Information for Agencies and Organizations

Executive Law § 108 requires all state and local government entities, including the Legislature and the Judiciary, to safeguard the locations of Address Confidentiality Program participants.

Government entities must use a participant’s substitute addresses when creating, modifying or maintaining government records in any form and cannot keep records that contain the participant’s current actual address.

Government agencies cannot refuse a request by an Address Confidentiality Program participant to use a substitute address unless they have received specific waivers from the Department of State.

The Secretary of State can authorize waivers to state and local government agencies that demonstrate a bona fide need for the actual addresses of Address Confidentiality participants that cannot be met through changes to the government agency’s internal procedures. The regulations governing this waiver process are codified at 19 NYCRR 134.8.

A request for a waiver must:

• identify the agency program or activity for which a waiver is sought
• describe how actual addresses are currently used in the administration of the program activity
• identify the statute or administrative rule that demonstrates the agency’s bona fide need for and authority to use the actual addresses of ACP participants
• explain how using an ACP substitute address will prevent the agency from meeting a statutory or administrative obligation
• explain why the agency cannot meet its statutory or administrative obligations by changing its internal procedures
• identify and describe the specific record or record series for which the waiver is requested
• identify the individual(s) who will have access to the record or record series that would contain actual address information.
• Describe how the confidentiality of the record or record series will be maintained
• certification by the head of the agency that the agency will maintain the confidentiality of actual address information collected and maintained pursuant to the requested waiver by redacting the actual address information from a record when it is released to any person and will not make the Program Participant’s actual address available unless authorized or required to do so pursuant to Executive Law § 108(4)(b).

A waiver application that is requesting authority to communicate to or receive communication from another agency or to the federal government of the actual addresses of participants must also:

• identify the agency or federal government agency with whom the actual addresses of program participants would be communicated;
• identify the statute or administrative rule that demonstrates the agency’s bona fide need for and authority to communicate the actual addresses of ACP participants with another agency
• explain how communicating an ACP substitute address instead of an actual address will prevent the agency from meeting a statutory or administrative obligation
• indicate the status of the other agency’s waiver application, if applicable and if known

The New York Secretary of State acts as the statutory agent for service of process for participants in the Address Confidentiality Program. Service of process is accepted pursuant to Executive Law §108. Please note that nothing in this section of law affects the right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.

To serve process on the New York Secretary of State as statutory agent of an Address Confidentiality Program participant, the Process Server will be required to:

• determine the program participant intended to be served;
• complete a Service of Process Cover Sheet. Check "other" in section 3 of the cover sheet and indicate that service is pursuant to Executive Law §108
• hand-deliver the two copies of the process being served (with the Service of Process Cover Sheet stapled thereto), and the $40 fee, to an authorized person at New York Department of State’s office at One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12231
• Process must be brought to the Customer Service Counter located on the 6th Floor.

Private businesses and nonprofits are not required by Executive Law § 108 to accept the ACP address, but it is the best practice to do so. Even if a real, actual address is required for service delivery, participants may feel safer using the PO box for mail. 

The ACP Office is happy to speak with any business or other organization that has questions about accepting an ACP address and can work with participants to send verification letters or affirm eligibility for location requirements.