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Suffolk County, NY Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Suffolk County Surrogate's Court, one of the 62 county Surrogate's Courts in New York; there is no separate probate court, register of wills, or probate division of another court |
| Courthouse | Surrogate's Court Building, 320 Center Drive, Riverhead, NY 11901; one courthouse serves the entire county |
| Filing office | The office of the Chief Clerk of the Surrogate's Court, at 320 Center Drive, Riverhead |
| Phone | (631) 852-1745 (Suffolk County Surrogate's Court) |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; closed weekends and state holidays |
| Filing fee | Set by statute on a sliding scale keyed to the value of the estate, from $45 for an estate under $10,000 to $1,250 for an estate of $500,000 or more; $1 for a small estate handled by voluntary administration under SCPA Article 13 (SCPA 1304). Uniform in every county (SCPA 2402, uniform statewide, verified July 2026) |
| Local forms | New York uses one statewide set of official Surrogate's Court forms in every county, including Form P-1 (Petition for Probate) and Form A-1 (Petition for Letters of Administration); the small estate document is the Affidavit of Voluntary Administration. There is no Suffolk County only form set |
| E-filing | Mandatory through NYSCEF (New York State Courts Electronic Filing) for all new probate, administration, and accounting or miscellaneous proceedings and all related and subsequent matters, including small estates, commenced on or after January 24, 2018; guardianship may be e-filed consensually. Attorneys must e-file (an attorney may opt out for good cause or lack of equipment); a self-represented filer is exempt and may e-file, file on paper at the counter, or file by mail. NYSCEF adds no service fee here |
| Case search | WebSurrogate, the statewide Surrogate's Court case search at websurrogates.nycourts.gov (coverage varies by county); e-filed cases also appear in the NYSCEF case search at iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/CaseSearch |
| Remote appearance | Not published for Suffolk County; confirm the format for any appearance with the assigned Surrogate's part before the return date |
| Website | https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/suffolk-county-surrogates-court-0 |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The most common Suffolk County misstep is filing before you know what the estate holds and which proceeding fits. New York has three ordinary paths: a probate proceeding when there is a will (Surrogate's Court Procedure Act, SCPA, Article 14), an administration proceeding when there is no will (SCPA Article 10), and voluntary administration for a qualifying small estate (SCPA Article 13, SCPA 1301). Which one applies turns on whether there is a will and on the value and type of the assets; the statewide thresholds are covered on the New York state page. A Long Island home held jointly with a spouse or a beneficiary-designated account often passes outside the estate, so the estate that actually goes through the Surrogate's Court can be smaller than the family expects.
Before you file, identify every bank, credit-union, brokerage, and retirement account, life-insurance policy, and parcel of Suffolk County real estate, including any waterfront, seasonal, or East End property, along with every debt, and identify each distributee (the decedent's heirs at law) by name. Only then can you pick the right proceeding, calculate the correct filing fee, and decide whether counsel is needed. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Suffolk County Surrogate's Court serves all of Suffolk County, the eastern county of Long Island, and it is the only Surrogate's Court for the county. Every Suffolk probate and administration is filed here, at the office of the Chief Clerk of the Surrogate's Court in the Surrogate's Court Building, 320 Center Drive, Riverhead. The county's ten towns, Babylon, Brookhaven, East Hampton, Huntington, Islip, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Smithtown, Southampton, and Southold, along with their villages, all file at this one courthouse, so a family in a western town such as Huntington or Babylon files in Riverhead just as an East End family does. Because filing is mandatory through NYSCEF for most proceedings, much of that filing is done electronically rather than by traveling to Riverhead.
Under New York's venue rule, the proper county is the one where the decedent was domiciled at death (SCPA 205); for a decedent who was not a New York domiciliary but left property in the state, venue lies where the property is located (SCPA 206), which is the basis for an ancillary proceeding when a will has already been admitted to probate in the decedent's home state. The Suffolk County Surrogate's Court accepts filings for decedents who lived in Suffolk County, or who left property or a cause of action here, so the estate of a Suffolk resident, or one holding Suffolk real property, is filed at this courthouse. When you file, select Suffolk County as the venue.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm venue. The Suffolk County Surrogate's Court is the right court when the decedent was domiciled in Suffolk County at death (SCPA 205). The court accepts filings only for decedents who lived in Suffolk County or who left property or a cause of action here; an out-of-state will already admitted elsewhere is handled by an ancillary proceeding (SCPA 206).
