If you miss jury duty in NYC, the court mails you a notice of noncompliance and automatically reassigns you to a future service date. Respond to that notice, explain yourself, and show up on the new date, and the matter usually ends there with no fine. Ignore it, and you can be hit with a civil penalty of up to $250. Keep ignoring summonses after that, and the court can escalate to criminal contempt, which carries up to $1,000 in fines and up to 30 days in jail.
The Notice That Shows Up in Your Mail
The court does not jump straight to punishment. After you fail to appear, the Commissioner of Jurors’ office sends a notice of noncompliance by first-class mail. Under New York Judiciary Law § 527, no penalty can be imposed unless the court confirms you actually received your original summons or questionnaire and then serves you with this follow-up notice.1New York State Senate. New York Consolidated Laws, Judiciary Law – JUD 527
Along with the notice, you are assigned a new jury date automatically. Skipping does not make the obligation disappear. It pushes service forward and adds the risk of a fine on top.2New York State Unified Court System. New York Juror Information – Questions and Answers
What to Do Now That You’ve Missed It
Call the Commissioner of Jurors as soon as you realize you missed. Have your juror index number from the original summons in front of you. The statewide juror hotline is 1-800-695-8767, and the email is nyjuror@nycourts.gov. Each borough also runs its own jury office with its own line. Brooklyn’s office, for example, is 347-404-9904 or kingscountyjury@nycourts.gov.3NYCOURTS.GOV. Jury Service – Kings County
Explain why you missed, and ask to reschedule. For a first-time miss with a reasonable explanation, the office will typically give you a new date with no penalty. The notice of noncompliance itself tells you how and when to respond and gives you the option to either acknowledge the miss or request a hearing before anything is imposed.
The $250 Civil Fine
If you don’t respond to the noncompliance notice, the court can impose a civil penalty of up to $250. This is the most common enforcement tool for missed jury duty in New York City, and the procedure comes directly from Judiciary Law § 527.1New York State Senate. New York Consolidated Laws, Judiciary Law – JUD 527
The notice has to describe which instance of noncompliance triggered it, explain how and when to respond, and warn that failing to respond is treated as admitting you skipped. The court cannot fine you without giving you a chance to be heard. In practice, people who respond, offer a real explanation, and serve on their rescheduled date almost never pay anything. The fine is reserved for people who get the notice and still do nothing.
When It Becomes Criminal
Repeatedly ignoring both the summons and the noncompliance notice can move the case out of civil fine territory and into criminal contempt. New York has two separate paths there.
Contempt Under the Judiciary Law
Under Judiciary Law § 750, a court can hold you in criminal contempt for willfully disobeying a court mandate, which includes a jury summons. The penalty under § 751 is a fine of up to $1,000, up to 30 days in jail, or both.4NYJuror.gov. Petit Juror’s Handbook At that point the court is treating the absence as deliberate defiance rather than an oversight.
Penal Law § 215.50(6)
New York also has a specific criminal statute, Penal Law § 215.50(6), that makes intentionally avoiding jury service a form of criminal contempt in the second degree. The operative word is intentionally. A forgotten date or a genuine emergency is a different situation from deliberately dodging every summons the court sends.5New York State Unified Court System. Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree – Avoiding Jury Service
An arrest warrant for missed jury duty is rare in NYC, but it is not a myth. Courts reserve it for people who have ignored multiple summonses and multiple noncompliance notices over an extended period. If you missed one date and are trying to fix it, that is not where you are.
If You Shouldn’t Have Been Summoned in the First Place
Not everyone who gets a summons is actually qualified. You are eligible for jury duty in New York only if you are a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, a resident of the county that summoned you, and able to understand and communicate in English.6NYJuror.gov. Judiciary Law Article 16, New York State Consolidated Laws A felony conviction disqualifies you entirely.
You are also ineligible if you served on a state or federal jury within the past six years, or within the past eight years if that service lasted more than ten days.2New York State Unified Court System. New York Juror Information – Questions and Answers
If any of this applies to you, contact the Commissioner of Jurors to have the summons cancelled. Don’t just ignore it. The court has no way of knowing you are ineligible until you say so, and silence gets handled the same as a no-show.
If You Can Serve but Not on That Date
If your date is still in the future and you already know you cannot make it, postpone rather than miss. You get one postponement online at nyjuror.gov or by calling 1-800-449-2819, as long as you request it at least one week before your service date. Pick a date between two and six months out, and you’ll be assigned the closest available date to your choice.2New York State Unified Court System. New York Juror Information – Questions and Answers After that first free postponement, any further requests go through your local Commissioner of Jurors’ office.
Medical or financial hardship excuses are a separate path and generally require documentation, such as a doctor’s note for a medical excuse or proof of real hardship for a financial one. Inconvenience alone is not enough.
Federal Jury Duty Is a Separate Track
If your summons came from a federal court rather than a state court, none of the state rules above apply. NYC falls within two federal districts, the Southern District in Manhattan and the Eastern District in Brooklyn. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1866, failing to appear for federal jury duty without good cause can result in a fine of up to $1,000, up to three days in jail, community service, or any combination.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1866 – Selection and Summoning of Jury Panels Check which court sent your summons before you decide what to do next.