Publications Library

The Office of the New York State Attorney General offers informational publications on a variety of issues important to New Yorkers. You can download copies by clicking on the links below. You can also request publications in print. In addition, you can request multiple copies or large-print format. There is no charge for this service.

How to order:

The most convenient way to order is by using our publications order form:

1. Be sure to provide a street address for multiple copies. We cannot deliver packages to post office boxes.
2. Indicate the quantity of each item being requested.
3. In the comments section, let us know if you need large-print materials or if you wish to receive the material by a specific date.

Note: It may take as long as four to six weeks to receive some publications. Please call or email if you have any questions.

Autos

Lemon law brochure

This publication provides information about New York’s “Lemon Laws,” which provide legal remedies for buyers of new and used cars that don’t conform to warranties.

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Additional languages: Spanish

Buying a car

This publication offers advice on researching vehicles, choosing a dealer, and knowing what to look for in a contract. 

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Additional languages: Arabic  |  Bengali  |  Chinese  |  Haitian Creole  |  Italian  |  Korean  |  Polish  |  Russian  |  Spanish  |  Yiddish

Charitable giving

Tips on charitable giving

This publication provides tips on how to donate to charity safely and wisely.

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Charitable organizations
 

Guidance for charities on management of endowment funds

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Dissolution of not-for-profit corporations with assets

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Dissolution of not-for-profit corporations without assets

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Forming and changing a not-for-profit corporation

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Internal controls

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Mergers and consolidations

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Religious corporations: sales and other disposition of assets

A guide assists religious corporations and the lawyers who represent them in seeking approval of the Attorney General or the Court for sales, mortgages, and leases of their real property pursuant to Religious Corporations Law.

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Right from the start — responsibilities of directors of not-for-profit corporations

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Sales and other dispositions of assets

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Hiring a professional fundraiser

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Civil rights and special needs

Equal pay

This brochure details your rights and helpful resources to ensure that you are paid fairly and equitably.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Italian | Haitian Creole | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish

Source-of-income discrimination

This brochure describes laws in some New York communities against discriminatory housing practices targeting those whose lawful incomes are derived from lawful sources other than wages.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Italian | Haitian Creole | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Hate crimes

This publication details the ways that you can protect yourself and others if you experience a hate crime.

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Marijuana legalization and record expungement

These detailed instructions provide information on how you can expunge marijuana-related convictions from your criminal record.

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Language access

This brochure discusses laws and regulations that ensure access to information and services, regardless of an individual's primary language or hearing impairment.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Religious rights in the workplace

This publication describes the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers in accommodating religious needs.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Fair housing

This publication discusses laws concerning discrimination in the rental, sale, or financing of homes.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Employment discrimination

This document discusses laws concerning discrimination in the workplace and possible actions for employees who face it.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Service animals brochure

This brochure discusses the laws that protect individuals who rely upon service animals, particularly in public accommodations and housing.

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Sexual harassment in the workplace

This publication explains what sexual harassment is, discusses the steps a victim of sexual harassment can take, and reminds the reader that retaliation for a sexual-harassment complaint is discriminatory and therefore illegal.

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Additional languages: Spanish

Human trafficking

This publication details how to identify the signs of human trafficking and find help for yourself or someone else victimized by this crime.

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Consumer fraud

Deed theft

This publication provides tips on how to avoid deed theft and similar scams and keep possession of your home in safe hands.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Spanish | Russian | Yiddish

Telephone scams

Scammers use both live and robo calls to trick victims. Here are tips on how to avoid the scam.

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Additional languages: Chinese | Spanish

Consumer tips
 

IRS scams

This brochure includes tips to avoid being scammed by con artists pretending to represent the Internal Revenue Service.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Spanish | Russian | Yiddish

Payday loans

Find information on payday loans, and other types of short-term, high-interest loans, and learn how to stay out of debt and avoid scams.

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Additional languages: Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Korean | Spanish | Russian

Savvy consumers

This publication offers tips on making smart purchases and avoiding bad deals.

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Additional languages: Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Korean | Spanish | Russian

Summer scams

Warm weather can bring out the scammers. This publication describes how to spot some common scams.

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After the storm

This document offers tips for dealing with repair contractors and avoiding price gouging in the wake of damaging storms.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Debt: Managing the overload

This publication includes information about dealing with debt collectors, and seeking help from credit counseling agencies.

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Additional languages: Spanish

Protect your identity

This publication includes an explanation of what exactly identity theft is and how it works, along with a series of key precautionary tips for consumers, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the utmost reasonable privacy of personal information and monitoring credit reports.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Identity theft kit

Straightforward directions describe immediate steps to take if your identity or other personal information has been stolen.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish

Low-cost banking

This brochure discusses low-cost services that banks must provide consumers, as well as other options like prepaid debit cards.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Do your homework before hiring a home-improvement contractor

This brochure contains tips and other information you should consult before hiring a home-improvement contractor, as well as how to avoid scams and get your money's worth.

