Article 52. Enforcement of Money Judgments · Last amended 2010 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceEstablishes that docketing a money judgment, or filing a notice of levy, creates a lien on the debtor's real property in that county, effective against later transfers for up to ten years, and lets a creditor ask a court to extend that lien beyond ten years.
(a)Priority and Lien on Docketing Judgment. No transfer of an interest of the judgment debtor in real property, against which property a money judgment may be enforced, is effective against the judgment creditor either from the time of the docketing of the judgment with the clerk of the county in which the property is located until ten years after the filing of the judgment-roll, or from the time of the filing with such clerk of a notice of levy pursuant to an execution until the execution is returned, except:
1. a transfer or the payment of the proceeds of a judicial sale, which shall include an execution sale, in satisfaction either of a judgment previously so docketed or of a judgment where a notice of levy pursuant to an execution thereon was previously so filed; or 2. a transfer in satisfaction of a mortgage given to secure the payment of the purchase price of the judgment debtor’s interest in the property; or 3. a transfer to a purchaser for value at a judicial sale, which shall include an execution sale; or 4. when the judgment was entered after the death of the judgment debtor; or 5. when the judgment debtor is the state, an officer, department, board or commission of the state, or a municipal corporation; or 6. when the judgment debtor is the personal representative of a decedent and the judgment was awarded in an action against him in his representative capacity.
(b)Extension of Lien. Upon motion of the judgment creditor, upon notice to the judgment debtor, served personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the judgment debtor, the court may order that the lien of a money judgment upon real property be effective after the expiration of ten years from the filing of the judgment-roll, for a period no longer than the time during which the judgment creditor was stayed from enforcing the judgment, or the time necessary to complete advertisement and sale of real property in accordance with section 5236, pursuant to an execution delivered to a sheriff prior to the expiration of ten years from the filing of the judgment-roll. The order shall be effective from the time it is filed with the clerk of the county in which the property is located and an appropriate entry is made upon the docket of the judgment.
(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, where a court makes an oral or written determination on the record awarding ownership of an interest in real property, and a judgment effectuating such determination is docketed with the clerk of the county in which such property is located not later than thirty days thereafter, such judgement shall be deemed entered and docketed on the day immediately preceding the date of such determination solely for purposes of establishing the priority thereof against a judicial lien on such property created upon the simultaneous or later filing of a petition in bankruptcy pursuant to the United States bankruptcy code, as amended.
Plain-English Summary
Docketing a judgment with the county clerk does more than record it; it creates a lien against every interest the debtor holds in real property located in that county. Under subdivision (a), any transfer the debtor makes after docketing is void against the judgment creditor for ten years from the filing of the judgment-roll, or, if a notice of levy has been filed, until the execution is returned. The rule has real exceptions: sales at judicial or execution sales, transfers that pay off a purchase-money mortgage, judgments entered after the debtor's death, judgments against the state or a municipal corporation, and judgments against a decedent's personal representative awarded against them in that representative capacity do not trigger this lien priority.
Ten years is a long time but not forever. Subdivision (b) lets a creditor who moves on notice to the debtor ask the court to extend the lien past the ten-year mark, capped at however long enforcement was stayed, or however long it took to complete an execution sale under CPLR 5236.
Subdivision (c), added in 2010, addresses a narrow timing problem in matrimonial and similar property disputes: when a court has already ruled on the record who owns an interest in real property, and the resulting judgment is docketed within thirty days, that judgment is treated as entered the day before the ruling, for the purpose of outranking a bankruptcy lien that might otherwise attach first.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a money judgment become a lien on real property in New York?
As soon as it is docketed with the county clerk where the property sits, or when a notice of levy is filed. The lien then runs for ten years from the judgment-roll's filing.
Can a judgment lien on real property be extended past ten years?
Yes, on motion with notice to the debtor. The court can extend it for as long as enforcement was stayed or an execution sale under CPLR 5236 took to complete.
Does a judgment lien beat a legitimate sale of the debtor's property?
Not always. Sales at a judicial or execution sale, and transfers that pay off a purchase-money mortgage, are not cut off by the lien.
Does CPLR 5203 apply to judgments against the state?
