At any time before a judgment is satisfied or vacated, the judgment creditor may compel disclosure of all matter relevant to the satisfaction of the judgment, by serving upon any person a subpoena, which shall specify all of the parties to the action, the date of the judgment, the court in which it was entered, the amount of the judgment and the amount then due thereon, and shall state that false swearing or failure to comply with the subpoena is punishable as a contempt of court.
§ 5223.Disclosure.
Article 52. Enforcement of Money Judgments · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceLets a judgment creditor compel any person, before the judgment is satisfied or vacated, to disclose any information relevant to collecting on it by serving a subpoena that identifies the judgment and warns that noncompliance is contempt.
Full Text of CPLR 5223
Plain-English Summary
Before a creditor can restrain or seize anything, it usually needs to find it. CPLR 5223 is the discovery engine behind Article 52: at any point before the judgment is paid off or set aside, the creditor can serve a subpoena on any person, not only the debtor, compelling disclosure of anything relevant to satisfying the judgment.
The subpoena has formal requirements that track the rest of Article 52's paperwork: it must name the parties, state when and where the judgment was entered, list the amount owed and the balance due, and warn that lying under oath or ignoring the subpoena is punishable as contempt. The mechanics of how that subpoena gets served and answered are spelled out in the following section, CPLR 5224.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a judgment creditor investigate where my assets are?
Yes. CPLR 5223 lets a creditor serve a subpoena on any person, not only the debtor, compelling disclosure of anything relevant to collecting the judgment.
What must a disclosure subpoena under CPLR 5223 include?
The parties to the case, the date and court of the judgment, the amount owed and still due, and a warning that false swearing or noncompliance is contempt of court.
Until when can a creditor use CPLR 5223 disclosure?
Any time before the judgment is satisfied or vacated.
Can a bank or employer be subpoenaed under CPLR 5223, not just the debtor?
Yes. The subpoena can be served upon any person believed to have relevant information, not only the judgment debtor.
What happens if someone lies in response to a CPLR 5223 subpoena?
False swearing in response to the subpoena is punishable as contempt of court, the same as failing to comply with it at all.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 315, § 4, eff Sept 1, 1963, with substance transferred from first paragraph of former § 5223.
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: judgment debtor disclosure subpoena New Yorkfind debtor assets New York judgmentCPLR 5223 information subpoenapost judgment discovery New York