An officer to whom a mandate is delivered to be executed shall: 1. execute the mandate according to its command; 2. give without compensation to the person delivering the mandate, if requested, a written receipt describing the mandate and specifying the day and hour of receiving it; 3. deliver without compensation to the person served, if requested, a copy of the mandate; and 4. return the mandate together with his return thereon, by delivering or mailing it to the clerk’s office.
R 2223.Duties of officer receiving mandate.
Article 22. Stay, Motions, Orders and Mandates · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 2223 spells out what an officer who receives a court mandate, such as a writ or process, must do to execute it, from carrying out its command to issuing receipts and returning proof of execution to the clerk.
Full Text of CPLR 2223
Plain-English Summary
A "mandate," in CPLR terms, is any writ, process, or other written direction a court issues requiring someone to act or refrain from acting. CPLR 2223 tells the officer who receives one exactly what's expected. First and foremost, execute it according to its command; the rule doesn't tolerate an officer picking and choosing which parts of a mandate to follow.
The rest of the section is about paper trail. If the person delivering the mandate asks, the officer has to hand over a written receipt, free of charge, describing the mandate and noting the day and hour it was received. If the person served asks, the officer has to give them a copy of the mandate, again without charge. And once the job is done, the officer has to return the mandate along with a written return, either by delivering it or mailing it, to the clerk's office it came from.
None of this is glamorous, but it's the mechanism that lets a court, and the parties, confirm that a mandate was carried out, and when, without relying on the officer's word alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "mandate" under CPLR 2223?
Any writ, process, or other written direction lawfully issued by a court, judge, or judicial officer requiring a person or body to do or refrain from doing something.
What must an officer do after executing a mandate in New York?
Return the mandate, along with a written return describing what was done, to the clerk's office it came from, either by delivering or mailing it, under CPLR 2223.
Can I get a receipt when I hand a mandate to an officer for execution?
Yes. CPLR 2223 entitles you to a written receipt, free of charge, describing the mandate and stating the day and hour the officer received it, if you ask for one.
Does the person served with a mandate get a copy of it?
Yes, if requested. CPLR 2223 requires the officer to deliver a copy of the mandate to the person served, without charge, upon request.
What happens if an officer refuses to execute a mandate as written?
An officer who willfully neglects the duties under CPLR 2223 can face contempt proceedings, since the rule requires execution according to the mandate's command.
Advisory Committee Notes
This rule is derived from the first four subparagraphs of CPA § 102, inverting the order of the first and second subparagraphs. The requirement in the second subparagraph of § 102 that the officer “make return thereon of his proceedings” has been transferred to the fourth subparagraph of the proposed rule, with slight change in language. The penalty provision of the second subparagraph of § 102 has been transferred to the Public Officers Law, since it establishes a cause of action for damages against a public officer. The mailing requirements in subparagraph 4 of § 102 have been simplified and delivery to the clerk’s office is substituted for the cumbersome and ambiguous provision concerning the alternative to mailing. Subparagraph 5 of § 102 has been omitted. There is no reason for treating mandates in a special proceeding differently from other mandates and prescribing an extra fine of twenty-five dollars. In any event, if the officer’s neglect is “wilful,” as subparagraph 5 requires, it may subject him to a contempt prosecution under Judiciary Law § 753(A)(1).
A “mandate” is defined by § 28-a of the General Construction Law as any “writ, process or other written direction” lawfully issued or made by a court, judge or judicial officer and requiring a person or body to do or refrain from doing an act.
The “clerk” referred to is the clerk of the court out of which the mandate issued (or of which the judge who made it is a judge). See CPA § 7(1); new CPLR § 105(e).
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: duties of sheriff executing court order New Yorkwhat is a mandate New York civil procedureCPLR officer return of processNew York court mandate execution requirements