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Additional languages: Spanish

Crime & safety

Crime Victims' Bill of Rights

This page provides a summary of victims' rights, discussing victims' right to know, victim involvement, making victims whole, protection for crime victims, and help for victims.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Spanish | Russian | Yiddish

Environmental

Going solar: tips for homeowners

This brochure describes some common options and issues to consider for homeowners interested in installing solar panels.

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Lead paint poisoning

This publication offers tips for avoiding and testing for lead paint poisoning, as well as a discussion of consumer rights when renting, owning, and improving your home.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Mold in your home

This brochure offers advice on removing mold from your home in the aftermath of a storm and flooding.

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Additional languages: Spanish

Green tips: fighting climate change on the road

This publication provides tips on what you can do to fight climate change and pollution generated by transportation and fossil fuels.

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Health 

Abortion is legal and protected in New York 

Even with Roe v. Wade overturned, the state of New York has robust protections in place to ensure that anyone who can get pregnant — including transgender men and nonbinary people — can get an abortion.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Protecting access to reproductive health care services

This publication explains state and federal laws to both provide and obtain reproductive health care services in New York.

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Victims of domestic violence

This publication describes the laws of New York protecting victims of domestic violence, particularly in housing and employment.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Advance directives: making your wishes known and honored

This document recommends that New Yorkers plan in advance for end-of-life health care. It gives reasons for doing so, as well as information on advance directives, pain management, hospice care, and organ donation, among other topics.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Mold in your home

This brochure offers advice on removing mold from your home in the aftermath of storms and flooding.

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Additional languages: Spanish

Indoor tanning

Know the facts: This publication dispels myths and misconceptions

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Health care helpline

This brochure explains how the Office of the New York State Attorney General's Health Care Bureau safeguards consumers’ health care rights by mediating disagreements, providing information, and investigating cases of fraud and abuse.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Spanish | Russian | Yiddish

Mental Health Parity Laws

Ensuring equal access to coverage of treatment for mental health.

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Health & Rx discount cards

This brochure explains how discount cards are supposed to work and gives advice on making smart purchases and avoiding deceptive scams. It also describes some alternatives and offers services from both the Consumer Frauds and Protections Bureau, as well as the Health Care Bureau, of the Office of the Attorney General.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Urgent care centers

Explains how urgent care centers can fit into consumers' health care options.

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Housing

Tenants' rights

This publication provides an explanation of leases, rent, habitability requirements, safety issues, utility services, and tenants' personal protections. It does not address cooperative or condominium housing issues.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Spanish | Russian

Law enforcement tenants' rights guidance

This memorandum provides guidance to law enforcement throughout the state of New York responding to complaints by landlords, superintendents, or other persons that tenants or their invited guests are improperly organizing or meeting within a building or its common grounds.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Spanish | Russian | Yiddish

Demonstrating financial hardship under the Tenant Safe Harbor Act

This publication offers guidance about the Tenant Safe Harbor Act (TSHA) and information about how to demonstrate financial hardship with both traditional and nontraditional income types to ensure that tenants remain in their homes and have access to the protections offered under the law.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | French | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Spanish | Russian | Urdu | Yiddish

Deed theft

This publication discusses how to avoid deed theft and similar scams and keep possession of your home in safe hands.

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Additional languages: Bengali | Chinese | Creole | Korean | Spanish | Russian

Tenant harassment — New York City

This brochure provides tips on what you can do as a tenant to protect yourself from harassment by your landlord.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Spanish | Russian | Yiddish

Tenant harassment — outside New York City

This brochure provides tips on what you can do as a tenant to protect yourself from harassment by your landlord.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Spanish | Russian | Yiddish

Fair housing

This document discusses laws concerning discrimination in the rental, sale, or financing of homes.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Immigrant tenant rights

This publication discusses the rights of immigrant tenants in New York, and provides resources for more information and guidance.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Understanding and dealing with a co-op board of directors

This piece discusses rules regulating and powers designated to the board of directors of cooperatives, provides information about leases and other documents, and offers tips for tackling problems.

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Additional languages: Spanish

Immigration fraud

Immigration services fraud

This brochure is designed to inform immigrants about their rights under the law and provides tips to avoid scams that target them and the services they utilize.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Labor

Equal pay

This brochure details your rights and helpful resources to ensure that you are paid fairly and equitably.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Italian | Haitian Creole | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish

On the job: employees' rights

New York protects the rights of all workers throughout the state. This brochure discusses those rights and where to find help if rights are violated.

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Additional languages: Spanish

Seniors

Smart seniors, smart investors

This publication offers tips for older adults about making smart investments and avoiding investment fraud.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Smart seniors

This booklet is aimed at helping senior citizens better understand how to protect themselves against scams, threats to their health, and elder abuse.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Grandparent scheme

This publication provides tips for avoiding scams that target grandparents.

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Additional languages: Arabic | Bengali | Chinese | Haitian Creole | Italian | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Yiddish

Students and finances

Students, credit cards, and banking

Raise your financial IQ: This document provides tips on applying for and using credit cards and banking services.

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Paying for college

Raise your financial IQ: This publication offers smart tips for understanding and financing college expenses.

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