The court, upon motion, may change the place of trial of an action where: 1. the county designated for that purpose is not a proper county; or 2. there is reason to believe that an impartial trial cannot be had in the proper county; or 3. the convenience of material witnesses and the ends of justice will be promoted by the change.
§ 510.Grounds for change of place of trial.
Article 5. Venue · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 510 lets a court move a civil case to a different county when the chosen county is not proper, when an impartial trial there seems unlikely, or when the change would serve the convenience of material witnesses and the interests of justice.
Full Text of CPLR 510
Plain-English Summary
Venue is not the same as jurisdiction. Jurisdiction asks whether a court has power to hear a case at all; venue asks which county within the state gets to host the trial. CPLR 510 gives a court the power to move a case that's already been filed in one county over to another, once a moving party makes the necessary showing.
The section lists three separate grounds, and a party needs only one. The first fires when the county the plaintiff picked wasn't a proper venue in the first place, under the residency and other rules elsewhere in Article 5. The second lets a court step in when a fair trial in that county looks doubtful, for example because of local prejudice or heavy pretrial publicity. The third reaches beyond any mistake in picking the county: the court can shift a properly venued case when doing so would spare material witnesses hardship and would serve justice generally.
CPLR 511 supplies the procedure for putting any of these three grounds in front of a judge, including deadlines that differ depending on which ground is invoked.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the grounds for changing venue in a New York lawsuit?
CPLR 510 allows a change of venue on three grounds: the county chosen is not a proper one, an impartial trial cannot be had there, or moving the case would serve the convenience of material witnesses and the interests of justice.
Can I get venue changed just because the original county is inconvenient for me?
Inconvenience to a party alone isn't one of the listed grounds. The convenience ground in CPLR 510(3) focuses on material witnesses and the interests of justice, not on a party's own preference.
What does it mean that a trial cannot be impartial in a county?
This ground lets a court move a case when local conditions, such as widespread publicity or community bias, make it doubtful that a jury pool in that county can judge the case without prejudice.
What happens if a case was filed in the wrong county to begin with?
CPLR 510(1) lets the court change venue when the county designated for trial was never proper under the applicable venue rules, regardless of whether the mistake was innocent.
Is a change of venue automatic once a party asks for it?
No. CPLR 510 requires a motion, and the court decides whether the moving party has shown one of the three grounds; nothing about the change is self-executing.
Which rule explains how to ask for a change of venue?
CPLR 511 sets out the procedure and deadlines for demanding or moving for a change of venue under any of the CPLR 510 grounds.
Advisory Committee Notes
This provision is taken from CPA § 187. Words “upon motion” inserted in opening paragraph to avoid implication that the court may change the place of venue on its own motion.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, 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: New York change of venuegrounds for change of venue New Yorkmotion to change venue New Yorkimproper venue New York lawsuitchange of place of trial CPLRmove a lawsuit to another county NY