(a) Time for motion or demand. A demand under subdivision (b) for change of place of trial on the ground that the county designated for that purpose is not a proper county shall be served with the answer or before the answer is served. A motion for change of place of trial on any other ground shall be made within a reasonable time after commencement of the action.
R 511.Change of place of trial.
Article 5. Venue · Last amended 1965 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 511 spells out the procedure for changing venue: how and when a party must demand or move for the change, when proceedings must pause, and what happens to the case file and any appeal once the county changes.
Full Text of CPLR 511
(b) Demand for change of place of trial upon ground of improper venue, where motion made. The defendant shall serve a written demand that the action be tried in a county he specifies as proper. Thereafter the defendant may move to change the place of trial within fifteen days after service of the demand, unless within five days after such service plaintiff serves a written consent to change the place of trial to that specified by the defendant. Defendant may notice such motion to be heard as if the action were pending in the county he specified, unless plaintiff within five days after service of the demand serves an affidavit showing either that the county specified by the defendant is not proper or that the county designated by him is proper.
(c) Stay of proceedings. No order to stay proceedings for the purpose of changing the place of trial shall be granted unless it appears from the papers that the change is sought with due diligence.
(d) Order, subsequent proceedings and appeal. Upon filing of consent by the plaintiff or entry of an order changing the place of trial by the clerk of the county from which it is changed, the clerk shall forthwith deliver to the clerk of the county to which it is changed all papers filed in the action and certified copies of all minutes and entries, which shall be filed, entered or recorded, as the case requires, in the office of the latter clerk. Subsequent proceedings shall be had in the county to which the change is made as if it had been designated originally as the place of trial, except as otherwise directed by the court. An appeal from an order changing the place of trial shall be taken in the department in which the motion for the order was heard and determined.
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 511 fills in the mechanics behind a CPLR 510 motion, and the deadline depends on which ground the moving party relies on. A demand to change venue because the chosen county wasn't a proper one must go out with the answer or before it. A motion resting on either of the other two grounds, doubts about an impartial trial or the convenience of witnesses, just needs to come within a reasonable time after the action begins.
For the improper-venue ground, the section lays out a back-and-forth: the defendant serves a written demand naming a county it considers proper, and the plaintiff then has five days to consent to the switch in writing. If the plaintiff stays silent, the defendant can move to change venue within fifteen days of the demand, and can even notice that motion as though the case were already pending in the county it named, unless the plaintiff serves an affidavit within five days disputing that the defendant's county is proper or that the current county is improper.
A court won't stay proceedings to allow a venue change unless the papers show the request was pursued with diligence. Once the change is ordered or the plaintiff consents, the clerk of the old county forwards the file and certified copies of the minutes to the clerk of the new county, and the case moves forward there as though it had been filed there from the start. Any appeal from the order changing venue goes to the appellate division department where the motion was heard and decided.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change venue in a New York lawsuit?
You serve a written demand naming the county you believe is proper, and if the plaintiff doesn't consent within five days, you move to change venue within fifteen days of the demand, as CPLR 511(b) provides.
How much time do I have to demand a change of venue after being served?
If your ground is improper venue, the demand must go out with the answer or before it; for any other ground, CPLR 511(a) gives you a reasonable time after the action begins.
What happens if the plaintiff agrees to move the case to the county I want?
If the plaintiff serves written consent within five days of the demand, the case moves to the county named without any need for a motion.
Do proceedings stop while a venue motion is pending?
Not automatically. CPLR 511(c) bars a stay of proceedings for a venue change unless the papers show the request was made with due diligence.
Which appellate division hears an appeal of a venue-change order?
The appeal goes to the department of the appellate division where the motion for the order was heard and decided, not necessarily the department covering the new county.
What happens to the case file when venue changes?
The clerk of the original county sends all filed papers and certified copies of the minutes to the clerk of the new county, and the action continues there as if it had been filed there from the start.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subds (a) and (b) are derived from RCP 146.
Subd (c) is derived from RCP 145 with changes in terminology designed to impose a general standard of due diligence.
The first sentence of subd (d) is the second sentence of CPA § 188. The second sentence is the first sentence of CPA § 188, with the omission of the concluding words “or provided by the written consent of the parties, filed with the clerk.”
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 1964, ch 388, § 3; L 1965, ch 773, § 3, eff Sept 1, 1965; amd by Judicial Conference, eff Sept 1, 1965.
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: how to change venue in New Yorkdemand for change of venue NYmotion to change venue deadlinevenue change procedure New YorkCPLR change of place of trial