§ 314.Service without the state not giving personal jurisdiction in certain actions.
Article 3. Jurisdiction and Service, Appearance and Choice of Court · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 314 permits service outside New York, without giving the court personal jurisdiction over the person served, in matrimonial actions, actions affecting an interest in New York real or personal property, and actions where the defendant's property has been attached or seized.
Full Text of CPLR 314
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Service may be made without the state by any person authorized by section 313 in the same manner as service is made within the state:
1. in a matrimonial action; or 2. where a judgment is demanded that the person to be served be excluded from a vested or contingent interest in or lien upon specific real or personal property within the state; or that such an interest or lien in favor of either party be enforced, regulated, defined or limited; or otherwise affecting the title to such property, including an action of interpleader or defensive interpleader; or 3. where a levy upon property of the person to be served has been made within the state pursuant to an order of attachment or a chattel of such person has been seized in an action to recover a chattel.
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 314 covers a narrower situation than section 313: cases where New York's power over the defendant comes from something other than personal jurisdiction over that person. It allows service outside the state, using the same methods available for service within New York, in three kinds of actions.
The first is a matrimonial action. The second reaches any action demanding that someone be excluded from, or that a court define, enforce, or limit, an interest or lien in New York real or personal property -- including an interpleader action over property. The third covers actions where the defendant's property in New York has already been levied on under an order of attachment, or where a chattel belonging to the defendant has been seized in an action to recover it.
Service under this section doesn't hand the court personal jurisdiction over the person served. It supports only the in rem or quasi in rem power the court already has -- over the marital status, the property, or the attached asset. If the defendant is also domiciled in New York or otherwise reachable under sections 301 or 302, section 313 controls instead, and full personal jurisdiction follows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of cases allow service outside New York under CPLR 314?
Matrimonial actions, actions affecting an interest or lien in New York real or personal property, and actions where the defendant's property here has been attached or seized.
Does service under CPLR 314 give the court jurisdiction over the defendant personally?
No. It supports only the court's power over the property, the attached asset, or the marital status at issue, not a personal judgment against the defendant.
Can I serve a divorce defendant who lives outside New York under this section?
Yes. Matrimonial actions are one of the three categories CPLR 314 covers.
What if the defendant is also domiciled in New York?
Then section 313 applies instead, and service outside the state gives the court full personal jurisdiction, not just jurisdiction over the property or status.
Does CPLR 314 cover interpleader actions?
Yes, when the interpleader action affects an interest or lien in property located in New York.
Advisory Committee Notes
Personal service without the state in actions in rem or quasi in rem is authorized, under this section, in any manner in which service could be made within the state. Such service does not give the court personal jurisdiction over the defendant unless he is one of the persons specified in § 313–i.e., a domiciliary of the state, a person treated as a domiciliary because he is doing business in the state, or a person who has done an act specified in § 302 out of which a cause of action arose. Service without the state under CPA §§ 233, 235 restricts such service to delivery to the person to be served. The purpose of expanding the availability of service by other methods of physical delivery without the state in actions in rem and quasi in rem is to discourage the use of publication, which is the form of service least likely to give notice.
Service by certified or registered mail will not be available under this section. Such service is unnecessary in view of CPLR § 308. Subdivision 3 of that section now permits mailing plus affixing or delivery to a person of suitable age and discretion. The Committee considers this method of service superior to mailing alone, as a method of giving notice to the defendant. It would make little sense to permit use of certified or registered mail only if service was not possible by affixing or delivery to a person of suitable age and discretion plus mailing, since service by registered or certified mail would then also be impossible.
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:quasi in rem service New Yorkmatrimonial action service outside New YorkNew York property action service abroadCPLR service in rem jurisdiction