(a) Upon an infant. Personal service upon an infant shall be made by personally serving the summons within the state upon a parent or any guardian or any person having legal custody or, if the infant is married, upon an adult spouse with whom the infant resides, or, if none are within the state, upon any other person with whom he resides, or by whom he is employed. If the infant is of the age of fourteen years or over, the summons shall also be personally served upon him within the state.
§ 309.Personal service upon an infant, incompetent or conservatee.
Article 3. Jurisdiction and Service, Appearance and Choice of Court · Last amended 1981 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 309 requires serving an infant, an adjudicated incompetent, or a conservatee through a parent, guardian, custodian, committee, or conservator, with direct service on the person too in most cases, reflecting the extra protection the law gives people who can't fully manage their own defense.
Full Text of CPLR 309
(b) Upon a person judicially declared to be incompetent. Personal service upon a person judicially declared to be incompetent to manage his affairs and for whom a committee has been appointed shall be made by personally serving the summons within the state upon the committee and upon the incompetent, but the court may dispense with service upon the incompetent.
(c) Upon a conservatee. Personal service on a person for whom a conservator has been appointed shall be made by personally serving the summons within the state upon the conservator and upon the conservatee, but the court may dispense with service upon the conservatee.
Plain-English Summary
Subdivision (a) governs service on a minor. The summons goes to a parent, any guardian, or anyone with legal custody; if the infant is married, it can go to the adult spouse the infant lives with; and if none of those people are in New York, it goes to whoever the infant lives with or works for. That covers the adult who should be looking out for the child's interests. But an infant fourteen or older also has to be personally served in their own right, on top of service on the responsible adult, since the law treats an older teenager as capable of understanding that a suit is pending.
Subdivisions (b) and (c) apply the same layered approach to a person judicially declared incompetent and to a conservatee. Service goes to both the committee (for an incompetent person) or conservator (for a conservatee) and to the individual, though the court has discretion to dispense with service on the individual when that makes more sense given the person's condition.
The pattern across all three groups is the same: make sure someone with the legal authority and capacity to protect the person's interests gets notice, while still trying to notify the person directly whenever that's realistic. Only a court, weighing the individual's condition, can excuse that direct notice for an incompetent person or a conservatee.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you serve a minor with a lawsuit in New York?
By personally serving a parent, guardian, or person with legal custody, or (if the infant is married and living with a spouse) the adult spouse, or, if none are in the state, whoever the infant lives with or works for.
Does a 14-year-old have to be personally served in addition to a parent?
Yes. If the infant is fourteen or older, the summons must also be personally served on the infant, in addition to service on the parent, guardian, or custodian.
How is service made on someone judicially declared incompetent?
By personally serving both the committee appointed to manage the person's affairs and the incompetent person, though the court may dispense with service on the incompetent person.
Can a court excuse service on the incompetent person themselves?
Yes. CPLR 309(b) gives the court discretion to dispense with service on the incompetent individual, even though service on the committee is still required.
How is a conservatee served under CPLR 309?
By personally serving both the conservator and the conservatee, with the court again able to dispense with service on the conservatee.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subd (a) is substantially the same as CPA § 225(1). The former provision that the court may order service upon another person in the interest of and on behalf of the infant has been omitted as unnecessary. Ample provision for protection of the interests of the infant is made in new CPLR rule 1202 and § 1203.
Subd (b) is substantially the same as CPA § 225(2). The CPA § 226 dealing with service by court order upon another person in the interest of and on behalf of an incompetent or person mentally incapable of protecting his rights, is not included, because ample provision for protection of the interests of an incompetent or other person incapable of protecting his rights is made in new CPLR rule 1202 and § 1203.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1; amd, L 1968, ch 844, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1968; L 1981, ch 115, § 16, eff May 18, 1981.
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: serve a minor lawsuit New Yorkservice on incompetent person New Yorkserve a conservatee New York CPLRinfant defendant service requirements New York