- Search first, then choose the proceeding and form. Before you enter anything, run an inquiry on the decedent's last name to see whether a file is already open, because the court's numbering system makes a search by file number alone unreliable. With a will, the named executor files Form P-1, the petition for probate, and the court issues Letters Testamentary (SCPA Article 14). With no will, a distributee files Form A-1, the petition for letters of administration, and the court issues Letters of Administration to the administrator; priority to serve is set by SCPA 1001 (SCPA Article 10). A qualifying small estate uses the Affidavit of Voluntary Administration (SCPA Article 13, SCPA 1301). The statewide thresholds are on the New York state page.
- Gather what the court needs: the original will (if any), a certified copy of the death certificate, a list of the estate's assets and debts, and the names and addresses of the distributees. Notice is given either by their signed waivers and consents or by a citation the court issues.
- File with the Surrogate's Court. Suffolk County is a mandatory NYSCEF court for probate, administration, and accounting or miscellaneous proceedings and related matters, including small estates, so an attorney must e-file through NYSCEF unless exempt. A self-represented filer is exempt and may e-file, file on paper at the counter at 320 Center Drive, Riverhead, or file by mail. When you e-file, the original will must be scanned without being unstapled and then delivered to the court within two business days, and a certified copy of the death certificate must be filed within two business days.
- Pay the filing fee. The fee is set by statute on a sliding scale keyed to the estate's value, from $45 for an estate under $10,000 to $1,250 for an estate of $500,000 or more; a small estate handled by voluntary administration is $1 (SCPA 2402, uniform statewide, verified July 2026; the $1 small estate fee is set by SCPA 1304). Pay by credit card through NYSCEF, which adds no service fee here, or at the court; a filing paid at the court is not complete until payment is received, and the court will delete an e-filing that is not paid within two business days.
- Give notice to the distributees. File their signed waivers and consents, or submit a proposed citation through NYSCEF; the court completes the citation and posts it to NYSCEF, and you then print it and serve it in accordance with the SCPA, with a Notice of Commencement of a proceeding subject to mandatory e-filing.
- Attend if a hearing is set. An uncontested probate or administration is often decided on the papers; a contested matter, such as an objection to probate (SCPA 1410), is heard by the Surrogate. Confirm the return date and format with the assigned part.
- Receive authority. The court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will), Letters of Administration (no will), or Letters of Voluntary Administration (small estate). A certified copy of the letters is the proof banks and transfer agents rely on. Because letters and certificates are returned by mail, provide a self-addressed stamped envelope with adequate postage when you request them.
- Administer and close. Collect the assets, address creditor claims (a fiduciary who distributes more than seven months after letters were issued is protected against claims that were not presented within that seven-month window (SCPA 1802)), account to the interested parties, and distribute. An accounting proceeding is also filed through NYSCEF.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Suffolk County
New York uses one statewide set of official Surrogate's Court forms, and the same forms are filed in Suffolk County as in every other county's Surrogate's Court; there is no separate Suffolk County form set. The load-bearing filings are Form P-1, the Petition for Probate, used when there is a will, and Form A-1, the Petition for Letters of Administration, used when there is no will. A qualifying small estate is filed on the Affidavit of Voluntary Administration, also called the small estate affidavit. Common companions include the notice of probate, waivers and consents, and the affidavits of attesting witnesses.
The official forms are published on the statewide Surrogate's Court forms hub at nycourts.gov/surrogates-court-forms, and the Suffolk County Surrogate's Court page links to its own protocols and forms and to the tax forms used for ancillary proceedings. Self-represented filers can also use the New York CourtHelp Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Form programs; the Small Estate DIY program builds a completed Affidavit of Voluntary Administration for a qualifying estate.
In Suffolk County these forms are filed through NYSCEF, which is mandatory for attorneys and optional for self-represented filers, or on paper at the counter in Riverhead or by mail. The original will is not left to an upload alone: if you e-file, scan the will without unstapling it and deliver the original paper will to the court within two business days.
Local nuance
Suffolk County-specific considerations
E-filing is mandatory, not optional, for most proceedings. NYSCEF e-filing in the Suffolk County Surrogate's Court is mandatory, not consensual, for all new probate, administration, and accounting or miscellaneous proceedings and their related and subsequent matters, including small estates and petitions to examine a safe-deposit box, commenced on or after January 24, 2018. Guardianship proceedings may be e-filed on a consensual basis. An attorney must e-file unless the court grants an exemption for good cause or the attorney certifies a lack of the equipment or knowledge to e-file; an unrepresented (self-represented) filer is exempt and may e-file, file at the counter, or file by mail.
