New York City

The Bronx, New York City

The Bronx is one of New York City's five boroughs, home to about 1.5 million people — a city's worth of people inside the city. People here find home by neighborhood, not by county name.

Type: Borough
Borough of: New York City
Region: New York City
Population (2020): 1,472,654

How this borough works

The city, county, and neighborhood maps do different jobs.

New York City serves all five boroughs, but the borough and district lines still matter. These are the three splits that clear up most local searches.

Property and building work runs through city agencies

There is no separate The Bronx city hall, so property paperwork runs through two citywide agencies: NYC Finance for property assessment, tax class, bills, and exemptions, and NYC Buildings for permits, violations, and certificates of occupancy. They keep two different records, even when both describe the same address.

NYC property records and taxes NYC building records and permits

The borough becomes a county for courts and some records

The Bronx corresponds to Bronx County. That county name matters for Surrogate's Court, some court filings, and parts of the records system. It does not create a separate county government with its own everyday service departments.

Estate and Surrogate's Court guide New York vital-records guide

Neighborhood, community district, and Council district are different maps

A neighborhood name is useful for finding your way, but it is not a government boundary. Community boards advise on land use, local needs, and budget priorities. Council districts elect lawmakers. One address can carry all three labels.

NYC community districts NYC neighborhood directory Find a City Council district

Ordinary example

A The Bronx owner is checking one apartment

They use NYC Finance for the tax class and bill, NYC Buildings for permits and violations, and the address lookup for the community board. If an estate case opens, the filing follows Bronx County Surrogate's Court. The same address uses different offices for different records.

Property tax snapshot

A different system: New York City's four classes

New York City uses a separate 4-class property-tax system run by the NYC Department of Finance — not the upstate equalization-rate system. A 1–3 family home, and many small condos, are Class 1, assessed at 6% of market value with annual caps; co-ops, larger condos, and rentals usually use the Class 2 system. The class tax rate is set each year by the city.

NYC property-tax guide ->

Who handles this here

Start at the counter that owns the record.

New York divides everyday work among municipal, county, state, court, and City offices. This is the routing map. Confirm current forms, fees, hours, and deadlines on the official office page before acting.

Assessment, exemptions, and grievance

Assessment guide

This is the office that owns the assessed-value record and local exemption file.

NYC Department of Finance Assessments

The Department of Finance values property for all five boroughs. Assessment challenges use the City's Department of Finance and Tax Commission calendar, not the ordinary town grievance route.

Clerk, licenses, and municipal records

Marriage guide

Use the clerk for the records and licenses this government actually keeps. A village clerk does not automatically own the town's marriage-license work.

Office of the New York City Clerk

The City Clerk runs the Marriage Bureau and other City Clerk services across the five boroughs. Other records can belong to a different City or county office.

Building, zoning, and land use

Project guide

Start here for local permits, inspections, zoning, and code questions. County health, wetlands, shoreline, or park review can still add another office.

NYC Department of Buildings - Property or Business Owner

Use the Department of Buildings route for permits, inspections, violations, certificates of occupancy, and project requirements. Landmark or other agency review can still apply.

Property-tax bills and payments

Match the office to the bill in hand. Village, town or city, county, and school taxes do not always use the same collector.

NYC Department of Finance - Property Tax Bills and Payments

This citywide page routes property-account lookup, bills, payments, due dates, credits, and billing help for all five boroughs.

The listed official office routes were individually reviewed, most recently on July 14, 2026. Confirm current forms, fees, hours, and deadlines with the office before acting.

Birth and death certificates

NYC Health

Events in the five boroughs use NYC Health records, not the state certificate-ordering lane used for most of the rest of New York.

Probate, administration, and small estates

Bronx County Surrogate's Court

Each borough has a county Surrogate's Court. The filing normally follows the county where the person was domiciled.

More local service routes

Starting a business or using a business name

NYC Business and state filing offices

Use the City activity checklist beside the state entity, tax, and insurance steps.

Public school enrollment after a move

NYC Public Schools