Find Deed Records in Yonkers

Deed records for Yonkers properties are maintained by the Westchester County Clerk, not by the City of Yonkers. As the largest city in Westchester County and the fourth largest in the state, Yonkers has a significant volume of property transactions. All of them must be recorded through the county clerk's office. Westchester County has an impressive online records system with deeds going back to 1680, making it one of the most comprehensive land records collections in New York.

Westchester County Clerk Records Yonkers Deeds

The Westchester County Clerk's Office maintains all deed records for Yonkers. Tom Roach became county clerk in January 2025, succeeding Timothy Idoni. The office records deeds, mortgages, assignments, satisfactions, liens, and judgments for every city and town in Westchester County.

Westchester Records Online lets you search thousands of county clerk records. The collection is remarkable in its depth. Deed records go back to 1680, and mortgage records extend to 1950. This means you can trace Yonkers property ownership across more than three centuries using the county's online tools.

The county also runs satellite offices for added convenience. Yonkers residents can use the Westchester County Clerk's Yonkers satellite office at 131 Warburton Avenue for some services. Check with the office about which services are available at the satellite location versus the main office.

Westchester County Clerk Office Details

How to Search Yonkers Deed Records

Westchester Records Online is the primary tool for searching Yonkers deed records from home. The online portal lets you search by party name, date range, document type, and other criteria. The system covers an enormous time span, which is unusual for a county in New York.

Start with the property owner's name. The system shows all documents recorded under that name in Westchester County. You can then filter by document type to see only deeds, or narrow by date range. For a specific parcel, use the property identifier if you have it.

The depth of online records here is a real advantage. Many counties in New York only have records online going back to the 1980s or 1990s. Westchester has deeds from the 1600s available digitally. This makes it much easier to do thorough title research on Yonkers properties without visiting the office in person.

Recording Fees and Transfer Taxes

Deed recording fees in Westchester County are $45 for the first page and $5 for each page after that. The New York State real estate transfer tax of $2 per $500 applies to all sales. Residential properties selling for $1 million or more trigger the mansion tax.

Yonkers also imposes its own local mortgage tax, similar to New York City. The mortgage recording tax in Westchester County includes the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District surcharge. On top of the state component, there is a county portion. For one- and two-family homes, the first $10,000 of mortgage debt is exempt from the additional tax.

Form RP-5217 must be filed with every deed. It must be prepared using Adobe Acrobat to generate the required barcode. Handwritten forms are rejected by the county clerk.

Yonkers City Clerk Does Not Handle Deeds

The Yonkers City Clerk's Office is at City Hall, 40 South Broadway, Yonkers, NY 10701. Joan Deierlein serves as the current city clerk. The office maintains City Council meeting minutes, resolutions, and ordinances. It issues city permits and licenses and serves as the local registrar for vital statistics.

The city clerk does not maintain deed records or handle property transfer documents. This is a common point of confusion. People often assume the city clerk handles property records, but in New York State, that function belongs to the county clerk. For Yonkers, all deed work goes through the Westchester County Clerk.

Legal Framework

New York Real Property Law Section 291 requires deeds to be recorded in the county where the property is located. RPL Section 333 describes the requirements for a valid deed. These statutes are available through the New York State Senate website and the Cornell Legal Information Institute.

Yonkers is one of two cities in New York State (along with NYC) that imposes a local income tax surcharge on residents, which sometimes leads to confusion about other local tax obligations. The mortgage recording tax rate for Yonkers also differs slightly from other Westchester communities, so check with the county clerk for current rates.

Additional Resources

The NYS Municipal Data Portal has property sales data and assessment information for Yonkers. The NYS Department of Taxation and Finance provides STAR exemption details and property tax resources. For older records, the New York State Archives may have historical land documents.

Yonkers Satellite Clerk Office

Yonkers has a Westchester County Clerk satellite office at 131 Warburton Avenue. This is a convenience for the city's 211,000 residents. It saves a trip to White Plains. Some clerk services are available here, though the main office handles most deed recordings. Call ahead to check what services are offered at the satellite location.

Westchester County also has satellite offices in Peekskill and Mount Vernon. The county was the first in New York to offer electronic recording of deeds and mortgages. The PREP system lets attorneys and title companies file documents from their offices. For a standard home sale in Yonkers, the filing process can be done without anyone visiting the clerk in person. The county's online records system covers deeds from 1680 and mortgages from 1950. Few counties in the state can match that depth. You can search the full collection from any computer through Westchester Records Online.

Nearby Cities

Other communities nearby with deed records pages:

• Mount Vernon
• New Rochelle
• Greenburgh