An action based upon a cause of action accruing without the state cannot be commenced after the expiration of the time limited by the laws of either the state or the place without the state where the cause of action accrued, except that where the cause of action accrued in favor of a resident of the state the time limited by the laws of the state shall apply.
§ 202.Cause of action accruing without the state.
Article 2. Limitations of Time · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceNew York's borrowing statute, barring a claim that accrued outside the state once either New York's limitations period or the other jurisdiction's period has expired, except that a New York resident's claim always gets New York's own period.
Full Text of CPLR 202
Plain-English Summary
When an injury happens outside New York but the lawsuit lands in a New York court, whose clock controls? CPLR 202 answers with a rule that borrows the shorter of two possible deadlines. If the cause of action accrued outside the state, the claim is barred once either New York's limitations period or the period of the place where the claim arose has run out, whichever expires first.
The purpose is to stop out-of-state plaintiffs from choosing New York's courts just because New York's limitations period happens to run longer than the one where their claim arose. Without a borrowing rule, a claim already dead under the law of the place it arose could get a second life the moment it's filed in New York.
The exception protects New York's own residents: if the claim accrued in favor of someone who lived in New York at the time, New York's period applies on its own, regardless of how long the other jurisdiction would have allowed. The line between resident and non-resident claimants is where most litigation under this section concentrates, since the answer can decide whether a case survives at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is New York's “borrowing statute”?
CPLR 202 is commonly called the borrowing statute — it applies the shorter of New York's limitations period or the limitations period of the place where an out-of-state claim accrued.
If I'm injured in another state, which state's statute of limitations applies to my New York lawsuit?
Under CPLR 202, the claim is barred once either New York's period or the other state's period has expired, whichever comes first — unless you were a New York resident when the claim accrued.
Does CPLR 202 protect New York residents from a shorter out-of-state deadline?
Yes. If the cause of action accrued in favor of a New York resident, CPLR 202 applies New York's own limitations period regardless of how short the other jurisdiction's period might be.
Why does New York apply another state's shorter deadline to claims that arose there?
The rule prevents a plaintiff from gaining extra time by filing in New York when the claim would already be barred where it arose, discouraging forum shopping for a longer limitations period.
Does CPLR 202 apply to claims that accrued inside New York?
No. The borrowing statute applies only to a cause of action that accrued outside New York; claims that accrued within the state are governed by New York's ordinary limitations periods without any borrowing comparison.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section, with a few verbal changes, is substantially the same as the first sentence of CPA § 13. CPA § 55, which is related, is covered by new CPLR § 201.
It is unnecessary to state, as does CPA § 13, that the limitation applies only to actions brought in a court of this state since the article purports to cover only such actions.
The war provision in the second sentence of CPA § 13 is integrated with other war provisions. See new CPLR § 209(a).
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
Also known as: New York borrowing statuteout of state statute of limitations New York lawsuitwhich state's statute of limitations applies New York