Sample Order to Show Cause in New York: Papers, TRO, and Service

An Order to Show Cause in New York is a way to bring an urgent request straight to a judge, who reviews your papers before the other side is notified and then sets an accelerated hearing date and dictates how the papers must be served. Getting the drafting right matters here, because a judge who sees incomplete or sloppy papers will simply decline to sign, and your remedy at that point is an appeal, not a fresh submission to a different judge.

When an Order to Show Cause Is the Right Tool

Under CPLR 2214(d), a court may grant an Order to Show Cause “in a proper case” to be served in place of a notice of motion, at a time and in a manner the court specifies.¹ A regular notice of motion runs on a fixed schedule with at least eight days’ notice before the hearing.² With an OSC, the judge controls everything: when the hearing happens, when the other side must respond, and how you deliver the papers.

The most common reason to file one is to request a temporary restraining order that directs the other side to stop doing something, such as freezing a bank account, halting a property sale, or preventing disposal of disputed assets, until the court can hold a full hearing.³ A TRO is available only through an OSC. But you do not need a TRO to justify one. Any situation where the standard notice period would cause real prejudice, such as an expiring deadline, evidence being destroyed, or a party about to leave the jurisdiction, can qualify.

One thing to correct from many practice guides: CPLR 2214 does not require “good cause” to obtain an OSC. That phrase appears only in subsection (c), where it governs whether a court will consider papers not served on time.¹ The actual standard is “a proper case,” which is broad. In practice, your papers still need to explain why you cannot wait.

The Documents You Need to Prepare

Your packet has four parts, and leaving any of them out gives the judge an easy reason to reject the application.

The Proposed Order

This is the document the judge will actually sign. Include the full case caption (court name, county, index number, party names) and a clear statement of every type of relief you want. Leave blank lines where the judge fills in the return date, the deadline for opposition papers, and the method of service. If you are requesting a TRO, spell out exactly what conduct you want restrained; vague language like “all harmful actions” will not survive judicial review. Include a paragraph directing how you must serve the papers, understanding that the judge may cross it out and write in different instructions.

The Supporting Affidavit

The affidavit is the heart of the submission. It must be sworn by someone with personal knowledge, typically you if you are the party, and it needs to do three things. Lay out the factual background: what happened, what the other side is doing or threatening to do, and why you need the court to step in. Explain the legal basis for the relief you want, with citations to the relevant statutes or case law. And demonstrate urgency, meaning why waiting for a regular motion would cause harm that cannot be undone later.

Be specific. “I will suffer irreparable harm” is a legal conclusion, not a fact. “The defendant has scheduled an auction of the disputed property for March 15, and the proceeds will be transferred overseas” is a fact the judge can evaluate. Attach every supporting document as a numbered or lettered exhibit and reference each one in the affidavit.

Statement of Prior Applications

All ex parte applications must comply with CPLR 2217(b).⁴ That statute requires an affidavit disclosing the result of any previous motion seeking similar relief and identifying any new facts not shown before.⁵ This is where people get into trouble. If a judge already denied the same request and you submit an OSC to a different judge without disclosing the prior denial, the court will treat it as a serious breach of candor. Even when no prior application was made, include a statement saying so.

Affirmation of Good Faith

Under Uniform Rule 202.7, an Order to Show Cause must include an affirmation that you made a good faith effort to resolve the dispute with the opposing party before coming to court.⁶ Describe when and how you contacted opposing counsel, what you discussed, and what (if anything) was resolved. If you could not confer, because the other side refused to engage, because the situation is too urgent, or because there is no opposing attorney yet, the affirmation must explain why. This applies to represented parties; if you are self-represented, ask the clerk’s office about local practice in your county.

Adding a Request for a Temporary Restraining Order

If you need immediate relief before the hearing, the proposed order should include TRO language. The standard is high. You must show that “immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage” will result unless the other side is restrained before the court can hold a hearing.⁷ Irreparable means money alone cannot fix the problem. If the harm can be compensated with damages later, a TRO is unlikely.

