Elizabeth DelTorto Memorial Town Hall
If I or my staff can be of service, please do not hesitate to stop in at the first floor of Memorial Town Hall or contact us at (518) 783-2734. Duties of Colonie Town Clerk
Frequently Asked Questions
A couple who intends to be married in New York State must apply together in person for a marriage license to any town or city clerk in the state. Each applicant must furnish two forms of identification when applying for a license. According to Town of Colonie policy, only the following documents are acceptable: driver's license, certified birth certificate, passport, or baptismal record. In the event one of the parties is a not a citizen of the United States, the following identification will be accepted: passport, Green card, USA Resident Alien Card, work permit or naturalization papers. The application for a license must be signed both by the future bride and the groom in the presence of the Clerk. If both parties are eighteen (18) years of age
or older, no written parental or judicial consent is required. Certified
information regarding previous marriages must be furnished in the application
for a marriage license. This includes whether the former spouse or spouses
are living, and whether the applicants are divorced and if so, when,
where and against whom the divorce or divorces were granted. Only an
original or certified copy of the Decree of Divorce for each divorce
is accepted. Although the marriage license is issued immediately, the
marriage ceremony may not occur within twenty-four (24) hours from the
exact time that the license is issued and the document is then valid
for sixty (60) days after the twenty-four hour waiting period. The fee
for a marriage license is $40.00. How do I get a Certificate of Residency? To obtain a Certificate of Residency, the Clerk will need to see documentation from the applicant which would prove one year's residency in New York State and six month's residency in Albany County. We can only issue a certificate to Colonie residents. In addition, the applicant's signature must be witnessed and notarized. Usually, a drivers license will satisfy both of these requirements. However in the event that the applicant has moved, lived in a different county, or has been recently issued a new license, additional documentation will be needed. Examples of additional acceptable documentation would be dated first class mail sent to the applicant at their current address, a property deed or lease or a pay stub which lists the applicant's address. There is no fee to obtain a Certificate of Residency.
Currently, almost 6,000 canines are licensed in the Town of Colonie. However, before a license can be obtained or renewed, a current rabies vaccination must be proven. The Albany County Department of Health requires all dogs six months of age or older to be vaccinated for rabies. Having rabies information is crucial for the general public's well being. In addition, if the dog has been neutered or spayed, a certificate of neutering or spaying must also be presented in order to be eligible for a reduced licensing fee. Seniors (62 years of age or over) are entitled to have the local licensing fee waved which reduces the annual renewal fee by $3.50. The breakdown for dog licensing fees is as follows:
The Town Clerk's Office processes all new dog licenses and collects renewal fees. In the event an animal is adopted by means of the Mohawk-Hudson River Humane Society, that information is forwarded to the Clerk's office and then recorded on the Clerk's computer system. The actual annual renewal notices for a dog license is sent out on a monthly basis by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Dog owners who do not respond to the annual renewal notice will be contacted by the Clerk's Office. In the event there is no response from the dog's owner after several delinquency letters and follow-up phone calls, the names and addresses of these individuals are passed onto the Town's Animal Control Officers. The Animal Control Officers then make it a point to visit these residences. The animal's owner can be ticketed and/or fined for not complying with the Town's ordinances.
Both
the New York State Voter Registration Form and the Absentee Ballot Application
are available through the Town of Colonie Clerk's Office. The Voter
Registration Form is used when an individual needs to: register to vote,
change their name or address (if there is a change since the last time
they voted) or to enroll or change their enrollment in a particular
political party. This form can be either filled out at or forwarded
to the Clerk's Office or the Albany County Board of Elections (located at
32 North Russell Road If you want to vote in an election, this form needs to be received by the board of elections no later than twenty-five (25) days prior to the election in which you want to vote. Eligibility to vote will be based upon the date that the voter registration form was filed. In the event a person is already registered but will not be able to physically go to their preassigned polling place to vote in a primary or a general election, an Absentee Ballot Application can be utilized. Once filled out and returned in a timely fashion to either the Town Clerk or the Albany County Board of Elections, the individual will be subsequently sent a paper ballot and be given the opportunity to vote.
I have recently moved within the Town of Colonie, do I need to notify the Clerk's Office? Although the Clerk will not reissue you a new golf or Town Park pass, the address change will be entered into the computer system to ensure an up-to-date database in the Clerk's Office. In regards to the licensing of a canine, the Clerk's Office will forward the address change to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. 1. Residency proof (Drivers license or Non drivers ID) 2. Statement from physician stating type of permit required (temporary or permanent) and reason for permit. (Link to DMV for application http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us) . The New York State Department of Motor Vehicle has strongly recommended that the Colonie Town Clerk's Office require a new prescription each and every time a new handicap hanger is issued. In other words, beginning November 1, 2005, the Clerk's Office will no longer exchange a blue hanger for a blue hanger without a physician's prescription. How to Contact the Colonie
Town Clerk
URL: http://www.colonie.org/clerk |
In regards to licenses, the Town Clerk issues
many New York State licenses and permits including marriage, dog,
conservation (hunting and fishing), peddlers, bingo, going-out-of-business,
games of chance, and handicap parking. To Town residents, we issue
permits for use of the golf course, the Town park, the landfill (both
commercial and residential) and open container/special event.