Which records and offices are covered?
| Record or recipient | Published mechanism | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| Judicial employer | A signed request identifies information, family members and each intended recipient. | State judicial employers must send notice within five business days; the federal-employer wording differs. [1] |
| Recipient of judicial notice | Cease making the identified information public within 72 hours. | The statute preserves specified public-interest, voluntary-publication and source exceptions. [2] [3] [4] |
| Address Confidentiality Program | The Department of State provides a substitute address accepted by state and local agencies. | The survivor eligibility source includes leaving previous housing out of fear for safety. [5] [6] |
| Confidential voter process | Use the published Statement of Confidential Voter. | The form is a separate election procedure. [7] |
| Voter-file request | The Board of Elections requires an election purpose for requested registration data. | Election Law 3-103(5) prohibits non-election use. [8] |
Who does the judicial statute cover?
Judiciary Law 859 defines eligible individuals through particular judicial roles. It includes active and former specified New York judges. The federal-judge definition has a New York sitting or chambers connection and includes several federal judicial offices. The requested family protection extends to listed relationships. The statute therefore requires more than a general claim that someone works in the justice system. [9]
The signed request goes to the employer or former employer. It must identify the protected information, the relevant family members and every recipient to be notified. For state judges, the employer has five business days to send the notice. The federal-employer provision says the employer may send it. That difference matters when tracing whether a particular publisher received statutory notice. [1]
What does the 72-hour rule require?
The recipient's 72-hour period follows statutory notice. The reviewed definition covers making information available through the Internet or other public media, as well as specified sharing, trading or transfer. A request prepared by the judicial officer is therefore not the same event as a recipient's completed removal. The notice recipient and the information identified in that notice remain central. [2] [3]
The statute also preserves substantive exclusions. They include specified news or public-concern material, information voluntarily published after the effective date, information received from public or federal agencies, and permissible federal driver-record uses. These exclusions prevent a promise that every public reference must disappear. A disputed publication needs comparison with the actual source, use and statutory exception. [4]
How do ACP and election records fit?
New York's Address Confidentiality Program is administered through the Department of State. The reviewed survivor eligibility guidance includes domestic violence, stalking, sexual offenses, trafficking and kidnapping, with a housing departure linked to safety. Its substitute address is accepted by state and local agencies and can receive personal first-class mail. Those features do not establish confidential ownership of a particular parcel. [6] [5]
Election administration uses separate documents. The retained official source identifies a Statement of Confidential Voter. Ordinary statewide voter-data requests must state an election purpose, and Election Law 3-103(5) prohibits non-election use. Commercial privacy requires another scope check. The Attorney General's SHIELD Act explanation establishes breach-notification and reasonable-security duties. This review does not convert that safeguards source into an omnibus broker-deletion entitlement. [7] [8] [10]
Open the New York privacy-rights tool. Compare the home-address laws, address confidentiality programs, consumer privacy rights and voter-record rules behind this page.
Related state references. New Jersey and Illinois. Return to the state directory.
Which sources were reviewed?
Checked October 24, 2026. Scheduled source review January 24, 2027. Each linked provision governs its own record channel and statutory conditions.