An action, including one brought in the name or for the benefit of the state, must be commenced within the time specified in this article unless a different time is prescribed by law or a shorter time is prescribed by written agreement. No court shall extend the time limited by law for the commencement of an action.
§ 201.Application of article.
Article 2. Limitations of Time · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceRequires every action, including one brought in the state's name, to be commenced within Article 2's time limits unless another statute allows more time or a written agreement sets less, and bars any court from extending a statutory deadline.
Full Text of CPLR 201
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 201 sets the ground rule for everything that follows in Article 2: a statute of limitations is not a suggestion. Once a specific number of years applies to an action, that action must be commenced within it. A different statute can override the article's default periods, and a written agreement between the parties can shorten a deadline — but nothing lets a court lengthen one.
That last piece is easy to underestimate. Unlike many procedural deadlines, which a court can extend for good cause, a statute of limitations under CPLR 201 is fixed. Judges apply equitable doctrines like estoppel in narrow, specific circumstances recognized by case law, but the statute itself gives them no general power to grant more time just because the delay was excusable or the other side wasn't harmed by it.
The section also erases a historical exception for New York State itself. Under prior law, the state's own real-property claims sat outside the ordinary limitations scheme. CPLR 201 puts the state on the same footing as any private litigant, leaving special treatment — where it still exists, such as the twenty-year period for state real-property claims in CPLR 211(c) — to be spelled out in the specific provision that grants it, not assumed from the state's identity as a party.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a New York judge extend a statute of limitations deadline?
No. CPLR 201 states that no court may extend the time the law sets for commencing an action, though a different statute may prescribe a longer or shorter period in specific situations.
Does the statute of limitations apply to lawsuits brought by New York State itself?
Yes. CPLR 201 requires actions brought in the name or for the benefit of the state to be commenced within the time Article 2 sets, the same as actions by private parties.
Can a contract shorten the statute of limitations in New York?
Yes, within limits. CPLR 201 allows a shorter time to be set by written agreement, though courts still scrutinize whether such a shortened period is reasonable.
Is CPLR 201 the source of every filing deadline, or does it just set the default rule?
CPLR 201 sets the framework — actions must be commenced within Article 2's time limits — but yields to any other statute that prescribes a different time for a specific type of claim.
What happens if a specific statute sets a different deadline than the general Article 2 periods?
The more specific statute controls. CPLR 201 applies “unless a different time is prescribed by law”, so a specialized limitations period elsewhere in New York law takes precedence over Article 2's general rules.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section is derived from subd 1 of CPA § 10. The last sentence is based upon part of subd 1 of § 99. The provisions of § 54 are also covered by this section, but the exclusion in § 54 of actions by the state for the recovery of real property has been omitted. Actions should be governed by limitations applicable alike to the state and to private persons; exceptions, where necessary, are best made in the specific limitation provision. It is not necessary to use the phrase “special proceeding” in addition to “civil action” since the latter is intended to include the former throughout the new CPLR wherever appropriate. As a matter of consistent usage, the term “time within which an action must be commenced” has been substituted in succeeding sections wherever practicable for the various phrases now used to describe this concept. See, e.g., CPA § 11 (“periods of limitation”); id. § 12 (“time limited for the commencement of an action”); id. § 13 (“time limited . . . for bringing an action . . . time limited . . . for commencing the action”); id. § 14 (“time within which an action . . . must be commenced”).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1963.
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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