(a) Levy by Service of Execution. The sheriff or support collection unit designated by the appropriate social services district shall levy upon any interest of the judgment debtor or obligor in personal property not capable of delivery, or upon any debt owed to the judgment debtor or obligor, by serving a copy of the execution upon the garnishee, in the same manner as a summons, except that such service shall not be made by delivery to a person authorized to receive service of summons solely by a designation filed pursuant to a provision of law other than rule 318. In the event the garnishee is the state of New York, such levy shall be made in the same manner as an income execution pursuant to section 5231 of this article. A levy by service of the execution is effective only if, at the time of service, the person served owes a debt to the judgment debtor or obligor or he or she is in the possession or custody of property not capable of delivery in which he or she knows or has reason to believe the judgment debtor or obligor has an interest, or if the judgment creditor or support collection unit has stated in a notice which shall be served with the execution that a specified debt is owed by the person served to the judgment debtor or obligor or that the judgment debtor or obligor has an interest in specified property not capable of delivery in the possession or custody of the person served. All property not capable of delivery in which the judgment debtor or obligor is known or believed to have an interest then in or thereafter coming into the possession or custody of such a person, including any specified in the notice, and all debts of such a person, including any specified in the notice, then due or thereafter coming due to the judgment debtor or obligor, shall be subject to the levy. The person served with the execution shall forthwith transfer all such property, and pay all such debts upon maturity, to the sheriff or to the support collection unit and execute any document necessary to effect the transfer or payment. After such transfer or payment, property coming into the possession or custody of the garnishee, or debt incurred by him, or her shall not be subject to the levy. Until such transfer or payment is made, or until the expiration of ninety days after the service of the execution upon him or her, or of such further time as is provided by any order of the court served upon him or her, whichever event first occurs, the garnishee is forbidden to make or suffer any sale, assignment or transfer of, or any interference with, any such property, or pay over or otherwise dispose of any such debt, to any person other than the sheriff or the support collection unit, except upon direction of the sheriff or the support collection unit or pursuant to an order of the court. At the expiration of ninety days after a levy is made by service of the execution, or of such further time as the court, upon motion of the judgment creditor or support collection unit has provided, the levy shall be void except as to property or debts which have been transferred or paid to the sheriff or to the support collection unit or as to which a proceeding under sections 5225 or 5227 has been brought. A judgment creditor who, or support collection unit which, has specified personal property or debt to be levied upon in a notice served with an execution shall be liable to the owner of the property or the person to whom the debt is owed, if other than the judgment debtor or obligor, for any damages sustained by reason of the levy.
§ 5232.Levy upon personal property.
Article 52. Enforcement of Money Judgments · Last amended 2009 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 5232 sets out the two ways a sheriff levies on personal property, serving the execution on a garnishee holding intangible property or debts, or physically seizing tangible property, along with the debtor-notice and bank-account exemption protections that come with each.
Full Text of CPLR 5232
(b) Levy by Seizure. The sheriff or support collection unit of the appropriate social services district shall levy upon any interest of the judgment debtor in personal property capable of delivery by taking the property into custody without interfering with the lawful possession of pledgees and lessees. The sheriff or support collection unit shall forthwith serve a copy of the execution in the manner prescribed by subdivision (a) upon the person from whose possession or custody the property was taken.
(c) Notice to Judgment Debtor or Obligor. Where an execution does not state that a notice in the form presented by subdivision (e) of section fifty-two hundred twenty-two of this chapter has been duly served upon the judgment debtor or obligor within a year, the sheriff or support collection unit shall, not later than four days after service of the execution upon any garnishee, mail by first class mail, or personally deliver, to each judgment debtor or obligor who is a natural person, a copy of the execution together with such notice. The sheriff or support collection unit shall specify on the notice to judgment debtor or obligor the name and address of the judgment creditor or the judgment creditor’s attorney or the support collection unit. The notice shall be mailed to the judgment debtor or obligor at his or her residence address; and in the event such mailing is returned as undeliverable by the post office, or if the residence address of the judgment debtor or obligor is unknown, then to the judgment debtor or obligor in care of the place of employment of the judgment debtor or obligor if known, in an envelope bearing the legend “personal and confidential” and not indicating on the outside thereof, by the return address or otherwise, that the communication is from a sheriff or support collection unit or concerns a debt; or if neither the residence nor the place of employment of the judgment debtor or obligor is known, then to the judgment debtor or obligor at any other known address.
