How to Collect on a Judgment in New York: Liens, Subpoenas & Executions

To collect on a judgment in New York, you file a transcript of judgment to create liens on the debtor’s real estate, use an information subpoena to find bank accounts and employment, and then freeze and seize those assets through restraining notices and executions served by a Sheriff or City Marshal. The authority for all of it sits in Article 52 of New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules. You have time: a money judgment is enforceable for 20 years from the date you first became entitled to enforce it, and it accrues interest that entire period.1New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 211 – Actions to Be Commenced Within Twenty Years

That interest matters. Under CPLR 5004, most money judgments accrue interest at 9% per year from the date of entry. Consumer debt judgments against individual defendants accrue at 2% per year under a 2021 amendment.2New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 5004 – Rate of Interest The debt keeps growing while you work.

Get a Transcript of Judgment and File It for a Lien

Once the court enters your judgment, ask the clerk for a transcript of judgment. In New York County the filing fee is $25, with slight variation between courts.3NYCOURTS.GOV. Filing Fees The transcript is the document that unlocks most enforcement steps.

File that transcript with the County Clerk in any county where the debtor owns real estate. Filing creates a judgment lien on land, buildings, or homes the debtor owns in that county, and the debtor cannot sell or refinance the property without paying you first.4NY CourtHelp. Making a Judgment Work in a Different Court or County (Transcript of Judgment) If the debtor owns property in more than one county, you need a separate transcript in each. The County Clerk in the home county can issue as many transcripts as you request, one fee per transcript.5NYCOURTS.GOV. Transcript of Judgment

Find the Debtor’s Assets With an Information Subpoena

You cannot collect what you cannot find. The primary tool for locating assets is the information subpoena under CPLR 5224 — a set of written questions the debtor or a third party (a bank, an employer) must answer under oath about bank accounts, wages, real estate, and other property.6New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules R5224 – Subpoena Procedure

The subpoena does not need a clerk’s signature. It must include a certification signed by you or your attorney stating that the subpoena complies with CPLR 5224 and that you have a reasonable belief the recipient has information about the debtor’s finances.6New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules R5224 – Subpoena Procedure Serve it by certified or registered mail with the questions and a prepaid return envelope. The recipient has seven days from receipt to return sworn written answers.

Failure to respond truthfully and on time can lead to contempt proceedings, with fines or jail time. Banks and employers almost always comply. Individual debtors are the ones who ignore these, and a contempt motion becomes your lever when they do.

Freeze the Account With a Restraining Notice

Once you know where the money is, freeze it before the debtor moves it. A restraining notice under CPLR 5222 can be issued by your attorney as an officer of the court, or by the court clerk, and served on the debtor and on whichever third party holds the asset.7New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 5222 – Restraining Notice

The notice prohibits the debtor from transferring property they have an interest in. Served on a bank, it freezes the account up to twice the amount still owed on the judgment; anything above that threshold is released back to the debtor.7New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 5222 – Restraining Notice One limit worth knowing up front: a restraining notice cannot be served on the debtor’s employer to freeze wages. Wages require an income execution, covered below.

Know What You Cannot Touch

Certain income is protected by state and federal law so the debtor can meet basic living needs. Exempt categories include:8NY CourtHelp. Exempt Income

  • Social Security, SSD, and SSI payments
  • Public assistance, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and veterans benefits
  • Court-ordered child support and spousal support
  • Pensions, 401(k) accounts, and IRAs
  • 90% of wages or salary earned in the last 60 days

When you serve a restraining notice or execution on a bank, CPLR 5222-a requires you to include an exemption notice and two exemption claim forms. Leave them out and the restraining notice or execution is void, and the bank cannot freeze the account.9New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 5222-A The bank must forward the forms to the debtor within two business days, and the debtor has 20 days to return them asserting the funds are exempt.

If the claim shows the funds are exempt, you must instruct the bank to release the account within seven days. Disputing an exemption claim in bad faith can cost you: a court can award the debtor costs, reasonable attorney fees, actual damages, and up to $1,000 in additional penalties.9New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 5222-A Freezing an account full of Social Security deposits will fail, and it can lose you money.

Seize the Assets With an Execution

Freezing protects the money; an execution actually collects it. An execution is a directive issued by the court clerk or your attorney that authorizes a Sheriff or City Marshal to seize the debtor’s property or money.10New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 5231 – Income Execution Two forms do most of the work.

