This page explains New York law. A judgment says you owe money; it does not collect it. Collection happens through the enforcement devices in Article 52 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR). The court system's own guide puts it plainly: the creditor has to find the debtor's money, and "the Court does not do this for you." KOR Law LLP's post-judgment and enforcement defense practice represents judgment debtors and people whose property a creditor is trying to reach.
What does a judgment do on day one?
After the judgment-roll is filed, the clerk dockets the money judgment (CPLR 5018). From docketing in the county where you own real property, a transfer of your interest in that property is not effective against the judgment creditor until ten years after the judgment-roll was filed (CPLR 5203(a)). In plain terms, the judgment becomes a lien on your real property in that county, which is why it can surface when you try to sell or refinance property with a judgment lien on it. A judgment can be docketed in other counties by filing a transcript, and it then has the same effect there (CPLR 5018(a)).
Interest runs at 9% a year, or 2% a year on a judgment arising out of a consumer debt where a natural person is the defendant (CPLR 5004). How long all of this lasts is covered in how long a New York judgment lasts and how much interest it adds.
How does enforcement unfold, step by step?
Creditors do not have to use the tools in any fixed order, but most cases follow a similar path:
- Notice of entry. The creditor serves a copy of the judgment with written notice that it was entered. That service starts the 30-day clock to appeal (CPLR 5513(a)) and the one-year clock to ask the court to vacate a judgment entered on an excusable default (CPLR 5015(a)(1)).
- Finding assets. The creditor can send written questions, to be answered under oath, to you, your bank or your employer, or demand a deposition or documents (CPLR 5224).
- Restraining notices. A restraining notice served on you forbids you to sell, transfer or interfere with property you have an interest in until the judgment is satisfied or vacated. Served on a bank or other third party, it lasts one year or until the judgment is satisfied or vacated, whichever comes first (CPLR 5222(b)).
- Executions. The court clerk, or the creditor's attorney acting as an officer of the court, can issue a property execution to the sheriff of one or more counties at any time before the judgment is satisfied or vacated (CPLR 5230(b)). The sheriff levies on a bank account or a debt owed to you by serving the execution on the bank or the person who owes it, and that party must pay the sheriff; until it does, or until 90 days pass, it may not release the money to anyone else (CPLR 5232(a)).
- Income executions. An income execution goes to the sheriff of the county where you live. The sheriff must serve you within 20 days, and if you do not pay the installments for 20 days, the sheriff serves your employer or other payer (CPLR 5231(d), (e)). The limits on what can be taken are in how much of your wages a creditor can take in New York.
- Real property. Under an execution, the sheriff can sell your interest in non-exempt real property at a public auction held between the 56th and 63rd day after the notice of sale is first published (CPLR 5236(a)). The notice and sale steps are in what a sheriff can seize under a property execution.
- Court orders. The creditor can ask the court for a turnover order or for a receiver to collect, lease or sell property (CPLR 5225, 5228). When a receiver is on the table, read when a New York court can appoint a receiver to collect a judgment.
In Brooklyn, money judgments are docketed and satisfied at the Kings County Clerk's office; the local offices, windows and the sheriff's role are on our page for foreclosure and judgment defense in Brooklyn (Kings County).
What can the creditor do, and how can you respond?
| Creditor step | What it does | Debtor's response |
|---|---|---|
| Restraining notice (CPLR 5222) | Freezes property and debts; a bank can hold up to twice the amount due | Exemption claim forms within 20 days of the postmark (CPLR 5222-a); protected account balances |
| Information subpoenas and other subpoenas (CPLR 5224) | Written questions answered under oath within 7 days, or a deposition or document demand on at least 10 days' notice | Answer on time, or seek a protective order (CPLR 5240) |
| Property execution (CPLR 5230) | Directs the sheriff to levy on property of the named debtor | Claim exemptions; adverse claimants can be heard |
| Income execution (CPLR 5231) | Installments of up to 10% of money the debtor receives, served first on the debtor | Earnings limits: never more than 25% of disposable earnings, with a minimum wage floor |
| Turnover (CPLR 5225, 5227) | Court orders the debtor, or a third party holding the debtor's property or owing the debtor money, to pay or deliver it | Oppose the motion or petition; raise exemptions and ownership |
| Receiver (CPLR 5228) | Court appoints a receiver to collect, lease or sell the debtor's property | Oppose the appointment or ask the court to limit it |
What happens when a bank account is frozen?