One courthouse in Riverhead for the whole county. Suffolk County has a single Surrogate's Court, in the Surrogate's Court Building at 320 Center Drive in Riverhead, the county seat on the East End. Residents of the western towns, such as Babylon, Huntington, and Islip, file in the same Riverhead courthouse as East End families. Because most filing is done through NYSCEF, and paper filings can be mailed, a family usually does not have to drive to Riverhead to open an estate.
Original wills and death certificates travel on paper. Even when a proceeding is e-filed, the original will must be scanned without being unstapled and then delivered to the court within two business days, and a certified copy of the death certificate must be filed within two business days. Court-issued letters and certificates are returned by mail, so the court requires a self-addressed stamped envelope with adequate postage (at least two ounces) for the return of any requested documents.
Search the name before opening a matter. Before entering any information for a new filing, search the decedent's last name with the first initial to check whether a file is already open, because the court's numbering system makes a search by file number alone unreliable, and contact the court to learn whether another will for the decedent is on file, for example one left for safekeeping. The court asks filers not to telephone simply to ask whether a proceeding has already been filed.
No extra NYSCEF fee, but pay to complete the filing. The statutory filing fee is the same whether you file on paper or through NYSCEF; the court charges no additional fee to use the NYSCEF system. A filing is not complete until the fee is paid, and the court will delete an e-filing that is not paid within two business days, so pay by credit card at the time of e-filing or arrange payment at the court promptly.
Recent updates
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Suffolk County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | A Suffolk County home held by the spouses jointly with right of survivorship, or as tenants by the entirety, generally passes to the surviving spouse outside the estate; the survivor records or presents the death certificate to transfer title. Accounts and property in the decedent's sole name may still need a probate proceeding (Form P-1) if there is a will, or an administration proceeding (Form A-1) if there is not, filed with the Suffolk County Surrogate's Court, through NYSCEF if a lawyer files. | Asset discovery to separate what passed outside the estate from what did not. Packet generation for the P-1 or A-1 petition and the notice and consent forms, formatted for NYSCEF. A vetted Suffolk County probate attorney if the estate is contested or complex. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent was domiciled in Suffolk County and left a qualifying small estate of limited personal property, the child can use voluntary administration (SCPA Article 13, SCPA 1301) on the Affidavit of Voluntary Administration for a $1 filing fee (verified July 2026), and the CourtHelp DIY Small Estate program builds the form. Because Suffolk is a mandatory NYSCEF county, the child can e-file from out of state without traveling to Riverhead; a self-represented filer may also file by mail. A larger estate is filed as an administration proceeding (Form A-1). | Asset discovery to confirm the estate fits the small estate path and holds no solely owned real property. Packet generation for the Affidavit of Voluntary Administration or the A-1 petition, formatted for NYSCEF. Attorney referral if the estate turns out to be larger or contested. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | An administration proceeding at the Suffolk County Surrogate's Court. Because there is no will, the parent petitions for letters of administration (Form A-1), with priority among distributees set by SCPA 1001, and the court issues Letters of Administration. The administrator then obtains the authority needed to sell the child's Suffolk County real property before the deed can transfer, and a contested step is heard by the Surrogate. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts and property. Packet generation for the administration petition and the sale papers. A vetted Suffolk County probate attorney to run the administration and any contested step. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Suffolk County Surrogate's Court (nycourts.gov/courts/suffolk-county-surrogates-court-0), (631) 852-1745 | The court's own page: address, hours, the Surrogate's Court protocols and forms, the process calendar, WebSurrogate, and how to order records |
| NYSCEF E-filing Resource Center (646) 386-3033, [email protected] | Help registering for and using NYSCEF, the mandatory e-filing system for Suffolk County Surrogate's Court proceedings |
| New York CourtHelp, When Someone Dies (nycourts.gov/help/when-someone-dies) | Plain-language statewide overviews of probate, administration, and small estates |
| New York CourtHelp DIY Small Estate program (nycourts.gov/courthelp/diy/smallestate.shtml) | A free guided program that builds a completed Affidavit of Voluntary Administration for a qualifying small estate |
| Statewide Surrogate's Court forms (nycourts.gov/surrogates-court-forms) | The official statewide forms, including Form P-1 and Form A-1 |
| WebSurrogate (websurrogates.nycourts.gov) | The statewide Surrogate's Court public case search; coverage varies by county |
| Legal Services of Long Island (legalservicesli.org, formerly Nassau Suffolk Law Services) | Free civil legal help for income-eligible Long Island residents, from offices in Hempstead, Islandia, and Riverhead |
| Suffolk County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service (scba.org) | Referrals to Suffolk County attorneys, including those handling probate and estate matters |
| LawHelpNY (lawhelpny.org) | Self-help legal information and routing to legal aid statewide |
When to hire an attorney
New York does not require an attorney to file a probate or administration proceeding, and many straightforward Suffolk County estates are handled with the statewide forms, the CourtHelp overviews, and the DIY Small Estate program. Counsel makes sense when the will is contested or an interested party files objections to probate (SCPA 1410); when the estate is large, taxable, or holds a business interest or out-of-state property; when Suffolk County real property, including waterfront or East End property, must be sold; when the heirs are unknown or hard to prove and a kinship question arises; or when the fiduciary faces a dispute over accounting or removal. An attorney also handles the mandatory NYSCEF e-filing that applies to Suffolk proceedings. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Suffolk County probate attorney when the situation calls for counsel.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit-union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Suffolk County real estate, business interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value for estate settlement and can pick the right New York proceeding before you file.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the Suffolk County filing: the petition for probate (Form P-1) or letters of administration (Form A-1), or the Affidavit of Voluntary Administration for a small estate, with the notice and consent forms, formatted for NYSCEF or for the counter at 320 Center Drive in Riverhead.
