(a) Exception to surety. If a certificate of qualification issued pursuant to subsections (b), (c) and (d) of section one thousand one hundred eleven of the insurance law is not filed with the undertaking, a party may except to the sufficiency of a surety by a written notice of exception served upon the adverse party within ten days after receipt of a copy of the undertaking. Where the undertaking has been served upon a party by the sheriff, the notice of exception shall be served on the sheriff and on the adverse party. Exceptions deemed by the court to have been taken unnecessarily, or for vexation or delay, may, upon notice, be set aside, with costs.
§ 2506.Exception to surety; allowance where no exception taken
Article 25. Undertakings · Last amended 1984 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 2506 lets an adverse party challenge a surety's sufficiency by serving a written exception within ten days of receiving the undertaking, unless the surety already carries an insurance-law certificate of qualification, and treats the undertaking as allowed once that ten-day window passes without a surviving exception.
Full Text of CPLR 2506
(b) Allowance where no exception taken. Where no exception to sureties is taken within ten days or where exceptions taken are set aside the undertaking is allowed.
Plain-English Summary
Posting an undertaking does not end the inquiry into whether the surety is good for the money. CPLR 2506(a) gives the adverse party ten days from receiving a copy of the undertaking to serve a written notice excepting to the sufficiency of the surety — unless the surety has already filed a certificate of qualification under Insurance Law section 1111(b) through (d), which substitutes for that scrutiny. Where a sheriff served the undertaking, the exception notice has to go to the sheriff as well as the adverse party. A court can set aside an exception it finds was taken without real need, or for delay or spite, and can tax costs against the party who took it.
Subdivision (b) tells the surety what happens if nobody objects: once ten days pass without an exception, or once an exception that was taken gets set aside, the undertaking is allowed and the process moves on without further inquiry into the surety's finances.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you challenge a surety's sufficiency on a New York undertaking?
Serve a written notice of exception on the adverse party within ten days of receiving a copy of the undertaking, unless the surety has already filed an Insurance Law certificate of qualification; if a sheriff served the undertaking, serve the sheriff as well.
What happens if no one objects to the surety within ten days?
The undertaking is allowed under CPLR 2506(b) once the ten-day exception period passes without an exception, or once any exception taken has been set aside.
Can a court penalize a party for objecting to a surety without good reason?
Yes. CPLR 2506(a) allows the court to set aside exceptions it deems to have been taken unnecessarily, or for vexation or delay, and to do so with costs against the objecting party.
Does an insurance company surety need to be checked for sufficiency?
Not in the same way. Filing a certificate of qualification issued under Insurance Law section 1111(b), (c), or (d) with the undertaking avoids the exception process entirely.
What happens after a party excepts to a surety's sufficiency?
The surety or the person the undertaking was given on behalf of must move to justify within ten days of the exception, under the process CPLR 2507 sets out.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subd (a) of this section, permitting an exception to sureties to be taken by serving a notice of exception, is derived from the first and last sentences of CPA § 151, part of the second sentence of § 955, part of the first sentence of § 1104, and the first sentence of CPA § 1526. Should a party wish to move directly to set aside an undertaking or except to sureties he may move under CPLR § 2508. If there is a danger that action seriously to his detriment will be taken on the basis of the undertaking before a motion can be heard, he may bring on his motion by an order to show cause containing a stay of the relief which the undertaking was intended to secure. The provisions in former §§ 955 and 1104 for a three-day period in which to except to sureties on attachment and replevin undertakings is increased to ten days for uniformity and because ten days may often be necessary to acquire facts sufficient to make proper exceptions. If time is of the essence to the person against whom the attachment or replevy is directed, he may except in as little as one day, but he should have more time if he so desires. CPA § 955, which dealt with exceptions in attachment, required service only on the sheriff. The adverse party should also have notice. It should be noted that the sheriff will hold a seized chattel for only three days after seizure, as provided by CPLR § 7102(f).
In such cases, therefore, the person excepting to the surety ought as a practical matter to object within the three-day period rather than wait to object within the ten-day period provided under this subdivision.
Subd (b) of this section makes generally applicable the rule for appeals stated in CPA § 566, which permitted exceptions to sureties but provided that approval was not required. The subdivision also encompasses the last sentence of § 955 and the first sentence of § 1104, which provided for waiver of objections if none were made. It also covers that part of CPA § 1527 which deemed the sureties allowed where there was no objection. It makes unnecessary the judicial approval of an undertaking formerly required by RCP 25(6). If the obligee is satisfied that the undertaking sufficiently secures his interests, there is normally no reason for the court to object. The court may, if it wishes to guard an infant’s or an incompetent’s estate, condition its order on approval of sureties. See CPLR § 1202(c); cf. also CPLR §§ 2502(a), 2504(a). Similarly, a specific provision for court approval would govern. See, e. g., CPLR § 6115(a).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 1976, ch 314, § 1; L 1984, ch 805, § 7, eff Sept 1, 1984.
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: except to surety New Yorkchallenge surety sufficiency undertakingsurety certificate of qualification New YorkNew York undertaking exception ten days