This chapter shall be known as the civil practice law and rules, and may be cited as “CPLR”. The civil practice law and rules shall govern the procedure in civil judicial proceedings in all courts of the state and before all judges, except where the procedure is regulated by inconsistent statute. The civil practice law and rules shall succeed the civil practice act and rules of civil practice and shall be deemed substituted therefor throughout the statutes and rules of the state. Reference to a provision in the civil practice law and rules may, except when such provision is being enacted or amended, be made without indicating whether it is a rule or section.
§ 101.Short title; application.
Article 1. Short Title; Applicability and Definitions · Last amended 1964 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceNames the code the Civil Practice Law and Rules, makes it the default procedure in every New York court and before every judge unless a specific statute says otherwise, and confirms it replaces the old Civil Practice Act and Rules of Civil Practice.
Full Text of CPLR 101
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 101 names the code and marks out where it reaches. New York had for decades split its civil procedure across two aging statutes, the Civil Practice Act and the Rules of Civil Practice, plus a scattered set of provisions in individual court acts. This section replaces both with a single set of rules and sections, names that set the Civil Practice Law and Rules — the CPLR — and makes it the default procedural code for every civil case in every New York court and before every judge.
The phrase “except where the procedure is regulated by inconsistent statute” matters as much as the grant of authority itself. New York courts still run under a patchwork of individual acts — the New York City Civil Court Act, the Uniform District Court Act, and others — and CPLR 101 leaves those specialized statutes free to override the general rule where they conflict. In practice, a litigant checks the court-specific act first and falls back on the CPLR wherever that act is silent.
The last sentence solves a housekeeping problem. Because the CPLR groups its provisions into “rules” and “sections” — a distinction tied to which branch of government may amend them, addressed in CPLR 102 — a citation to a specific provision doesn't need to say which type it is. “CPLR 3211” works whether the underlying provision is a rule or a section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “CPLR” stand for?
CPLR stands for the Civil Practice Law and Rules, New York’s general code of civil procedure for state courts.
Does CPLR 101 apply to every court in New York State?
Yes. CPLR 101 makes the Civil Practice Law and Rules the governing procedure in every court and before every judge in the state, except where a specific statute regulates the procedure differently.
What happened to the old Civil Practice Act?
The CPLR replaced the Civil Practice Act and the Rules of Civil Practice when it took effect in 1963, and any reference in older statutes to those prior laws is now read as a reference to the corresponding CPLR provision.
Why doesn't the CPLR distinguish between a “rule” and a “section” when it's cited?
CPLR 101 allows a citation to a CPLR provision to skip stating whether it's a rule or a section, since the distinction affects only who may amend the provision, not how it's used or cited in practice.
Does the CPLR cover special proceedings, or only lawsuits called “actions”?
The CPLR governs “civil judicial proceedings,” a term that covers both actions and special proceedings, as defined in CPLR 105(d).
Advisory Committee Notes
This section replaces § 1 and the first sentence and part of the second sentence of § 62 of the CPA. The entire second sentence of § 62 has also been transferred to the Judiciary Law. Both of these sections purported to define the general applicability of the CPA. Section 1 stated that the act “shall apply to the civil practice in all the courts of record of the state” and § 62 that the “courts referred to in this act are enumerated in section two of the judiciary law.” The actual effect of these general provisions, and their operation in conjunction with the many applicability provisions in the acts governing particular courts, is extremely difficult to determine.
As for the general provisions, § 1 of the CPA was added as new by the authors of the act in 1920, and the first sentence of § 62 was derived from § 1 of the Throop code. The latter was the only general applicability section in the Throop code. When transferred to the CPA in 1921, it stated that the “courts referred to in this act are enumerated in sections two and three of the judiciary law.” At that time § 2 of the Judiciary Law purported to list all courts of record and § 3 all courts not of record.
By the terms of § 1 of the Throop code, then, it was generally applicable to both courts of record and courts not of record, although other provisions in the code (particularly § 3347) severely limited this broad applicability provision. The authors of the CPA obfuscated the general applicability question, however, by retaining this broad provision as the first sentence of § 62 and at the same time adding a new applicability provision, as § 1, which referred only to “the courts of record of the state.” See Report of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Simplification of Civil Practice 67, 89 (1919.).
The matter was further confused as a result of subsequent amendments to Judiciary Law §§ 2 and 3. Section 2, although purporting to enumerate all courts of record, included as the last item in its list “[s]uch other local courts as are now constituted courts of record”; and § 3 concluded with a similar catch-all phrase for courts not of record. In 1938 the Judicial Council, dissatisfied with the “indefinite condition” of these provisions, recommended the repeal of § 3 and enactment of a new § 2 which would list all courts of record and provide that “[a]ll courts other than these specified in this section are courts not of record.” 2 NY Jud Council Rep 42 (1938). This recommendation was enacted. NY Laws 1938, c 53. The following year § 62 of the CPA was amended to strike the words “and three.” NY Laws 1939, c 359. This amendment undoubtedly was designed to conform § 62 to the Judiciary Law amendments of the previous year, for there now was no longer any § 3 in the Judiciary Law; courts not of record were defined instead in § 2 as all courts “other than those specified in this section.” Yet these changes introduced an ambiguity into the language of § 62 of the CPA since only the courts of record are actually “enumerated” in § 2 of the Judiciary Law.
In any event, the applicability of any general practice act will depend very little on its own applicability provisions but a great deal on the provisions, both general and specific, in the individual court acts. The provision as drafted, therefore, attempts to maintain the status quo until the individual court acts can be reviewed with a view to providing uniform applicability provisions and amending specific provisions to conform to the new law and rules. Such an approach is particularly desirable now since the Judicial Conference has drafted a proposed Uniform City Court Act to “make the CPA and RCP apply to the city courts, except where the provisions of the [City Court] Act are inconsistent . . . .” 2 NY Jud Conference Rep 128, 147–48 (1956).
The law will apply both to courts of record and to those not of record in so far as the Constitution permits and where it is not inconsistent with other more particular statutes or rules adopted in conformance with particular statutes. “Civil judicial proceeding” is intended to cover both actions and special proceedings. See § 105(d).
This section follows in some respects sections 2 and 60 of Rodenbeck’s proposed civil practice act. 1 Report of the Board of Statutory Consolidation on the Simplification of the Civil Practice of New York 17, 26, 168, 229 (1915). The Rodenbeck draft, however, permitted the code — repealed for other purposes — to remain in force wherever it was incorporated by reference in another act. Such a resolution of the difficulty is obviously unsatisfactory for it would mean substituting two full practice acts for one. Under this provision the new CPLR will be substituted for the CPA and RCP in all inferior court acts. Moreover, any reference in the consolidated and unconsolidated laws and court rules to the present CPA or RCP will be governed by the corresponding new provisions. Companion acts are designed to amend and correct the specific sections of the consolidated and unconsolidated laws which refer to former practice provisions. Experience indicates that some of these references probably have been overlooked. (There are still references to the Code of Civil Procedure in the statutes although the Code was replaced forty years ago.).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1; amd, L 1964, ch 252, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1964.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
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