The chief administrator of the courts shall adopt rules regulating the hearing of causes, which may include the filing of notes of issue, the preparation and publication of calendars and the calendar practice for the courts of the unified court system. Insofar as practicable, such rules within the city of New York shall be uniform.
R 3401.Rules for the hearing of causes
Article 34. Calendar Practice; Trial Preferences · Last amended 1986 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 3401 hands the chief administrator of the courts the job of writing the rules that govern how cases move through the calendar, including note of issue filing and calendar preparation, and requires those rules to be uniform across New York City's courts where practical.
Full Text of CPLR 3401
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 3401 does not set calendar rules itself. It tells the chief administrator of the courts to write them, covering how notes of issue get filed, how calendars are prepared and published, and how calendar practice runs across the unified court system.
The rule adds one constraint: within New York City, those calendar rules should be uniform wherever that's practical. The city's courts sit across five counties, and lawyers routinely try cases in more than one of them, so a single set of calendar practices keeps the system predictable instead of forcing attorneys to relearn local quirks county by county.
Because this section is a delegation of rulemaking power, the actual mechanics that litigants deal with day to day, filing deadlines, calendar call procedures, and the like, live in the Uniform Rules for the New York State Trial Courts and local court rules adopted under this authority, not in the text of CPLR 3401.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CPLR 3401?
CPLR 3401 authorizes the chief administrator of the courts to adopt rules for hearing cases, including note of issue filing and calendar preparation, across New York's unified court system.
Who writes New York's calendar and note of issue rules?
The chief administrator of the courts writes them under the authority CPLR 3401 grants, not the legislature through the CPLR itself.
Why does CPLR 3401 require uniform rules in New York City?
Because attorneys and cases regularly cross county lines within the city, uniform calendar rules keep practice consistent across the city's courts wherever that is practical.
Does CPLR 3401 set a deadline for filing a note of issue?
No. CPLR 3401 delegates rulemaking power; specific filing deadlines and calendar mechanics come from the rules adopted under it, such as the Uniform Rules for the trial courts.
Where do I find the actual calendar rules for my New York court?
Look to the Uniform Rules for the New York State Trial Courts and any local rules for your court, since CPLR 3401 only authorizes their adoption rather than stating them.
Advisory Committee Notes
The first sentence of this rule incorporates power formerly granted by § 85 of the Judiciary Law. It is identical with the first paragraph of former rule 237, except that “may” is changed to “shall.” The first clause of former § 152 of the Judiciary Law provided that “the justices of the supreme court elected in the eighth judicial district may adopt, and from time to time amend rules and regulations for making calendars of cases at issue to be tried in the supreme court in and for the county of Erie.” This clause has been stricken to give the Appellate Division in the Fourth Department the same control over calendars that it has in other Departments.
The second sentence of rule 3401 is designed to provide uniform calendar rules within the city of New York to the extent practicable. These rules should be drafted with a view to keeping the parts in all counties in the city occupied as well as with a realization that a number of lawyers try cases extensively within the city. See Remarks of Justice S. Rabin, in Trauma Related To Psychosis 261–64 (Midwinter Seminar, NYS Ass’n of Plaintiffs’ Trial Lawyers, Inc., 1958).
Rule 258 of the rules proposed in the 1915 Report of the Board of Statutory Consolidation provided that “the calendar practice shall be regulated in each department by the respective justices of the appellate division so as to facilitate the dispatch of business.” 1 Report of the Board of Statutory Consolidation on the Simplification of the Civil Practice of New York 109 (1915). In the notes to these rules a sample rule to regulate calendar practice in New York county was provided, which required assignment of cases to judges in rotation as soon as a note of issue was filed. Id. at 367. In 1957, the Temporary Commission on the Courts, in their Recommendations Respecting Calendar Congestion and Delay, proposed assignment to masters and set forth rules for the First Department. NY Temp Comm’n on the Courts Rep IV 25, Leg Doc 6(c) (1957). In view of its decision to leave control of calendar practice with the Appellate Division, the advisory committee has made no recommendations with respect to such proposals.
CPLR rule 4313 provides that the clerk of the court shall send notice of appointment to an unofficial referee. The official referee can be notified of any cases placed on his docket in the same way as a judge is so notified.
CPA § 426 directed the clerk to place a case upon the jury or nonjury calendar depending upon waiver of the right to jury trial. See CPLR § 4102 and notes. This direction is omitted as unnecessary. The types of calendars are left to the control of the Appellate Division.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308; amd, L 1986, ch 355, § 10, eff July 17, 1986.
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: New York calendar practice ruleschief administrator court calendar rules NYnote of issue calendar rules New Yorkuniform court rules New York City calendarhearing of causes rule New Yorkcalendar preparation rules NY courts