(d) For the purposes of this section “obligor” shall mean an individual other than a judgment debtor obligated to pay support, alimony or maintenance pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction who has been found to be in “default” of such order as such term is defined in paragraph seven of subdivision (a) of section fifty-two hundred forty-one of this article and the establishment of such default has been subject to the procedures established for the determination of a “mistake of fact” for income executions pursuant to subdivision (e) of section fifty-two hundred forty-one of this article, except that for the purposes of this section only, a default shall not be founded upon retroactive child support obligations as defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section four hundred forty and subdivision one of section two hundred forty, and paragraph b of subdivision nine of section two hundred thirty-six of the domestic relations law.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section, if direct deposit or electronic payments reasonably identifiable as statutorily exempt payments as defined in paragraph two of subdivision (l) of section fifty-two hundred five of this article were made to the judgment debtor’s account during the forty-five day period preceding the date that the execution notice was served on the garnishee banking institution, then a garnishee banking institution shall not execute, levy, attach, garnish or otherwise restrain or encumber two thousand five hundred dollars in the judgment debtor’s account. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section, an execution shall not apply to an amount equal to or less than the greater of two hundred forty times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 or two hundred forty times the state minimum hourly wage prescribed in section six hundred fifty-two of the labor law as in effect at the time the earnings are payable (as published on the websites of the United States department of labor and the state department of labor) except such part thereof as a court determines to be unnecessary for the reasonable requirements of the judgment debtor and his or her dependents. This amount shall be equal to seventeen hundred sixteen dollars on the effective date of this subdivision, and shall rise to seventeen hundred forty dollars on July twenty-fourth, two thousand nine, and shall rise thereafter in tandem with the minimum wage. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit a banking institution’s right or obligation to restrain, remove or execute upon such funds from the judgment debtor’s account if required by 42 U.S.C. § 659 or 38 U.S.C. § 5301 or to enforce a child support, spousal support, alimony or maintenance obligation or by a court order. Nothing in this subdivision shall alter the exempt status of funds that are protected from execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, under section fifty-two hundred five of this article or under any other provision of state or federal law, or affect the right of a judgment debtor to claim such exemption.
(f) Fee for banking institution’s costs in processing a levy by service of execution when account contains only exempt, direct deposit or electronic payments. In the event that a banking institution cannot lawfully garnish or execute upon on a judgment debtor’s banking institution account or funds are garnished or executed upon in violation of any section of this chapter, the banking institution shall charge no fee to the judgment debtor regardless of any terms of agreement, or schedule of fees, or other contract between the judgment debtor and the banking institution.
(g) Where a levy by execution pursuant to this section is made against a natural person’s account at a banking institution, the sheriff or support collection unit shall serve the banking institution with the exemption notice and two exemption claim forms prescribed in subdivision (b) of section fifty-two hundred twenty-two-a of this article. The notice and forms must be served upon the banking institution simultaneously with the execution and section fifty-two hundred twenty-two-a of this article shall apply, and all procedures stated therein must be followed. The banking institution shall not transfer the funds in the account to the sheriff or support collection unit for at least twenty-seven days. If, after thirty days, the banking institution has not received an exemption claim form from the judgment debtor, or a court order directing otherwise, it may thereafter transfer the funds to the sheriff or support collection unit.
(h) The provisions of subdivisions (e), (f) and (g) of this section do not apply when the state of New York, or any of its agencies or municipal corporations is the judgment creditor, or if the debt enforced is for child support, spousal support, maintenance or alimony provided that in those instances the execution contains a legend at the top thereof, above the caption, in sixteen point bold type with the following language: “The judgment creditor is the state of New York, or any of its agencies or municipal corporations, AND/OR the debt enforced is for child support, spousal support, maintenance or alimony.”
Plain-English Summary
Not all personal property gets collected the same way. Subdivision (a) covers property that can't be handed over on the spot, debts owed to the debtor, or intangible interests held by someone else, and reaches it by serving the execution on that garnishee. The levy only takes hold if the garnishee owes the debtor a debt or holds property in which the debtor has a known or reasonably believed interest, or if the creditor's notice specifies the debt or property. Once served, the garnishee is frozen: no transfer, sale, or payout to anyone but the sheriff for up to ninety days, after which an unresolved levy lapses unless the property has already changed hands or a dispute proceeding under CPLR 5225 or 5227 is pending. Subdivision (b) covers the more familiar scenario, physical seizure of property the sheriff can take into custody directly, without disturbing a lawful pledgee's or lessee's possession.
Subdivision (c) requires notice to the debtor: within four days of serving a garnishee, the sheriff or support collection unit has to mail or deliver the debtor a copy of the execution along with the exemption notice, sent to the debtor's home address, or to a work address in a discreetly worded envelope if the home address doesn't work, or to any other known address as a last resort.
Subdivisions (e) through (g) build in specific protections for bank accounts. A garnishee bank cannot restrain two thousand five hundred dollars in an account that received exempt direct-deposit payments, like Social Security, in the forty-five days before the levy, and separately, an amount tied to two hundred forty times the minimum wage is off-limits altogether unless a court finds it isn't needed for the debtor's reasonable requirements. A bank served with a levy against a natural person's account has to serve an exemption notice and claim forms along with the execution and hold the funds for at least twenty-seven days, transferring them only after thirty days have passed without a claim or contrary court order. None of these bank-specific protections apply where the state or a municipal corporation is the creditor, or where the debt is for child support, spousal support, or maintenance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between levy by service and levy by seizure under CPLR 5232?
