2017 New York Laws
EXC - Executive
Article 6 - Department of State
108 - Address Confidentiality Program.

 108. Address confidentiality program. There is created in the office
  of  the  secretary  of  state  a  program  to  be  known as the "address
  confidentiality program" to protect  victims  of  domestic  violence  by
  authorizing  the  use of designated addresses for such victims and their
  minor children. The program shall be administered by  the  secretary  of
  state.
1.  Definitions.  For the purposes of this section the following words
  shall,  unless  the  context  requires  otherwise,  have  the  following
  meanings:
(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.
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;
(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;
(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; 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; 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  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.