Income Execution for Wages

An income execution under CPLR 5231 collects directly from the debtor’s paycheck. The Sheriff first serves the debtor, who has an opportunity to make voluntary payments. If the debtor does not pay, the Sheriff serves the employer, who must withhold from each paycheck and remit to the Sheriff.

Withholding is capped at 10% of the debtor’s gross income, but sits inside further limits:10New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 5231 – Income Execution

  • Total withholding cannot exceed 25% of the debtor’s disposable earnings (gross pay minus legally required deductions).
  • Nothing can be garnished if the debtor’s weekly disposable earnings are below 30 times the greater of the federal or New York State minimum hourly wage.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
  • Existing child support or alimony garnishments take priority. Your execution takes only what remains under the 25% cap.

Lower-wage debtors often pay less than 10% of gross, or nothing at all, because of the minimum-wage floor. For higher earners the 10% of gross figure is usually the binding limit.

Property Execution

A property execution lets the Sheriff take funds from a bank account or seize tangible property such as vehicles, equipment, or inventory. You deliver the execution to the Sheriff with instructions identifying what to seize and where it is.12New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 5230 – Executions For a bank account, the Sheriff serves the bank and it turns over non-exempt funds. For tangible property, the Sheriff takes custody and sells it at public auction, applying the net proceeds to your judgment after the costs of levy and sale.

The Sheriff does not hunt for assets on your behalf. You have to say what to seize and where to find it, which is why the information subpoena comes first.

Turnover Proceedings When the Debtor Won’t Cooperate

Sometimes a restraining notice and execution are not enough. The debtor may be sitting on money and refusing to hand it over, or a third party may be holding assets that belong to the debtor. CPLR 5225 and 5227 let you go back to court and ask a judge to order the turnover directly.

Under CPLR 5225, if the debtor has money or personal property in their possession, you can move for an order requiring them to pay you or turn the property over to the Sheriff. If a third party holds the debtor’s property, or received a transfer from the debtor, you can start a special proceeding against that third party, and the court can order payment if the debtor is entitled to the property or your creditor rights are superior.13New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 5225

CPLR 5227 covers a different situation: someone owes the debtor money. You can bring a special proceeding asking the court to redirect that debt to you, which works well when the debtor is owed commissions, contract payments, or receivables.14New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 5227 Turnover proceedings require a court appearance, so they cost more and take longer than a restraining notice, but they are often the only tool that reaches a debtor actively dodging enforcement.

If There’s Nothing to Collect Right Now

A debtor with no non-exempt income and no seizable property is sometimes called “judgment proof.” That does not erase your judgment. It stays valid for the full 20 years, accruing interest, and the lien keeps working against any real estate the debtor buys in a county where you filed the transcript. Serve fresh information subpoenas periodically to check whether the picture has changed.

The 20-year clock can also reset. If the debtor makes a written acknowledgment of the debt, or a payment, within the window, the clock starts over from that point.1New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 211 – Actions to Be Commenced Within Twenty Years

If the Debtor Files Bankruptcy

A bankruptcy filing is the biggest obstacle you will face. The moment the debtor files a petition, an automatic stay under federal law halts virtually all collection activity. You cannot garnish wages, enforce liens, seize accounts, or even contact the debtor to demand payment.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 362 – Automatic Stay Violating the stay can result in sanctions. Stop everything the moment you learn of the filing.

Some judgments survive discharge. Under 11 U.S.C. § 523, debts arising from fraud, embezzlement, willful and malicious injury, or drunk driving causing death or personal injury are nondischargeable, as are domestic support obligations.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 523 – Exceptions to Discharge If your judgment falls into one of those categories, you can resume collection once the bankruptcy case closes. For an ordinary contract or commercial judgment, discharge can wipe out the underlying debt, and no amount of time left on the 20-year clock will bring it back.

Enforcing an Out-of-State Judgment

If your judgment was entered in another state and the debtor has assets in New York, domesticate it first under CPLR Article 54, New York’s version of the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. File an authenticated copy of the out-of-state judgment with a New York court along with an affidavit confirming the judgment is valid and enforceable. Once entered, it is treated like a New York judgment for enforcement, and you can proceed with liens, subpoenas, restraining notices, and executions the same way. The 20-year period runs from when the original judgment was first enforceable, so an older judgment leaves you less runway in New York.