Article 50. Judgments Generally · Last amended 1986 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 5014 restricts when a party can bring a fresh lawsuit on an existing money judgment, generally requiring ten years to pass, an unappeared default with non-personal service, or court permission, and establishes the renewal judgment procedure for extending a judgment's lien.
Full Text of CPLR 5014
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Except as permitted by section 15-102 of the general obligations law, an action upon a money judgment entered in a court of the state may only be maintained between the original parties to the judgment where:
1. ten years have elapsed since the first docketing of the judgment; or 2. the judgment was entered against the defendant by default for want of appearance and the summons was served other than by personal delivery to him or to his agent for service designated under rule 318, either within or without the state; or 3. the court in which the action is sought to be brought so orders on motion with such notice to such other persons as the court may direct. An action may be commenced under subdivision one of this section during the year prior to the expiration of ten years since the first docketing of the judgment. The judgment in such action shall be designated a renewal judgment and shall be so docketed by the clerk. The lien of a renewal judgment shall take effect upon the expiration of ten years from the first docketing of the original judgment.
Plain-English Summary
A money judgment doesn't last forever without upkeep. CPLR 5014 controls when a judgment creditor can sue on the judgment itself, a separate action distinct from enforcing the original judgment, and it limits that option to three situations. First, ten years must have elapsed since the judgment was first docketed. Second, the action is available where the original judgment was entered against a defendant by default for want of appearance and the summons wasn't served by personal delivery, either to the defendant directly or to an agent designated for service. Third, the court can authorize the action on motion, with whatever notice to other interested people the court directs.
The ten-year trigger connects to a broader housekeeping mechanism: the renewal judgment. A creditor doesn't have to wait for the full ten years to run before acting. The statute allows the renewal action to be commenced during the year immediately before the ten-year mark, so the creditor can line up continuous enforcement rather than letting the judgment lapse and then scrambling to sue anew. The resulting judgment is designated a renewal judgment and gets docketed as such by the clerk.
Timing the lien matters as much as timing the lawsuit. The lien created by a renewal judgment doesn't start immediately upon its entry; it takes effect only when the ten years since the first docketing of the original judgment have run out. That sequencing keeps the original judgment's lien and the renewal judgment's lien from overlapping or creating gaps, so a diligent creditor can maintain an unbroken lien on the debtor's property across the full life of the debt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a judgment creditor sue again on an old New York judgment?
Yes, but CPLR 5014 limits it to specific situations: ten years have passed since the judgment was first docketed, the original judgment was a default for non-appearance with non-personal service, or the court authorizes the action on motion.
What is a renewal judgment under CPLR 5014?
It's the judgment entered in an action commenced during the year before the ten-year mark since the original judgment's first docketing, which the clerk dockets as a renewal judgment.
When does the lien of a renewal judgment take effect?
The lien takes effect only upon the expiration of ten years from the first docketing of the original judgment, not from the renewal judgment's own entry date.
Does CPLR 5014 apply between the original parties to the judgment?
Yes. The statute limits this type of action to one maintained between the original parties to the judgment, subject to the exception in section 15-102 of the general obligations law.
Why would someone want to sue on a judgment instead of just enforcing it?
Suing on the judgment through a renewal action, timed within the year before the ten-year mark, lets a creditor extend enforceability and lien protection without any gap once the original judgment's term runs out.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section is derived from CPA § 484. The section applies to both judgments for, and directing the payment of, a sum of money, since these are treated the same way throughout this article. See notes to § 5018(a). The term “money judgment” is used, since this term is so defined in CPLR § 105(n).
Subparagraph 1 of § 484 provided that an action on the judgment might have been maintained if “[t]en years have elapsed since the docketing of such judgment.” It was apparently intended that this coincide with the period during which the judgment might have created a lien on real property or chattels real (CPA §§ 510, 511) unless the lien was extended. E.g., id. § 515. The term “first docketing” rather than “docketing” is used in subparagraph 1 of this section, however, to make it clear that the provision does not refer to the time of a subsequent docketing of the judgment by transcript in another clerk’s office. Under § 5018(a), the “first docketing” occurs immediately after filing of the judgment-roll, which is the time from which the lien of former § 510 was measured.
The former twenty-year period of limitation on a judgment should be retained in § 211.
Subparagraphs 2 and 3 of this section are rewordings of subparagraphs 2 and 3 of former § 484 with one change— subparagraph 3 grants to the court discretion as to notice rather than providing, as did former subparagraph 3, that notice of motion must be personally served if service can be accomplished with due diligence.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 1964, ch 485, eff Sept 1, 1964; L 1965, ch 115, § 1,eff April 26, 1965; L 1986, ch 123, § 1, eff Sept 1, 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:renewal judgment New Yorkhow long is a judgment good for in New Yorkten year judgment expiration NYaction upon a money judgment CPLRrenewing a judgment in New York