New York Affidavit of Defendant (Form UD-7): Complete, Notarize, and File

The New York Affidavit of Defendant, Form UD-7, is the notarized statement a non-filing spouse signs to let an uncontested divorce proceed without a court appearance. By signing it, you confirm you received the divorce papers, waive your right to answer or contest the complaint, and consent to placing the case on the uncontested calendar. You then return the signed, notarized form to your spouse (the plaintiff), who files it with the complete divorce packet in Supreme Court.

What You Are Agreeing To When You Sign

The UD-7 is a waiver, not a receipt. Signing it means you accept the relief your spouse has asked for and will not challenge any part of the divorce. If you have doubts about the terms, resolve them before the pen touches the paper.

Three waivers sit inside the form and work together to move the case forward:

You give up the 20-day response window (for personal service inside New York) or 30-day window (for other service methods) that CPLR Rule 320 normally provides to answer the summons.¹
You waive the separate 40-day waiting period before the case can be placed on the uncontested divorce calendar, consenting to immediate scheduling.²
You confirm that you do not intend to answer the complaint or dispute any relief the plaintiff has requested.

Property and Maintenance

Section 5a asks whether you want equitable distribution of marital property beyond anything already covered in a written stipulation. If you check the box declining further distribution, the form warns that you “may be prevented from further asserting [your] right to equitable distribution.”² Once the judgment is entered, reopening property division is extremely difficult.

Section 5b covers spousal maintenance. For divorces filed on or after January 25, 2016, you can either decline maintenance beyond what a written agreement already provides or affirmatively seek guideline maintenance. If you want maintenance, you need to check that box and make sure Forms UD-8(1) and UD-8(2), the income and maintenance guideline worksheets, are completed and submitted with the packet.³ The instructions note that if you would be the higher-earning spouse, you leave both maintenance boxes blank.

A Catch for No-Fault Cases

Most New York divorces proceed under DRL 170(7), the no-fault ground of irretrievable breakdown. For that ground, the statute requires every economic issue to be resolved before a judge will sign the judgment: equitable distribution, spousal support, child support, custody, visitation, and attorney fees.⁴ Section 8 of the UD-7 asks you to affirm those issues have in fact been settled, either in a written agreement or on the record through an oral stipulation.² If anything is still open, the court will send the packet back.

What to Have in Front of You

Pull these items together before you start:

The summons and complaint (or summons with notice) your spouse served on you. You will copy the names, county, and grounds exactly as they appear on these papers.
The Index Number assigned when the plaintiff opened the case. Without it the clerk cannot match your affidavit to the file.
Any written settlement, stipulation, or separation agreement. Several sections of the UD-7 turn on whether property, support, or custody were resolved in writing.

Use the current official form (revision 3/1/26) from the New York State Unified Court System’s Uncontested Divorce Program page⁵ or from the clerk’s office of the Supreme Court in the county where the case was filed. Copies floating around on third-party sites may be outdated.

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

The court’s official instructions assign numbered fields that track the form’s sections.³ Work through them in order.

Case Identification (Fields 1–4)

Enter the county where the action was filed, the plaintiff’s full legal name, the Index Number, and your own full legal name. Copy everything from the summons. A middle initial on one document and not the other is enough to get the packet rejected.

Venue, Identity, and Service (Fields 5–8)

Field 5 is the state and county where you are signing. Field 6 is your printed name; Field 7 is your current mailing address. Field 8 asks you to check boxes confirming you were served, the date of service, and the grounds for divorce stated on the summons or complaint. These must match the plaintiff’s papers.

Military Status (Field 10)

Say whether you are currently on active military duty. New York Military Law Section 303 incorporates the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which restricts default judgments against active-duty service members without additional safeguards.⁶ If you are not in the military, state that plainly. A blank here will stall the case.

Waiver of Future Papers (Field 11)

Section 4A lets you waive service of all further papers except the final Judgment of Divorce. Section 4B lets you continue to receive everything. Most defendants in a cooperative case check 4A. Check 4B if you want to see each filing before the judgment.

Equitable Distribution and Maintenance (Field 12)

This is where Sections 5a and 5b get filled in. Read each option carefully and only decline distribution or maintenance if you understand you are giving up the right to come back for more.

Barriers to Remarriage (Field 13)

Section 6 only applies when the divorce converts a separation agreement into a judgment and the marriage was performed by a clergyperson or a leader of the Society for Ethical Culture. In every other case, strike through Section 6a. Section 6b allows you to waive the plaintiff’s obligation to file the Sworn Statement of Removal of Barriers to Remarriage (Form UD-4).³

Child Support and the Support Collection Unit (Field 14)

If there are unemancipated children, Section 7 asks you to identify yourself as the custodial or non-custodial parent and then pick one of four options for the Support Collection Unit (SCU):

Option 1: You want SCU enforcement services, which authorizes an income execution to collect support.
Option 2: You already receive SCU services.
Option 3: You have applied for SCU services.
Option 4: You know about SCU services and decline them for now.

