This page explains New York law. A money judgment gives the creditor a set of collection tools, and the statute lets a court supervise all of them. For the order in which those tools usually arrive, see what happens after a money judgment is entered against you in New York. Court supervision is what KOR Law LLP's post-judgment defense practice asks for when enforcement goes further than the rules allow, overlaps, or reaches property the creditor is not entitled to.
What can a protective order under CPLR 5240 do?
The statute is short and broad. The court may act "at any time," on its own initiative or on the motion of "any interested person," on whatever notice it requires, and it may deny, limit, condition, regulate, extend or modify any enforcement procedure (CPLR 5240). As illustrations of those verbs, a debtor might ask the court to:
- deny a step that is not allowed, such as a second restraining notice served without leave of court;
- limit an information subpoena or a deposition to questions that bear on the judgment;
- condition a sale so that an exemption or another person's interest is protected first;
- regulate how and when overlapping executions, levies and proceedings in different counties move forward; or
- modify an income execution, which either side may also ask for at any time under CPLR 5231(i).
CPLR 5240 also makes CPLR 3104 available, so a judge or a referee can be assigned to supervise disclosure in the enforcement process. A party may ask the court to review a referee's order within five days (CPLR 3104).
The law's own notices point debtors here. The notice printed on an income execution names two ways to challenge it, a motion under CPLR 5231(i) and a motion under CPLR 5240 (CPLR 5231), and the notice to judgment debtors says you may try to prove to a judge that your money is exempt under CPLR 5222-a, 5239 and 5240 (CPLR 5222(e)).
Subpoenas carry their own limits. An information subpoena (written questions answered under oath) sent to someone other than the debtor must include the creditor's signed certification of a reasonable belief that the recipient has useful information, or it is null and void (CPLR 5224(a)(3)). Our page on whether you have to answer an information subpoena covers the seven-day answer rule.
Which limits are already built into the statute?
Some limits are written into the statutes themselves, and the court enforces them on a motion:
| Device | Limit | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Restraining notice | Leave of court is required to serve more than one on the same person for the same judgment, and no more than two a year may be served on an individual's bank account | CPLR 5222(c) |
| Restraining notice on a bank or other third party | Lasts one year after service, or until the judgment is satisfied or vacated, whichever comes first; once the garnishee holds twice the amount due, the notice does not reach other property or money | CPLR 5222(b) |
| Restraint on an individual's bank account | Does not reach an amount equal to 240 times the greater of the federal or state minimum hourly wage; if exempt payments were deposited directly in the prior 45 days, $2,500 in the statute ($3,425 under the Department of Financial Services' 2024 adjustment) may not be restrained | CPLR 5222(h), (i) |
| Deposition of the debtor | At least 10 days' notice, during business hours; leave of court is required to examine the debtor again within one year after a previous examination on the same judgment | CPLR 5224(c), (f) |
| Income execution | No more than 10% of the money received, never more than 25% of weekly disposable earnings, nothing in a week when disposable earnings are at or below 30 times the higher of the federal or state minimum hourly wage, and nothing on a judgment in a medical debt action brought by a licensed hospital or health care professional | CPLR 5231(b) |
| Levy on a bank or other garnishee | Void after 90 days except for property already transferred or subject to a turnover proceeding, unless the court extends it | CPLR 5232(a) |
| Receiver | Appointed only by court order, which must specify the property, the duties and how they are performed; commissions capped at 5% | CPLR 5228(a) |
Protected money and property are a separate layer. A bank account holder has the exemption claim process in CPLR 5222-a, explained in what to do when a restraining notice freezes your bank account. Wage limits are set out in how much of your wages a creditor can take in New York. The wider list of protected property is on our page about property a judgment creditor cannot take in New York.
How does a bank exemption claim end up in court?
For an individual's bank account, the exemption claim and CPLR 5240 work together. Within two business days of receiving them, the bank must mail you the notice, an exemption notice and two claim forms (CPLR 5222-a(b)(3)). You complete both forms, sign them under penalty of perjury, and serve one on the bank and the other on the creditor's attorney, in person or by first-class mail, within 20 days of the postmark on the envelope that brought them (CPLR 5222-a(c)(1)).
