New York Laws
Article 6 - Department of State
108 - Address Confidentiality Program.

(a) "Victim of domestic violence" shall have the same meaning as is
ascribed to such term by section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social
services law.
(b) "Actual address" means the residential street address, school
address or work address of an individual, as specified on his or her
application to be a program participant under this section.
(c) "Program participant" means a person certified as a program
participant under this section.
(d) "Mail" means first class letters delivered via the United States
Postal Service, including priority, express and certified mail, and
excluding packages, parcels, periodicals and catalogues, unless they are
clearly identifiable as pharmaceuticals or clearly indicate that they
are sent by a government agency.
(e) "Substitute address" means the secretary's designated address for
the address confidentiality program.
(f) "Secretary" means the secretary of state.
(g) "Public record" means any information kept, held, filed, produced
or reproduced by, with or for an agency, in any physical form whatsoever
including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations,
memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms,
papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer
tapes or discs, rules, regulations or codes.
(h) "Process" means judicial process and all orders, demands, notices
or other papers required or permitted by law to be served on a program
participant.
(i) "Victim of a sexual offense" means a victim of any act
constituting an offense as defined under article one hundred thirty,
and/or sections 255.25, 255.26, and 255.27 of the penal law, including
threats or attempts to commit such offenses.
(j) "Victim of stalking" means a victim of any act constituting an
offense as defined under sections 120.45, 120.50, 120.55 and 120.60 of
the penal law.
(k) "Victim of human trafficking" means a victim of any act
constituting an offense as defined under section 135.35, 135.37, 230.34,
or 230.34-a of the penal law.
* (l) "Reproductive health care services provider, employee,
volunteer, or patient" means a person who obtains, provides, or assists,
at the request of another person, in obtaining or providing reproductive
health care services, or a person who owns or operates a reproductive
health care services facility.
* NB There are 2 par (l)'s
* (l) "Victim of kidnapping" means a victim of any act constituting an
offense as defined under sections 135.20 and 135.25 of the penal law.
* NB There are 2 par (l)'s
(m) "Reproductive health care services facility" includes a hospital,
an office operated by a licensed physician and surgeon, a licensed

clinic, or other licensed health care facility that provides
reproductive health care services and includes only the building or
structure in which the reproductive health care services are actually
provided.
(n) "Immediate family member" shall have the same meaning as defined
in subdivision eight of section two hundred thirty-eight of the public
health law.
2. Address confidentiality program; application; certification. (a) An
adult person, a parent or legal guardian acting on behalf of a minor, or
a legal guardian acting on behalf of an incapacitated person, may apply
to the secretary to have an address designated by the secretary to serve
as the person's address or address of the minor or incapacitated person
in lieu of the person's actual address. The secretary shall approve an
application if it is filed in the manner and on the form prescribed by
the secretary, and if it includes:
(i) a signed written statement affirmed by the applicant that:
(A) the applicant, or the minor or incapacitated person on whose
behalf the application is made, is a victim of domestic violence, victim
of human trafficking, victim of kidnapping, victim of a sexual offense,
victim of stalking, or a reproductive health care services provider,
employee, volunteer, patient, or an immediate family member of a
reproductive health care services provider;
(B) the applicant, or the minor or incapacitated person on whose
behalf the application is made, has left his or her residence because of
such violence or acts, provided, however, this clause shall not apply if
the applicant is a reproductive health care services provider, employee,
volunteer, patient, or an immediate family member of a reproductive
health care services provider;
(C) the applicant fears for his or her safety or his or her children's
safety, or the safety of the minor or incapacitated person on whose
behalf the application is made, or, in the case of a reproductive health
care services provider, employee, volunteer, or patient, the applicant
fears for his or her safety or the safety of an immediate family member;
and
(D) the parent or legal guardian applying on behalf of a minor or
incapacitated person has legal authority to act on the person's behalf;
(ii) a designation of the secretary as agent for purposes of service
of process and for the purpose of receipt of mail;
(iii) the mailing address where the applicant can be contacted by the
secretary and the telephone number or numbers where the applicant can be
called by the secretary;
(iv) the actual address or addresses that the applicant requests not
be disclosed because of the increased risk of domestic violence, a
sexual offense, stalking, physical injury or in the case of reproductive
health care services provider, employee, volunteer, patient, or an
immediate family member of a reproductive health care services provider,
other threats of violence; and
(v) the name of any person who resides with the applicant who also
needs to be a program participant in order to ensure the safety of the
applicant and, if the person named in the application is eighteen years
of age or older, the consent of such person to be a program participant
and designation by such person of the secretary as agent for purposes of
service of process and for the purpose of receipt of mail; and
(vi) the signature of the applicant and the name and signature of any
individual or representative of any office designated by the secretary
under subdivision three of this section who assisted in the preparation
of the application, and the date on which the applicant signed the
application.
(b) The secretary shall establish, distribute and make available a
form for the purpose of making applications pursuant to this section.
(c) Applications shall be filed with the office of the secretary.
(d) Upon receipt of a properly completed application, the secretary
shall certify the applicant as a program participant and shall serve as
the participant's agent for service of process and receipt of mail for
the duration of the term of certification.
(e) Participants shall be certified for four years following the date
of filing, unless the certification is withdrawn or cancelled before
that date. The secretary shall promulgate rules and regulations for
renewal of applications pursuant to this section.
3. Designation of agencies to assist applicants. The secretary shall
designate state, local or nonprofit agencies that provide counseling,
referral, shelter or other specialized services to victims of domestic
violence, victims of human trafficking, victims of kidnapping, victims
of a sexual offense, victims of stalking, and reproductive health care
services providers, employees, volunteers, patients, or immediate family
members of reproductive health care services providers to assist persons
applying to be program participants. Such persons providing assistance
shall be trained by the secretary. Any assistance and counseling
rendered by an officer of the secretary or his or her designees to
applicants shall in no way be construed as legal advice.
4. Use and acceptance of substitute address; mail forwarding. (a) A
program participant may request that state and local agencies use the
substitute address. When creating, modifying or maintaining a public
record, state and local agencies shall accept the substitute address
upon demonstration by a program participant of his or her certification
in the program, unless the secretary waives this requirement after
determining that:
(i) the agency has a bona fide statutory or administrative requirement
for the use of the participant's actual address which would otherwise be
confidential under this section; and
(ii) the agency has explained how its acceptance of the substitute
address will prevent the agency from meeting its obligations under the
law and why it cannot meet its statutory or administrative obligation by
a change in its internal procedures.
(b) Any agency receiving a waiver shall maintain the confidentiality
of the program participant's address by redacting the actual address
when the record is released to any person and shall not make the program
participant's actual address available for inspection or copying, except
under the following circumstances:
(i) there is a bona fide statutory or administrative requirement for
the communication of an actual address to another agency that has
received a waiver from the secretary, provided that each waiver
specifically authorizes such communication with the specified agency; or
(ii) if directed by a court order to a person identified in the order.
(c) Upon receipt by the secretary of a process or mail for a
participant, the office of the secretary shall immediately forward all
such process or mail to the appropriate program participants at the
address specified by the participant for that purpose, and shall record
the date of such forwarding. Service of process on a program
participant, a program participant's minor child, incapacitated person
or other adult member of the program participant's household shall be
complete when the secretary receives such process by mail or otherwise.
(d) A program participant may use the substitute address as his or her
work address.
(e) The secretary or any member of the department of state who
reasonably and in good faith handles any process or mail on behalf of a

