What ACRIS Alerts Actually Cover (And What They Don't)

What Is ACRIS?

ACRIS — the Automated City Register Information System — is the New York City database that records documents affecting real property in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. (Staten Island uses the Richmond County Clerk’s office separately.)

Every time a deed, mortgage, lien, or other instrument is recorded against a property, that transaction becomes a public record in ACRIS. Anyone can search it online. AcrisWatch monitors it on your behalf and notifies you when something new is filed.

Document Types We Watch For

ACRIS records hundreds of document types. AcrisWatch specifically flags:

Urgent — Review Immediately

• Deeds — Any conveyance of ownership, including executor deeds, referee’s deeds, and deeds in lieu of foreclosure.
• Lis Pendens — A legal notice that a lawsuit affecting the property has been filed. Commonly precedes foreclosure.
• Foreclosure-related documents — Notices of pendency, judgment of foreclosure, etc.

Review — Understand What Filed

• Mortgages — A new lien against your property securing a loan.
• Liens — Mechanic’s liens, tax liens, environmental liens, judgment liens.
• UCC Filings — Uniform Commercial Code filings, sometimes attached to commercial properties.
• Assignments and assumptions — Transfer of an existing mortgage or agreement to another party.

Informational

• Satisfactions and cancellations — A lender confirming a mortgage or lien has been paid off.
• Easements and covenants — Restrictions or rights affecting use of the property.
• Tax-related documents — Transfer tax returns and related filings.

What AcrisWatch Does NOT Cover

Being clear about limitations is important:

• We don’t monitor deeds that were never recorded. Deed theft schemes sometimes involve forged documents. If a document is never officially recorded, we can’t alert you to it. However, most deed theft schemes do involve recording, which is what we catch.
• We don’t monitor Staten Island properties. Staten Island property records are maintained by the Richmond County Clerk, not ACRIS.
• We don’t monitor commercial or industrial zoning changes. ACRIS tracks legal documents, not zoning or permit activity.
• We’re not a substitute for title insurance. Title insurance protects you from past defects in title; AcrisWatch protects you from new filings going forward.
• Alerts are for information only. AcrisWatch does not provide legal advice. If you see an unexpected filing, consult a licensed real estate attorney.

How Quickly Do Alerts Arrive?

AcrisWatch checks ACRIS regularly throughout each day. When a new document is indexed, we typically alert you within a few hours of it appearing in the public record. This is significantly faster than relying on annual title searches or waiting to notice problems on your own.

What Should I Do With an Alert?

1. Read the summary. The alert will tell you the document type, recording date, and any parties listed.
2. Look at the actual document. We include a direct link to the ACRIS record so you can review the full filing.
3. If something looks wrong, act fast. Contact a real estate attorney immediately. Many deed theft remedies are more available the faster you act.
4. If you recognize it, mark it reviewed. Routine filings like satisfaction of mortgage confirmations can be marked reviewed and closed.

If you have questions about a specific alert, contact us through the app and we’ll help you understand what you’re looking at.