A frozen bank account can be the first sign that a judgment exists. A restraining notice on a bank must come with an exemption notice and two exemption claim forms; if the creditor does not serve them together, the restraining notice is void (CPLR 5222-a(b)). The bank must mail the papers to you within two business days, and you then have 20 days from the postmark to send one signed claim form to the bank and one to the creditor's attorney. Unless the creditor moves to object within eight days, the bank releases the funds (CPLR 5222-a(c)).
Some money is protected without any claim. If exempt payments such as Social Security, public assistance, pensions or unemployment insurance were deposited electronically into the account in the 45 days before the restraint, a set amount cannot be restrained (CPLR 5205(l) and 5222(h)). The statute says $2,500, but the Department of Financial Services adjusts it every three years; the current amount is $3,425 for restraints and executions on or after April 1, 2024, with the next adjustment scheduled for April 1, 2027. A creditor may not serve more than two restraining notices a year on a natural person's bank account (CPLR 5222(c)). The full claim process is in what to do when a restraining notice freezes your bank account.
Can a court slow down or stop enforcement?
Yes. CPLR 5240 lets the court, on its own or on the motion of any interested person, deny, limit, condition, regulate, extend or modify the use of any enforcement procedure. That is the rule a debtor invokes against overlapping restraints, burdensome subpoenas or a turnover demand aimed at exempt property, and we walk through it in whether a court can limit a creditor's collection efforts. Turnover itself is a court proceeding the debtor can oppose; see what a turnover proceeding is in New York and how to respond to one.
If the judgment should never have been entered, the remedy is to vacate it. Under CPLR 5015(a), the court may relieve a party from a judgment for an excusable default, if the motion is made within one year after service of the judgment with written notice of entry, or for reasons including fraud or lack of jurisdiction. The grounds and deadlines are in whether you can undo a default judgment in New York.
What changes the answer for your judgment?
The steps above are the general track. These facts change what a creditor can reach, and how fast:
- Which court entered the judgment. A Civil Court judgment reaches real property only after a transcript is filed with the county clerk, and using a judgment in another county also takes a transcript, although a judgment from any New York City county can be used throughout the city (CPLR 5018(a); NY Courts CourtHelp, Transcript of Judgment).
- Whether you were personally served. If the summons was served other than by personal delivery and you never appeared, CPLR 317 lets the court allow you to defend within one year after you learn of the judgment, and never more than five years after its entry, if you did not personally receive notice in time and have a meritorious defense.
- Whether the debt was a consumer debt. The 2% interest rate applies only to a judgment arising out of a consumer debt where a natural person is the defendant (CPLR 5004).
- Who the creditor is. The protected bank balance does not apply where the creditor is the state or a municipality, or the debt is for support or maintenance, when the papers carry the required legend (CPLR 5222(k), 5230(a)).
- How you hold title to your home. Real property conveyed to a married couple creates a tenancy by the entirety unless the deed says otherwise, and the same is true of co-op shares transferred on or after January 1, 1996 (EPTL 6-2.2(b), (c)). What a creditor of one spouse can reach is explained in whether a creditor of one spouse can force the sale of an entireties home.
- Where the judgment came from. A judgment of another state or a federal court can be filed with any county clerk and then enforced like a New York Supreme Court judgment, but not one obtained by default in appearance or by confession (CPLR 5401, 5402); see how out-of-state and federal judgments are enforced in New York.
- Whether you appeal with an undertaking. Serving a notice of appeal from a money judgment stays enforcement only if an undertaking in the amount of the judgment is given (CPLR 5519(a)(2)).
