Erie County Traffic Court Records Search

Erie County traffic court records cover the largest county in western New York, home to Buffalo and dozens of surrounding towns and villages. The county has 29 town courts and 15 village courts that handle traffic infractions, along with Buffalo City Court and several other city courts. Erie County is part of the 8th Judicial District. The primary courthouse is at 92 Franklin Street in Buffalo. You can search court records online through the NYSCEF system and the Erie County Clerk's website, though you may need to check both to get a complete picture since e-filed and paper-filed cases are stored in different systems.

Erie Traffic Court Records

Erie County moved to mandatory e-filing through NYSCEF on October 1, 2013. Since then, most Supreme Court filings go through the electronic system. Here is the tricky part -- cases started by e-filing after April 3, 2012 are only available on the NYSCEF website. They are no longer on the Erie County Clerk's site. If you need the full picture of a case, you have to search both systems.

As of September 1, 2017, e-filed documents in Erie County became available right away for public viewing online. Before that date, documents were hidden until an Index Number was issued. Now, all unsealed documents are visible to the public through NYSCEF unless a court order seals them. This is a big change that makes records more accessible than they used to be.

The Erie County Clerk court records page explains the e-filing system and how to search for records across both platforms.

This page covers the dual search process and has links to both the county and state filing systems.

Traffic Court Records in Erie County

Traffic Court in Erie County handles moving violations and certain misdemeanor driving offenses. Drivers must respond to citations by the deadline on the ticket. If you fail to respond, you risk a license suspension. The types of cases that come through traffic court include speeding tickets, DWI offenses, license suspensions, and parking violations.

The main Erie County courthouse is at 92 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, near Niagara Square. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The main phone number is 716-845-9301. The building -- known as Erie County Hall -- houses the Criminal Division, Civil Division, Small Claims Court, and Traffic Court. Each division handles different types of cases.

Erie County has an online payment portal through the NYS Unified Court System. You can pay fines and court costs without going to the courthouse. To use it, enter your docket number or citation number, check the case details, submit payment with a credit or debit card, and save your receipt. Not every court in the county uses this system, so check with the specific court first.

Erie Traffic Court Records

Erie County has 29 town courts and 15 village courts. These are not courts of record, which means their files are not part of the county clerk's system. They handle traffic infractions, local ordinance violations, misdemeanor arraignments, small claims up to $3,000, civil matters up to $3,000, and preliminary hearings in felony cases. When you get a traffic ticket outside of Buffalo, it most likely goes to one of these courts.

Some of the busier town courts include Amherst Town Court at 400 John James Audubon Parkway (716-689-4200), Tonawanda Town Court at 1835 Sheridan Drive (716-876-5536), and West Seneca Town Court at 1250 Union Road (716-674-5600). Williamsville Village Court is at 5565 Main Street (716-632-0450). Alden Town Court, Akron Village Court, and many others handle traffic cases throughout the county.

The Erie County court records search page provides additional details on how to access records from different courts, along with record retention policies.

Civil case files are kept for 25 years after disposition. Misdemeanor cases are kept for 10 years. Judgment records are permanent.

How to Search NYSCEF

The NYSCEF Name Search tool lets you find civil case records filed in Erie County. You can search by party name or attorney name at the courts portal. Enter the first and last name of the person, or at least 2 characters of a company name, and pick Erie County from the dropdown. Results show the case index number, case name, filing date, case status, and court location.

To use e-filing yourself, you need to create a NYSCEF account, pick Erie County and the case type, upload your filing documents in PDF format, pay the filing fees online, and wait for a confirmation. Not all case types qualify for e-filing -- some criminal and Family Court matters still require paper filings. The Electronic Document Delivery System (EDDS) also lets you submit documents to city courts in the 8th Judicial District as of April 1, 2023.

The Erie County Clerk's Office is at 92 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY 14202. Phone is 716-858-8785. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Family Court is at 1 Niagara Plaza, Buffalo, NY 14202 (716-845-7400). Surrogate's Court is on the 2nd floor at 92 Franklin Street (716-845-2500).

Cities in Erie County

Erie County includes Buffalo and several other communities with their own courts and traffic procedures.

Nearby Counties

Erie County sits at the western edge of New York State, bordering several counties and Canada to the north.