Levy by service, under subdivision (a), reaches debts and intangible property by serving the execution on the person who owes the debt or holds the property. Levy by seizure, under subdivision (b), applies to property a sheriff can physically take into custody, without disturbing anyone lawfully holding it as a pledgee or lessee.
Can a sheriff freeze my entire bank account under CPLR 5232?
A levy served on a bank generally freezes property and debts the bank holds for the debtor, but subdivisions (e) and (g) carve out protected amounts, including two thousand five hundred dollars tied to exempt direct-deposit payments and an amount linked to two hundred forty times the minimum wage, unless a court finds that amount unnecessary for the debtor's needs.
How much money in a bank account is protected from a New York judgment levy?
At minimum, two thousand five hundred dollars is protected if exempt direct-deposit or electronic payments went into the account in the forty-five days before the levy, and a separate floor tied to two hundred forty times the minimum wage is also generally off-limits, absent a contrary court determination.
What notice does a debtor get when their bank account is levied?
Subdivision (g) requires the bank to be served with an exemption notice and two exemption claim forms along with the execution, and the bank must hold the funds for at least twenty-seven days to give the debtor a chance to file a claim before any transfer to the sheriff.
Do the bank account protections in CPLR 5232 apply to child support judgments?
No. Subdivision (h) states that the protections in subdivisions (e), (f), and (g) don't apply when the state or a municipal corporation is the judgment creditor, or when the underlying debt is for child support, spousal support, maintenance, or alimony.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subd (a) of this section replaces CPA § 687-a which was enacted in 1952 after a study and recommendation by the Law Revision Commission. NY Law Rev Commn Rep 355–448 (1952). All but the first sentence of the subd is new and is intended to parallel similar provisions contained in §§ 5222 and 6214.
Subd (b) of this section is new. The provision relating to pledgees and lessees is based upon part of CPA § 688.
There was no former provision regarding the method by which a sheriff was to levy pursuant to an execution although CPA § 917 contained such provisions with regard to attachment. This provision is designed to codify former practice. See 7 Carmody-Wait, Cyclopedia of New York Practice 635 (1953). The phrase “any interest of the judgment debtor in personal property,” used in this subdivision (a) of this section, is designed to replace the enumeration of specific personal property subject to execution in CPA §§ 679, 686, 687-a and 688. Former § 679(1) provided that except for goods and chattels, personal property was not subject to execution unless “expressly declared by law to be subject.” The distinction between tangible and intangible property which is the basis for this provision, has been the cause of much confusion and litigation. See 7 Carmody-Wait, Cyclopedia of New York Practice 623-31 (1953); NY Law Rev Commn Rep 373 (1952). Since the adoption of § 687-a in 1952, intangibles have been subject to execution, and any further need for requiring specific enumeration of subject property has disappeared. At the time of the adoption of § 687-a, however, the provision of § 679(1) requiring express enumeration of property subject to execution was not deleted; rather, subdivision 2 was added to § 679 to provide for the intangibles which were made subject to execution by § 687-a. Since the new CPLR is drafted in terms of “property” and “debts” which are defined in § 105 to include only that which is subject to execution, there is no need for former § 679. The exemption provisions of § 5205 specify those interests not subject to execution. The phrase, “without interfering with the lawful possession of pledgees and lessees,” continues the provision of former § 688 with respect to a pledgee’s possession; there was no former provision regarding a lessee’s possession in the article on executions. However, § 796, in the supplementary proceeding article, apparently recognized the interest of lessees in not being deprived of the use of property without some provision for their rights. It prohibited issuance of a delivery order if there was a substantial dispute regarding the right of the judgment debtor to possession of the property belonging to him. The right of a bona fide lessee to possession should not be automatically abrogated by a sheriff’s seizure under execution. If the sheriff sells the property, without interfering with the lessee’s possession, the purchaser would take subject to the leasehold interest. Cf. CPA § 688 (purchaser takes subject to interest of chattel mortgagee, conditional vendor or pledgee). Former § 686 expressly provided that the sheriff “must levy upon current money of the United States belonging to the judgment debtor, and must pay it over as so much money collected, without exposing it for sale. It is clear under the new CPLR that money is included in the term ”property.“ Under § 5230(a) the sheriff is not required to sell ”legal tender of the United States.“ Section 686’s function in the post-Civil War era to require a sheriff to sell gold coin, but not other money, has long since disappeared. See Laws 1877, c. 416; Laws 1940, c. 63 (deleting gold coin provision).
Amendment History
Formerly § 5231, add, L 1962, ch 308; renumbered § 5232, L 1962, ch 315, § 5, eff Sept 1, 1963; L 1963, ch 532, § 34; L 1968, ch 743, § 1; L 1982, ch 882, § 2; L 1993, ch 59, § 15, eff July 1, 1993; L 2008, ch 575, § 7, eff Jan 1, 2009; L 2009, ch 24, §§ 9, 10, eff May 4, 2009.
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
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