(a) Stay. Where the commencement of an action has been stayed by a court or by statutory prohibition, the duration of the stay is not a part of the time within which the action must be commenced.
§ 204.Stay of commencement of action; demand for arbitration.
Article 2. Limitations of Time · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceTolls the limitations clock while an action's commencement is stayed by a court or by statute, and tolls it, up to a one-year cap, for the time between an arbitration demand and a final ruling that arbitration wasn't required.
Full Text of CPLR 204
(b) Arbitration. Where it shall have been determined that a party is not obligated to submit a claim to arbitration, the time which elapsed between the demand for arbitration and the final determination that there is no obligation to arbitrate is not a part of the time within which an action upon such claim must be commenced. The time within which the action must be commenced shall not be extended by this provision beyond one year after such final determination.
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 204 covers two ways a plaintiff can lose time to circumstances outside their control. Subdivision (a) tolls the limitations period for as long as the commencement of an action is stayed by a court order or by statute — that stayed time doesn't count against the deadline to sue.
Subdivision (b) addresses arbitration disputes. Where it's ultimately determined that a party never had to submit a claim to arbitration in the first place, the time between the demand for arbitration and that final determination doesn't count against the time to sue on the underlying claim. The demand itself is what starts the toll, since it puts the other side on notice that a dispute exists; a party can't wait out the statute of limitations while an arbitration dispute plays out. The toll has a limit, though — it can't push the deadline to sue more than one year past the final determination that arbitration wasn't required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a court-ordered stay pause the statute of limitations in New York?
Yes. Under CPLR 204(a), the time a case's commencement is stayed by a court or by statute doesn't count against the time within which the action must be commenced.
What happens to my filing deadline if I demanded arbitration and later lost that fight?
CPLR 204(b) excludes the time between the demand for arbitration and the final determination that there was no obligation to arbitrate from the limitations period, though the extension can't push the deadline more than a year past that final determination.
Is there a cap on how much extra time CPLR 204(b) provides?
Yes. The time to commence the action can't be extended by more than one year beyond the final determination that arbitration wasn't required, even if the arbitration dispute itself lasted longer.
Does a stay imposed by statute, rather than by a judge, also toll the clock?
Yes. CPLR 204(a) covers a stay “by a court or by statutory prohibition”, so a stay created directly by statute pauses the clock the same way a court order does.
What must happen for the arbitration toll under CPLR 204(b) to apply?
There must be a final determination that the party demanding arbitration wasn't obligated to submit the claim to arbitration; the toll runs only for the time between that demand and that determination.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subd (a) is virtually the same as CPA § 24 except that the words “by injunction or other order of” and “or judge” have been omitted. The proposed language is broad enough to include the first phrase. An order of a judge is included in references to a court order throughout the new CPLR.
Subd (b) is substantially the same as CPA § 25 except that the prescribed extension period is measured by the time which elapsed “between the demand for arbitration and the final determination that there is no obligation to arbitrate” instead of the time which elapsed “between the commencement of an arbitration or the institution of any proceeding to compel arbitration and the final determination that there is no obligation to arbitrate.” The demand itself puts a party upon notice that there is a controversy. He will not, thereafter, be permitted to wait until the statute of limitations has run before moving to stay arbitration. See § 7503. Instituting a proceeding to compel arbitration is one form of a demand for arbitration.
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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