At any time within one year after a sale made pursuant to a judgment or order, but not thereafter, the court, upon such terms as may be just, may set the sale aside for a failure to comply with the requirements of the civil practice law and rules as to the notice, time or manner of such sale, if a substantial right of a party was prejudiced by the defect. This section does not apply to judicial sales made pursuant to article 9 of the uniform commercial code.
§ 2003.Irregularity in judicial sale
Article 20. Mistakes, Defects, Irregularities and Extensions of Time · Last amended 1966 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 2003 lets a court set aside a judicial sale within one year for failing to follow the required notice, timing, or manner rules, but only if the defect prejudiced a substantial right of a party.
Full Text of CPLR 2003
Plain-English Summary
A judicial sale -- a foreclosure auction or similar court-ordered sale -- has to follow specific notice and procedural rules, and CPLR 2003 gives a party a way to challenge one that didn't. Within one year after the sale, and not after, a court can set it aside for failing to comply with the CPLR's requirements for notice, timing, or the manner of the sale.
The one-year window is a hard deadline, and even within it, the party challenging the sale has to show the defect prejudiced a substantial right -- a technical slip that hurt no one isn't enough to unwind a completed sale. The section carries its own carve-out: it doesn't reach judicial sales conducted under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, which has its own separate sale procedures for secured transactions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do you have to challenge a judicial sale in New York?
One year after the sale, and not after. CPLR 2003 sets that as a firm deadline for asking a court to set aside the sale.
What grounds let a court set aside a judicial sale under CPLR 2003?
Failure to comply with the CPLR's requirements for the notice, timing, or manner of the sale, where that failure prejudiced a substantial right of a party.
Does CPLR 2003 apply to UCC Article 9 sales?
No. The statute expressly excludes judicial sales made pursuant to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code.
Can a judicial sale be set aside for a purely technical notice error?
Not on its own. CPLR 2003 also requires that the defect prejudiced a substantial right of a party, not just that the technical requirements weren't followed exactly.
What is a judicial sale under CPLR 2003?
A sale made pursuant to a judgment or court order -- a foreclosure auction is the most common example -- as opposed to a private sale between parties.
Advisory Committee Notes
This provision embodies the substance of subparagraph 1 of § 109-a, added to the CPA in 1941. NY Laws 1941, c 770. It covers with greater particularity one instance of the principle expressed in New CPLR § 2001, that nonjudicial defects shall be ignored. Subparagraph 2 of CPA § 109-a is omitted since it has been of no effect since September 1, 1942. The CPA provision covers only sales pursuant to a judgment or decree; it has been extended to apply also to sales pursuant to an order. See, e. g., New CPLR § 2702.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1; amd, L 1966, ch 138, eff Sept 1, 1966.
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
Also known as: setting aside a judicial sale New Yorkforeclosure sale irregularity New YorkCPLR 2003 judicial saleone year to challenge sheriff's sale New York