Exactly one box must be checked. If you pick Option 1, you are responsible for sending the signed Judgment of Divorce and a completed SCU Information Sheet (Form UD-8a) to your local Support Collection Unit within 20 days after the judgment is entered.²

Getting It Notarized

The UD-7 is a sworn statement and is not valid until you sign it in front of a notary public. (If you are an attorney, you may affirm it instead.) The notary must verify your identity before witnessing the signature. Under New York’s notary rules, acceptable identification is a current government-issued photo ID with your signature, or at least two current documents issued by a business, institution, or government entity bearing your signature.⁷ A notary who personally knows you can rely on that knowledge without separate ID. After you sign, the notary attaches a stamp or seal and records the date.

Signing Outside New York

If you sign in another state or country, CPLR 2309(c) requires a certificate of conformity, a separate document certifying that the out-of-state notary was authorized to administer oaths under the laws of that jurisdiction.⁸ Without it, the court will reject the affidavit. Many notaries outside New York are not familiar with this requirement, so bring a blank certificate form to your appointment.

Remote Online Notarization

Remote online notarization has been permitted in New York since February 2023. An electronic notary registered with the Department of State can notarize the UD-7 over video, provided they verify your identity through credential analysis and third-party identity proofing.⁹ The notary must be physically in New York during the session; you can be anywhere. This is useful if you have already relocated out of state.

Returning It to the Plaintiff

You do not file the UD-7 yourself. Once it is signed and notarized, you send it back to the plaintiff (or the plaintiff’s attorney). The plaintiff then bundles it into the complete uncontested divorce packet, roughly 15 forms including the summons, verified complaint, affirmation of service, sworn affirmation of plaintiff, income and support worksheets, proposed findings of fact, and proposed Judgment of Divorce, and files the whole thing with the court.¹⁰ Every document in the packet has to be internally consistent. If what you stated on the UD-7 conflicts with what the plaintiff wrote in the verified complaint, the clerk will send it back.

Electronic filing through NYSCEF is mandatory for uncontested matrimonial cases in every county except Allegany and Erie.¹¹ In mandatory e-filing counties, the plaintiff uploads the full packet as a single document under the appropriate document type (with children or without children).¹² Unrepresented litigants can use NYSCEF too.¹³ In Allegany and Erie Counties, the paper packet goes to the clerk’s window.

After the packet is filed, the Matrimonial Support Office reviews it. If there are no deficiencies, the court uploads a notice through NYSCEF with instructions for placing the case on the uncontested calendar, and an additional $125 fee is required at that stage.¹²

What Happens After the Packet Is Filed

A court attorney-referee or judge reviews the full packet against the Domestic Relations Law. The reviewer checks that the grounds are properly pleaded, service was completed correctly, the financial disclosures are present, and the UD-7 and the plaintiff’s sworn statement line up. In no-fault cases under DRL 170(7), the reviewer also confirms every economic issue has been resolved.⁴

If anything is off (mismatched names, a missing signature, an incomplete child support section, or a missing certificate of conformity for an out-of-state notarization) the court sends a deficiency notice. The plaintiff has to fix the problem and resubmit. Each correction round adds weeks.

Once the court is satisfied, the judge signs the Judgment of Divorce. Processing time varies by county and backlog. You will receive a copy of the final judgment even if you waived service of all further papers under Section 4A, because the form preserves your right to receive the judgment itself.

1
FindLaw. New York Consolidated Laws, Civil Practice Law and Rules – Rule 320
2
New York State Unified Court System. UD-7 Affidavit of Defendant
3
New York State Unified Court System. Affidavit of Defendant – Form UD-7 Instructions
4
New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law – Section 170 Action for Divorce
5
New York Courts. Uncontested Divorce Program
6
New York State Senate. New York Code MIL 303 – Representation, Opening Judgment, Default
7
Department of State. Notary Public License Law
8
New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Law 2309 – Oaths and Affirmations
9
Department of State. Notary Public – Frequently Asked Questions
10
New York State Unified Court System. Uniform Uncontested Divorce Packet Forms
11
New York State Courts. Notice of Availability – Matrimonial E-Filing
12
New York State Courts. E-Filing of Uncontested Divorce Cases With Children or Without Children
13
New York State Unified Court System. Unrepresented Litigants