A motion is an application for an order. A motion on notice is made when a notice of the motion or an order to show cause is served.
§ 2211.Application for order; when motion made
Article 22. Stay, Motions, Orders and Mandates · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 2211 defines a motion as an application for a court order and fixes the moment a motion on notice is legally "made" as when the notice of motion or order to show cause is served.
Full Text of CPLR 2211
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 2211 answers two questions practitioners need settled before anything else in motion practice makes sense: what is a motion, and when does it happen. A motion, the rule says, is an application for an order. That sounds circular, but it draws the line between a motion and the broader relief sought in the underlying action or special proceeding.
The timing rule matters more in practice. A motion on notice is made the moment the notice of motion or the order to show cause is served, not on the later return date when the motion gets argued. That fixed point controls questions like which of two competing motions was filed first, and it lets deadlines that run from "when the motion was made" get calculated without waiting for a court date that might be weeks or months away. Ex parte motions work differently, since there's no notice to serve; those are made when the papers and proposed order are submitted to the court.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a motion in New York civil procedure?
Under CPLR 2211, a motion is an application for an order, as distinguished from the underlying relief sought in the action or special proceeding itself.
When is a motion considered "made" in New York, on the day I serve it or the day it's argued?
On the day it's served. CPLR 2211 fixes a motion on notice as made when the notice of motion or order to show cause is served, not on the later return date.
How is an ex parte motion "made" if there's no notice to serve?
An ex parte motion is made when the motion papers and the proposed order are submitted to the court, since CPLR 2211's service-based timing applies only to motions on notice.
Why does it matter exactly when a motion was "made"?
Because deadlines and priority questions, like which of two competing motions came first, are measured from that moment rather than from the hearing date.
Does CPLR 2211 apply to an oral motion made during a trial?
No. It governs motions brought by serving a notice of motion or an order to show cause. An oral request made to the court during trial is handled through the trial record itself, not through this rule.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section is derived from CPA § 113. The first sentence, defining motions, has been inverted, since in a sense any special proceeding is also an application for an order. Motions are applications for orders granting relief incidental to the main relief sought in the action or proceeding in which the motion is brought. See 1 Carmody-Wait, Cyclopedia of New York Practice 616 (1952); In re Argus Co. 138 NY 557, 34 NE 388 (1893); Application of Callahan, 262 App Div 398, 28 NYS2d 980 (3d Dept 1941), appeal dismissed, 287 NY 743 (1942); In re Dietz, 138 App Div 283, 122 NY Supp 1063 (1st Dept 1910).
The provision of the second sentence that motions are “made” when notice is served was first added to § 113 of the CPA in 1941. NY Laws 1941, c 266. Prior to that time it had been held that a motion was not “made” until the return date. Low v Bankers Trust Co. 265 NY 264, 192 NE 406 (1934); Clinton Trust Co. v Mahoney, 252 App Div 763, 299 NY Supp 32 (2d Dept 1937). Thus, where a party had served two notices of the same motion, the second returnable earlier than the first, the second court had jurisdiction. People ex rel. City of New York v Every, 231 App Div 576, 248 NY Supp 92 (3d Dept 1931). Cf. NY Civ Prac Act § 562; new CPLR § 5515 (appeal is “taken” when notice of appeal is served and filed). The typical notice of motion is still phrased in terms of this view.
Since the period between service of a notice of motion and the return date is unlimited by statute or rule, the RCP allows the hearing on a motion to be long after the period for making the motion has expired. While this may result in a violation of the spirit of some of the motion rules the unavailability of motion terms in some areas of the state makes it impracticable to change the rule.
The second sentence is expressly limited to motions on notice, a limitation implicit in the former section. Ex parte motions are made when the motion papers and proposed order are submitted to the court.
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: definition of motion New York civil procedurewhen is a motion made New YorkCPLR notice of motion vs order to show causeNew York ex parte motion timing