If your claim includes proof that all the money is exempt, such as a benefit award letter or two months of bank records, the creditor must tell the bank to release it within seven days of the postmark on your envelope (CPLR 5222-a(c)(4)). Otherwise the bank releases the funds eight days after the postmark on the form you sent it, unless the creditor objects in time (CPLR 5222-a(c)(3)). The objection is itself a motion under CPLR 5240, served on the bank and on you within those eight days. The hearing is noticed for seven days after service, your signed claim form is prima facie evidence that the money is exempt, the creditor carries the burden of proof, and the court must decide within five days of the hearing (CPLR 5222-a(d)).
Where do you make the motion?
A motion under Article 52 may be made before any court in which a special proceeding against you could be brought if you were the respondent (CPLR 5221(b)). For a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, that is the Civil Court when the person lives, works or regularly does business in the city (CPLR 5221(a)(3)). For a Supreme Court judgment, it is the Supreme Court or a county court in a county where the person lives, is regularly employed or does business in person, or if there is none, a county where the person can be served or where the judgment was entered (CPLR 5221(a)(4)).
What if the property is not the debtor's?
Before a sheriff or receiver applies property to the judgment, any interested person may start a special proceeding against the creditor to decide who owns it. The court may vacate the execution, void the levy, direct what happens to the property, award damages, or order a separate trial of disputed facts. A person who asserts a fraudulent claim can be ordered to pay the other side's reasonable expenses, including attorney fees (CPLR 5239). It may be brought in the county where the property was levied upon or in a court CPLR 5221 allows.
The creditor also takes a risk when it names specific property. A creditor that specifies a debt or personal property in a restraining notice is liable to the owner, if the owner is not the debtor, for any damages the restraint causes (CPLR 5222(b)). When the creditor is the one asking the court to order property handed over, the same ownership and exemption questions are decided in a turnover proceeding.
Which route fits which problem?
| Problem | Route | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Exempt money frozen in a bank account | Exemption claim forms within 20 days; a creditor's objection is decided on a motion and hearing | CPLR 5222-a(c), (d) |
| Too much taken from wages | Motion to modify the income execution, or a protective order | CPLR 5231(i), 5240 |
| Repeat restraining notice or second examination within a year | Motion for a protective order, since leave of court was required | CPLR 5222(c), 5224(f), 5240 |
| Information subpoena to a third party with no certification | Null and void; a recipient of a certified one may move to quash in the court that issued the judgment | CPLR 5224(a)(3) |
| Property that belongs to someone else | Special proceeding to determine adverse claims | CPLR 5239 |
| The judgment itself is defective | Motion to vacate the judgment | CPLR 5015 |
| An appeal is under way | Stay by undertaking or by court order | CPLR 5519 |
What changes the answer for your situation?
- Who the creditor is and what the debt is. The CPLR 5222-a claim procedure does not apply when the creditor is the state, a state agency or a municipal corporation, or the debt is for child or spousal support, maintenance or alimony, if the notice carries the required legend (CPLR 5222-a(i)). The certification rule for third-party information subpoenas also does not apply when the state or a municipality is the creditor (CPLR 5224(a)(3)).
- Whether the judgment itself can be undone. A protective order regulates collection; it does not erase the judgment. A court can 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 lack of jurisdiction, fraud and other grounds (CPLR 5015(a)). We explain that route in whether you can undo a default judgment in New York.
- Whether an appeal is pending. For a money judgment, serving a notice of appeal and giving an undertaking in the amount of the judgment stays all proceedings to enforce it (CPLR 5519(a)(2)), and the trial or appellate court may grant a stay or a limited stay in other cases (CPLR 5519(c)).
- How far collection has gone. The adverse claim proceeding must start before a sheriff or receiver applies the property (CPLR 5239), and a levy lapses after 90 days unless extended (CPLR 5232(a)). A sale of real property runs on its own notice timetable, covered in what a sheriff can seize under a property execution and how real property is sold.
- Whether a receiver has been appointed. As far as practicable, the court must require notice of a receiver motion to the debtor and to other judgment creditors, the order must spell out the receiver's property and duties, and a receiver cannot hire counsel unless the order allows it (CPLR 5228(a)). CPLR 5240 lets the court limit those powers later. The standards for appointment are covered in when a New York court can appoint a receiver to collect a judgment.