participant in accordance with this section shall be immune from any
civil liability which might otherwise result by reason of such actions.
5. Cancellation of certification. (a) The secretary may cancel a
program participant's certification if, after the passage of fourteen
days:
(i) from the date of changing his or her name, the program participant
does not notify the secretary that he or she has obtained a name change;
however, the program participant may reapply under his or her new name;
(ii) from the date of changing his or her actual address, the program
participant fails to notify the secretary of the change of such address;
or
(iii) from the date the secretary first receives mail, forwarded to
the program participant's address, returned as non-deliverable.
(b) The secretary shall cancel certification of a program participant
who applies using false information.
(c) The secretary shall cancel certification of a program participant
if the participant's certification term has expired and certification
renewal has not been completed.
(d) The secretary shall send notice of cancellation to the program
participant. Notice of cancellation shall set out the reasons for
cancellation. The program participant shall have thirty days to appeal
the cancellation decision under procedures developed by the secretary.
(e) Program participants may withdraw from the program by giving the
secretary written notice of their withdrawal and his or her current
identification card. The secretary shall establish, by rule, a secure
procedure for ensuring that the request for withdrawal is legitimate.
(f) Any records or documents pertaining to a program participant shall
not be a public record and shall be retained and held confidential for a
period of three years after termination of certification and then
destroyed.
6. Disclosure of participant information prohibited; exceptions. (a)
The secretary shall not make a program participant's information, other
than the substitute address, available for inspection or copying, except
under any of the following circumstances:
(i) if requested by a law enforcement agency for a legitimate law
enforcement purpose as determined by the law enforcement agency; or
(ii) to a person identified in a court order, upon the secretary's
receipt of that court order which specifically orders the disclosure of
a particular program participant's address and the reasons stated
therefor.
(b) The secretary may verify the participation of a specific program
participant, in which case the secretary may only confirm information
supplied by the requester.
7. Rules and regulations. The secretary shall promulgate rules and
regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
8. Report to the legislature. The secretary shall submit to the
legislature, no later than February first of each year, a report that
includes for each county, the total number of applications received, the
total number of persons participating in the program established by this
section during the previous calendar year and the total number of pieces
of mail forwarded to program participants during the previous calendar
year.

Structure New York Laws