For example: the first ten weeks after a default judgment
For example, imagine a retired Brooklyn homeowner who was sued over an old business credit line she had personally guaranteed. (This is a made-up illustration, not a real client or result.) The papers were left with her adult grandson at her home and mailed, she never saw them, and a default judgment was entered in the Supreme Court, Kings County, on March 2. The clerk docketed it the same day, so it became a lien on her house in Brooklyn.
On April 9, her bank receives a restraining notice with the exemption notice and two claim forms, and mails them to her in an envelope postmarked April 11. Her Social Security arrives by direct deposit, so the protected amount cannot be restrained, and she has until May 1, 20 days from the postmark, to return the claim forms with her award letter. On April 20, she is served with the judgment and notice of entry, which starts her 30 days to appeal and her one year under CPLR 5015(a)(1). Because the summons was not handed to her, CPLR 317 is also open to her. If the creditor later seeks a sheriff's sale of the house, the homestead exemption and a CPLR 5240 motion are her main tools while the motion to vacate is decided.
Common mistakes after a judgment is entered
- Moving money after a restraining notice. The notice itself forbids transfers until the judgment is satisfied or vacated, and disobeying it is punishable as contempt (CPLR 5222(b), 5251).
- Missing the postmark deadline. The 20 days to return exemption claim forms run from the postmark on the bank's envelope, not from the day you open it (CPLR 5222-a(c)).
- Assuming an appeal stops collection. Without an undertaking, a notice of appeal does not by itself stay enforcement of a money judgment (CPLR 5519(a)(2)).
- Paying without a satisfaction-piece. A creditor that is paid in full must file a satisfaction-piece; without one, the judgment still shows on the docket (CPLR 5020(a)).
- Moving property to relatives. A creditor can bring a turnover proceeding against a transferee of the debtor's money or property (CPLR 5225(b)), and transfers can also be attacked as fraudulent conveyances, a subject our debtor and creditor practice handles.
What to do this week
- Find out who the creditor is, which court entered the judgment, and when. The restraining notice and execution must state these details (CPLR 5222(a), 5230(a)).
- Keep every envelope. The 20-day exemption claim window runs from the postmark.
- Gather proof of exempt deposits: benefit award letters, pension statements, pay stubs and the last two months of bank statements.
- Write down the date you were served with the judgment and notice of entry, and mark the 30-day appeal date and the one-year date under CPLR 5015(a)(1).
- Do not move or give away assets to keep them from the creditor. Transfers can be challenged and can make matters worse.
- Collect the judgment, every notice and your deed or co-op papers using our judgment enforcement consultation checklist, and speak with a lawyer before the first deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Can a creditor sell my house to collect a judgment?
Possibly, but only above the homestead exemption if you own and live in it. For a homestead worth more than the exempt amount, the creditor must start a special proceeding in the county where it is located, and the court decides whether a sheriff or receiver sells it (CPLR 5206(e)). Co-op shares and condominium units qualify for the homestead exemption too (CPLR 5206(a)).
What money and property can a creditor not take?
CPLR 5205 and 5206 list exempt property, with dollar amounts the Department of Financial Services updates every three years. The list includes household necessities, tools of a trade and one motor vehicle up to set values, qualified retirement accounts, 90% of earnings for personal services within 60 days before an income execution or turnover motion, and a homestead up to $204,825 above liens in the five New York City counties under the current figures. The full list is in what property a New York judgment creditor cannot take.
Will a judgment show up on my credit report?
The court system's guide warns that credit agencies may find a judgment when they check the County Clerk's records. A paid judgment should be marked satisfied on the docket, which is why the satisfaction-piece matters (CPLR 5020, 5021).
Can I be held in contempt for ignoring enforcement papers?
Yes. Refusing or willfully neglecting to obey a subpoena, restraining notice or order under Article 52, and swearing falsely in an examination or in written answers, are each punishable as contempt of court (CPLR 5251).
What happens when I pay the judgment off?
The creditor must file a satisfaction-piece with the clerk and mail you a copy within ten days after filing (CPLR 5020(a)). If it fails to file within 20 days after full payment, it faces a penalty of $100 for a judgment under $5,000 or $500 for a larger one, which you can recover (CPLR 5020(c)).