For example: two frozen accounts and a repeat deposition
For example, imagine a Brooklyn renter with a Civil Court judgment against him from an old credit card debt. (This is a made-up illustration, not a real client or result.) His Social Security is deposited directly into his checking account. On March 2 his bank mails him a copy of a restraining notice, an exemption notice and two exemption claim forms. Because exempt benefits were deposited directly in the prior 45 days, the first $3,425 in the account (the statute's $2,500 as adjusted by the Department of Financial Services in 2024) is not restrained (CPLR 5222(h)), but the rest is frozen.
On March 9 he mails one completed form to the bank and one to the creditor's attorney, with his award letter and two months of statements, well inside the 20 days that run from the March 2 postmark. The attorney now has seven days to release the money, or eight days to object by a CPLR 5240 motion on which the creditor carries the burden.
In April the creditor serves a second restraining notice on the same bank and notices a second deposition five months after the first ended, without leave of court, which both required (CPLR 5222(c), 5224(f)). Since the judgment came from the Civil Court and he lives in the city, he moves there under CPLR 5240 to deny both steps (CPLR 5221). Until the court rules, he treats the subpoena as binding, because ignoring one can be punished as contempt (CPLR 5251).
Common mistakes when collection goes too far
- Ignoring an improper notice. Disobeying a subpoena, restraining notice or order is punishable as contempt (CPLR 5251). Ask the court for relief instead.
- Walking out of a deposition over an objection. Objections are noted on the record and the deposition proceeds, subject to the right to apply for a protective order (CPLR 5224(d)).
- Sending the exemption form to only one place. One completed form goes to the bank and the other to the creditor's attorney, or to the creditor if it has no attorney, within 20 days of the postmark (CPLR 5222-a(c)(1)).
- Filing in the wrong court. The motion belongs in a court CPLR 5221 names, which depends on the court that entered the judgment and where you live or work.
- Using the wrong tool. Bad service or an excusable default calls for a motion to vacate under CPLR 5015, not a protective order.
- Waiting until property is applied to the judgment. A relative or co-owner whose property was levied must start the CPLR 5239 proceeding before the sheriff or receiver applies it.
What to do this week
- Keep every notice, subpoena and execution with its envelope, and note the postmark.
- If a bank account is frozen and holds exempt money, complete both exemption claim forms and send them, with award letters and two months of statements, within 20 days of the postmark.
- Check each step against the built-in limits: a second restraining notice to the same person, a second examination within a year, a third-party subpoena without the certification.
- Find the court and county that entered the judgment, so the motion goes where CPLR 5221 allows.
- Pull together the papers on our checklist for when a creditor starts enforcing a judgment and speak with a lawyer before the next deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Does filing a motion release my frozen money right away?
No. A restraint on the debtor lasts until the judgment is satisfied or vacated, and one on a bank or other third party lasts up to one year, in each case unless a court orders otherwise (CPLR 5222(b)). The motion asks for that order; the money moves when the court rules or the creditor releases it.
Can a creditor be penalized for fighting a valid exemption claim?
Yes. If the court finds that the creditor disputed an exemption claim in bad faith, the debtor is awarded costs, reasonable attorney fees, actual damages and an amount of up to $1,000 (CPLR 5222-a(g)). A creditor that receives proof that all the money is exempt and does not release it within seven days is deemed to have acted in bad faith (CPLR 5222-a(c)(4)).
Can a bank, employer or relative ask for a protective order?
Yes. CPLR 5240 allows a motion by "any interested person." A third party served with a certified information subpoena may also move to quash it in the court that issued the judgment (CPLR 5224(a)(3)).
Does a protective order cancel the judgment?
No. It shapes how the judgment is enforced; the debt and its interest remain until the judgment is paid or vacated. For the time limits, see how long a judgment lasts in New York.
Can collection stop while I appeal?
It can. On a money judgment, serving a notice of appeal and giving an undertaking in the amount of the judgment stays enforcement automatically (CPLR 5519(a)(2)). Without an undertaking, you can ask the trial court or the appellate court for a stay (CPLR 5519(c)).
Is the process different in New York City?
The statutes are the same statewide. For a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, enforcement proceedings go to the Civil Court when the person lives, works or does business in the city (CPLR 5221(a)(3)). For Brooklyn, see foreclosure and judgment defense for Brooklyn (Kings County) cases.