N.Y. MIL Law § 250

§ 250. Recording certificates of honorable discharge. Any certificate\nissued after April sixth, nineteen hundred seventeen, of the honorable\nseparation from or service in the armed forces of the United States of\nany veteran, may be recorded in any one county, in the office of the\ncounty clerk, and when so recorded shall constitute notice to all public\nofficials of the facts set forth therein. It shall be the duty of the\ncounty clerk to record the certificate upon presentation thereof without\nthe payment of any fee. For any purpose for which the original\ncertificate may be required in the state of New York, a certified copy\nof the record shall be deemed sufficient and shall be accepted in lieu\nthereof. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of law, it shall be\nthe duty of the county clerk of each county, to furnish without charge\nto any veteran, or parent, spouse, dependent or child of the veteran, a\ncertified copy of the certificate of the veteran so recorded in the\noffice of the county clerk. No filed certificate or any information\ncontained therein, shall be disclosed to any person except the veteran\nor parent, spouse, dependent or child of the veteran, representative of\nthe estate of the deceased veteran or a public official, acting within\nthe scope of his or her employment, unless such disclosure is authorized\nin writing by the veteran. The provisions of this section also apply to\nthe counties within the city of New York.\n