No. Judgments where the debtor is the state, a state agency, or a municipal corporation fall outside the lien-priority rule in subdivision (a).
Why does CPLR 5203(c) matter for bankruptcy timing?
It lets a judgment finalizing a court's property ruling within thirty days count as entered the day before that ruling, so it can outrank a bankruptcy lien filed after the ruling but before docketing.
Advisory Committee Notes
(See also Advisory Committee Notes preceding § 5201, under subheading “Liens and priorities generally.”).
Subd (a) of this section replaces parts of CPA §§ 478, 509, 510(1), 512 and 514. Subparagraph 1 retains the basic priority by docketing system of former §§ 509 and 510(1). It includes the “temporary lien” of former § 512 and § 5236. The ten-year period of the opening paragraph of this subdivision may be extended under the provisions of subd (b), released upon the provisions of § 5204, or revived under the provisions of § 5237. Subparagraph 2 of the subdivision is derived from former § 514 with no change intended. Subparagraph 3 is new and protects the title of a purchaser at a judicial sale. Transfer of the proceeds of the sale, however, would not be effective as to a senior judgment creditor. See notes to § 5236(e). Subparagraph 4 is based upon the second sentence of former § 478, which declared that a judgment entered against a party after his death was not a lien on his realty. Subd 1 of CPA § 510, which provided that a docketed judgment was a lien on real property, contained an exception for judgments against municipal corporations. Despite this, an execution against municipal corporations was permitted (Kelly v Yonkers, 242 App Div 798, 274 NY Supp 781 (2d Dept 1934)), but an early case indicates that property of a municipality held for public use might not have been levied upon thereunder. See Darlington v Mayor, 31 NY 164, 193 (1865). Since no lien upon real property of a municipality was created by docketing, it was not clear whether such property could be sold under an execution. Ordinarily, no levy was needed on real property in order for it to be sold under an execution, since it was subject to the lien of the judgment. CPA § 512 which provided for levy upon real property, might have been a means to sell municipal real property, but it was only operative after ten years from the filing of the judgment-roll—i.e., the duration of the usual judgment lien—had elapsed. Nevertheless, § 512 did not require an expired judgment lien; it apparently was effective even if the judgment was never a lien because it was not docketed in the county in which the property was located during the first ten years. In the usual case of a judgment against a municipal corporation, the practical problems of enforcement are few. Moreover, there are other statutes which govern the issuance of executions upon, as well as the method of payment of, such judgments. See, e.g., Town Law §§ 65(2), 106, 176(30); Village Law § 89(62); Second Class Cities Law § 206 (execution may issue only under certain conditions); NYC Admin Code § 394a-2.0 (execution may issue only after ten days’ notice to comptroller). While there was no express provision in the civil practice act, a judgment against the state or its officers and agencies would also appear not to have created a lien upon state property. Subparagraph 5 of this subdivision makes this explicit.
The first sentence of subd (b) of this section is based upon CPA § 515. Section 515 provided for an extension of the ten-year lien period which was inoperative against “a purchaser, creditor or mortgagee in good faith.” Apparently, this limitation derived from the lack of filing or recording requirements, for it would have been impossible to tell from an examination of the judgment docket whether, because of an extension, a lien was still in force, despite the expiration of ten years from the filing of the judgment-roll. The only real purpose of a real property lien is to secure the judgment creditor until he is able to apply personal property of the debtor to the satisfaction of the judgment. Extension of the lien to compensate for a period when the creditor is stayed from such enforcement seems a justifiable objective. The extended lien, however, should be as effective as during the original period. The first sentence of this subdivision therefore provides for an extension of the lien by court order, which order is filed and recorded, as prescribed in the last sentence, to make it possible for bona fide purchasers to rely upon the judgment docket.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 1964, ch 388, § 24, eff Sept 1, 1964; L 1965, ch 974, §§ 1, 2, eff Sept 1, 1965; L 1972, ch 968, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1972; L 2010, ch 427, § 1, eff Aug 30, 2010.
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 judgment lien real propertyhow long does a judgment lien last in New Yorkdocketing judgment county clerk lienCPLR 5203 lien extensionjudgment lien priority bankruptcy New York