Address the undertaking as well. CPLR 6312(b) requires the plaintiff to post an undertaking, essentially a bond, before a preliminary injunction is granted, in an amount the court sets, to cover the defendant’s damages and costs if the injunction turns out to have been unwarranted.⁸ For a TRO specifically, the undertaking is discretionary; the court may require one but does not have to.⁷ Your papers should acknowledge how much the other side stands to lose if the restraint is imposed, and be ready for the judge to set a bond amount before signing.

Fees and How to Submit the Papers

An OSC carries a $45 motion fee. If no judge has been assigned to your case, you also need to file a Request for Judicial Intervention, which costs $95. If you are starting a brand-new case by OSC, which happens in some special proceedings, you will also need to purchase an index number for $210.⁹

For paper filings, bring the complete packet (proposed order, supporting affidavit, statement of prior applications, good faith affirmation, and exhibits) to the court’s Ex Parte Office or equivalent clerk’s department. The clerk checks the papers for completeness, witnesses your affidavit signature, and forwards everything to a judge.³

In counties with mandatory e-filing, you submit through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing system (NYSCEF), and paper submissions are generally not accepted.¹⁰ The specific procedure for how a judge reviews and signs an e-filed OSC varies by county, so check the E-Filing Protocol posted on your county’s court website before submitting.

What the Judge Does With Your Papers

The judge takes one of three actions: sign the order as proposed, sign it with modifications, or decline to sign. A judge who sees merit but disagrees with your terms might change the return date, narrow the scope of a TRO, impose an undertaking you did not propose, or rewrite the service instructions. Read every line of the signed order before you copy it. Handwritten changes are binding.

If the judge declines to sign, you generally cannot resubmit the same papers to a different judge. One Supreme Court justice should not sign an order that a colleague has already refused on the same papers. The proper remedy is to seek relief from the Appellate Division. You can, however, file a regular notice of motion seeking the same relief without the TRO, which does not require judicial pre-approval.

Serving the Signed Order

Once the judge signs, you must deliver a complete copy of the signed order and all supporting papers to the opposing party. Service has to be done by someone at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case; you cannot serve your own papers.¹¹ The method and deadline are whatever the judge specified in the signed order, which may differ from the standard CPLR rules. The judge might require personal delivery, overnight mail, or email to opposing counsel.

Follow those instructions exactly. If the order says personal delivery by March 10, overnight mail on March 9 does not count. Defective service can strip the court of authority to hear the motion on the return date. After delivery, the person who performed service must complete an Affidavit of Service describing the date, time, place, and method, and file it with the court before the return date.²

If your OSC includes a TRO, the signed order and all supporting papers must generally be personally served in the same manner as a summons, unless the court directs otherwise.⁷

The Return Date Hearing

You must appear on the return date specified in the signed order. If you filed the OSC and do not show up, the court will deny your application.³ If the opposing side fails to appear or submit opposition papers, the judge may grant your request by default.

The opposing party can file opposition papers, typically an affidavit in opposition, either with the clerk’s office before the hearing or in the courtroom on the day of the hearing.³ The judge or the judge’s court attorney will hear arguments from both sides. The court can adjourn the matter if either party needs more time, but once a case has been adjourned and marked “final,” no further delays will be allowed.

A TRO granted with the original OSC typically remains in effect until the return date, when the court decides whether to convert it into a preliminary injunction, modify it, or dissolve it. If you requested a preliminary injunction, the mandatory undertaking under CPLR 6312(b) must be posted before the court grants that relief.⁸

1
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP – R2214 – Motion Papers; Service; Time
2
NY CourtHelp. How to Ask the Court for Something
3
NYCOURTS.GOV. Civil Orders to Show Cause
4
NYCOURTS.GOV. Ex Parte Applications
5
FindLaw. New York Consolidated Laws, Civil Practice Law and Rules – CVP Rule 2217 – Special Proceedings, Ex Parte Applications and Ex Parte Motions
6
NYCOURTS.GOV. Uniform Civil Rules for the Supreme Court and the County Court – Part 202
7
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP – 6313 – Temporary Restraining Order
8
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP – R6312 – Motion Papers
9
New York State Courts. Filing Fees
10
New York State Courts. NYSCEF FAQs
11
New York State Unified Court System. How to File a Proposed Order to Show Cause