominick St., Rome, which the county says is by appointment only and which closes from noon to 1 p.m.
• Oswego: 384 E. River Road, Oswego; 200 N. Second St., Fulton; and 2 Broad St., Pulaski.
• Otsego: the County Office Building, 197 Main St., Cooperstown.
• Cortland: 112 River St., Cortland.
• Madison: 138 N. Court St., Wampsville.
• Herkimer: 109 Mary St., Herkimer; and a part-time office at 183 Park Ave. in Old Forge, open Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., which does not handle REAL ID, EDL or commercial license transactions.
• Chenango: the Chenango County Office Building, 5 Court St., Norwich.

The state DMV office page strongly encourages reservations and warns that when waits are long, only customers with a reservation will be let in. County offices set their own rules. Cortland takes walk-ins Monday through Wednesday and has required appointments for all tests on Thursday and Friday since August 23, 2024. Oneida County books appointments online. Many renewals can be done online or by mail without visiting at all.

What the town or city clerk does

Town and city clerks handle the licenses most households need. The Town of Manlius lists the typical range: dog licenses, games of chance licenses, handicapped parking permits, marriage licenses, peddler licenses and sporting licenses.

Dog licenses

Under state Agriculture and Markets rules, every dog four months or older must be licensed, and town and city clerks issue the licenses. The Town of Clay renews licenses every year and requires a current rabies vaccination certificate, plus proof of spaying or neutering for the lower fee.

Marriage licenses

You can get a marriage license from any town or city clerk. The Town of Clay says both people must appear in person with birth certificates and photo ID, and divorce papers for any earlier marriage. The license is good for 60 days, and the ceremony cannot take place until 24 hours after the license is issued. Clay charges $40, cash or check, and recommends an appointment. Certified copies are available later from the clerk who issued the license, as well as from the state.

Hunting, fishing and trapping licenses

The state Department of Environmental Conservation sells sporting licenses online, by phone at 1-866-933-2257, and in person through license-issuing agents, including town clerks such as those in Clay and Manlius. Hunting and trapping licenses run from September 1 to August 31, and new ones go on sale each August. Clay notes that anyone 16 or older needs a fishing license.

Birth and death certificates

The state Health Department’s Vital Records office has New York birth records back to 1881 for everywhere except New York City. Certified copies cost $30 by mail or $45 plus a vendor fee online or by phone, and the department warns of significant processing delays. Records are also available from the local registrar of vital statistics where the birth or death happened.

In Onondaga County, the county Office of Vital Statistics at 421 Montgomery St. keeps birth and death records for the county going back 150 years. Certificates cost $30, with extra copies of the same record $15 each when ordered together; the office is open weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at (315) 435-3241. In other counties, start with the clerk of the town or city where the event happened; the Manlius town clerk, for example, has collected birth, death and burial records since the 1880s.

Paying property taxes

The state Tax Department says school tax bills go out at the beginning of September in most communities, and town and county tax bills at the beginning of January. Pay each bill to the office that sent it: the school district’s tax collector, the town receiver of taxes, the city treasurer or the village clerk. In the Town of Manlius, for example, an elected receiver collects school, county and town taxes.

In Oswego County, the county treasurer’s office says the office collects only delinquent taxes, and that unpaid September school taxes are added to the January town and county bill. Oswego County’s schedule shows how much the dates vary even within one county: town and county bills on January 1, Oswego city taxes on April 1, central school district and Fulton city school taxes on September 1, and Oswego City School District taxes on October 1, each usually due within 30 days without interest.

Assessments follow their own calendar. In Madison County towns, March 1 is the deadline to file for exemptions, the tentative roll comes out May 1, and Grievance Day, when owners can challenge an assessment, is the fourth Tuesday in May. Those dates do not apply in the City of Oneida, so confirm the calendar with your own assessor.

The eight county clerks’ offices

The main county clerk offices, with links to each county’s official page:

• Onondaga: Onondaga County Clerk, 401 Montgomery St., Room 200, Syracuse; (315) 435-2227; weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Oneida: Oneida County Clerk, County Office Building, 800 Park Ave., Utica.
• Oswego: Oswego County Clerk, 46 E. Bridge St., Oswego; (315) 349-8621; weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with summer hours from June through August.
• Otsego: Otsego County Clerk, 197 Main St., Cooperstown; (607) 547-4276.
• Cortland: Cortland County Clerk, 46 Greenbush St., Suite B5, Cortland; (607) 753-5021; weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Madison: Madison County Clerk, 138 N. Court St., Building 4, Wampsville; (315) 366-2261; weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Herkimer: Herkimer County Clerk, 109 Mary St., Suite 1111, Herkimer; (315) 867-1129; weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Chenango: the Chenango County clerk’s DMV office is in the County Office Building, 5 Court St., Norwich; (607) 337-1460.

Good to know

These closings and deadlines were checked as of October 2, 2026:

• Most CNY DMV offices list Monday, October 12, 2026, as a Columbus Day closing in the state’s office data. The three Oswego County offices list Veterans Day, November 11, as their next holiday.
• The Madison County Clerk suspended all passport services, including photos, on October 1, 2026, during office renovations. The county expects service may resume after the work is finished in January 2027.
• Oswego City School District tax bills go out October 1, and Oswego County says payment is usually due within 30 days without interest.
• New hunting and trapping licenses for the 2026-27 season are valid through August 31, 2027.

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