Find a local probate attorney. When an estate is contested, taxable, or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Suffolk County probate attorney to file and appear.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file probate in Suffolk County?
With the Suffolk County Surrogate's Court, at the office of the Chief Clerk in the Surrogate's Court Building, 320 Center Drive, Riverhead, NY 11901. There is one Surrogate's Court for the whole county. An attorney files through NYSCEF, which is mandatory; a self-represented filer may e-file, file on paper at the counter, or file by mail.
Is e-filing required in the Suffolk County Surrogate's Court?
Yes for attorneys. NYSCEF e-filing is mandatory in Suffolk County for all new probate, administration, and accounting or miscellaneous proceedings and their related and subsequent matters, including small estates, commenced on or after January 24, 2018; guardianship may be e-filed consensually. An attorney may opt out only for good cause or a certified lack of equipment or knowledge. A self-represented filer is exempt and may e-file, file at the counter, or file by mail.
How much does it cost to file probate in Suffolk County?
The filing fee is set by statute on a sliding scale keyed to the value of the estate, from $45 for an estate under $10,000 to $1,250 for an estate of $500,000 or more, and it is the same in every county (SCPA 2402, verified July 2026). A small estate handled by voluntary administration is $1 (SCPA 1304). The court charges no additional fee to file through NYSCEF.
Do I have to travel to Riverhead for a Suffolk County probate?
Often no. Because Suffolk County is a mandatory NYSCEF county, most filings and correspondence can be handled electronically, and a self-represented filer may mail paper filings to the court at 320 Center Drive, Riverhead, NY 11901. If a hearing is scheduled, confirm the return date and whether it can be handled remotely with the assigned part.
How do I look up a Suffolk County probate case?
Use WebSurrogate, the statewide Surrogate's Court case search at websurrogates.nycourts.gov, though coverage varies by county. E-filed cases also appear in the NYSCEF case search at iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/CaseSearch. To order a certified record, follow the court's how-to-order-records instructions on its Surrogate's Court page.
What forms do I use for Suffolk County probate?
The official statewide Surrogate's Court forms, the same set used in every county. The core filings are Form P-1 (Petition for Probate) when there is a will and Form A-1 (Petition for Letters of Administration) when there is not, and the Affidavit of Voluntary Administration for a small estate. They are on the statewide forms hub at nycourts.gov/surrogates-court-forms, and the CourtHelp DIY Small Estate program builds the small estate affidavit.
How do I file the original will in Suffolk County?
The original will is filed with the Surrogate's Court. If you e-file the proceeding through NYSCEF, scan the will without unstapling it and deliver the original paper will to the court within two business days; a certified copy of the death certificate must also be filed within two business days. Before opening a matter, search the decedent's last name in the court's records so you do not duplicate an open file, and contact the court to learn whether another will is on file for safekeeping.
How do I get my letters and certificates back from the court?
The Suffolk County Surrogate's Court returns letters and certificates, including Letters Testamentary and Letters of Administration, by mail, so it requires a self-addressed stamped envelope with adequate postage (at least two ounces) for the return of any requested documents. When you request certificates in an e-filed proceeding, pay for them at the time of the request through NYSCEF rather than choosing to pay at the court.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.