(a) Upon application of a creditor, for good cause shown, and upon such terms as justice may require, the court may correct any defect, irregularity, error or omission in an income execution for support enforcement issued pursuant to section 5241 of this article.
§ 5242.Income deduction order for support enforcement.
Article 52. Enforcement of Money Judgments · Last amended 2014 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 5242 lets a court, on a creditor's showing of good cause or automatically when it enters or registers most support orders, issue an income deduction order withholding current and future support directly from a debtor's pay without first requiring the debtor to default.
Full Text of CPLR 5242
(b) Upon application of a creditor, for good cause shown, the court may enter an income deduction order for support enforcement. In determining good cause, the court may take into consideration evidence of the degree of such debtor’s past financial responsibility, credit references, credit history, and any other matter the court considers relevant in determining the likelihood of payment in accordance with the order of support. Proof of default establishes a prima facie case against the debtor, which can be overcome only by proof of the debtor’s inability to make the payments. Unless the prima facie case is overcome, the court shall enter an income deduction order for support enforcement pursuant to this section.
(c) When the court enters an order of support on behalf of persons other than those in receipt of public assistance or in receipt of services pursuant to section one hundred eleven-g of the social services law, or registers pursuant to article five-B of the family court act an order of support which has been issued by a foreign jurisdiction and which is not to be enforced pursuant to title six-A of article three of the social services law, where the court determines that the debtor has income that could be subject to an income deduction order, the court shall issue an income deduction order to obtain payment of the order at the same time it issues or registers the order. The court shall enter the income deduction order unless the court finds and sets forth in writing (i) the reasons that there is good cause not to require immediate income withholding; or (ii) that an agreement providing for an alternative arrangement has been reached between the parties. Such agreement may include a written agreement or an oral stipulation, made on the record, that results in a written order. For purposes of this subdivision, good cause shall mean substantial harm to the debtor. The absence of an arrearage or the mere issuance of an income deduction order shall not constitute good cause. When the court determines that there is good cause not to issue an income deduction order immediately or when the parties agree to an alternative arrangement as provided in this subdivision, the court shall state expressly in the order of support the basis for its decision.
(d) In entering the income deduction order, the court shall use the form for income withholding promulgated by the office of temporary and disability assistance for this purpose, which form shall include the necessary information and directions to ensure the characterization of the income deduction order as an income withholding notice as described and required by subsection (b) of section six hundred sixty-six of title forty-two of the United States Code; provided, however, that where the court enters an order for spousal support only, an alternate spousal support form for income withholding promulgated by the office of temporary and disability assistance may be used but is not required. The court shall serve or cause to be served a copy of the income deduction order on the employer or income payor and transmit copies of such order to the parties; and, in addition, where the income deduction order is for child support or combined child and spousal support, to the state disbursement unit established in this state in accordance with section six hundred fifty-four-b of title forty-two of the United States Code.
(e) An employer or income payor served with an income deduction order entered pursuant to this section shall commence deductions from the income due or thereafter due to the debtor no later than the first pay period that occurs fourteen days after service of the income deduction order, and shall make payments payable to and remit such payments to the state disbursement unit if the deductions are for child or combined child and spousal support, or to the creditor if the deductions are for spousal support only, within seven business days of the date that the debtor is paid. Each payment remitted by the employer or income payor shall include the information as instructed on the income deduction order. The amount remitted by the employer or income payor shall be as set forth in the income deduction order including the additional amount that shall be ordered by the court and applied to the reduction of arrears, if any, unless such deduction is otherwise limited by subdivision (f) of this section.
(f) An employer or income payor shall be liable to the creditor for failure to deduct the amounts specified in the income deduction order, provided however that deduction by the employer or income payor of the amounts specified shall not relieve the debtor of the underlying obligation of support. If an employer or income payor shall fail to so pay the state disbursement unit or, if a spousal support only payment the creditor, the creditor may commence a proceeding against the employer or income payor for accrued deductions, together with interest and reasonable attorney’s fees. If the debtor’s employment is terminated by resignation or dismissal at any time after service of the income deduction order, the order shall cease to have force and effect unless the debtor is reinstated or re-employed within ninety days after such termination. An employer must notify the issuer promptly when the debtor terminates employment and must provide the debtor’s last address and the name and address of the debtor’s new employer, if known. An income payor must notify the issuer when the debtor no longer receives income and must provide the debtor’s last address and the name and address of the debtor’s new employer, if known. Where the income is compensation paid or payable to the debtor for personal services, the amount withheld by the employer shall not exceed the following:
(i) Where the debtor currently is supporting a spouse or dependent child other than the creditor’s dependent child, the amount withheld shall not exceed fifty percent of the earnings of the debtor remaining after the deduction therefrom of any amounts required by law to be withheld (“disposable earnings”), except that if any part of the deduction is to be applied to the reduction of arrears which shall have accrued more than twelve weeks prior to the beginning of the week for which such earnings are payable, the amount withheld shall not exceed fifty-five percent of disposable earnings.
(ii) Where the debtor currently is not supporting a spouse or dependent child other than the creditor’s dependent child, the amount withheld shall not exceed sixty percent of the earnings of the debtor remaining after the deduction therefrom of any amounts required by law to be withheld (“disposable earnings”), except that if any part of the deduction is to be applied to the reduction of arrears which shall have accrued more than twelve weeks prior to the beginning of the week for which such earnings are payable, the amount withheld shall not exceed sixty-five percent of disposable earnings.
(g) An order pursuant to this section shall take priority over any other assignment, levy or process. If an employer or income payor is served with more than one income deduction order pertaining to a single employee pursuant to this section, or with an order issued pursuant to this section and also an execution pursuant to section 5241 of this article, and if the combined total amount of the income to be withheld exceeds the limits set forth in subdivision (f) of this section, the employer or income payor shall withhold the maximum amount permitted thereby and pay to each creditor that proportion thereof which such creditor’s claim bears to the combined total.
(h) An employer or income payor shall be liable to the creditor for failure to deduct the amounts specified, provided however that deduction of the amounts specified by the employer or income payor shall not relieve the debtor of the underlying obligation of support.
(i) A creditor shall not be required to issue process under section 5241 of this article prior to obtaining relief pursuant to this section.
Plain-English Summary
Where CPLR 5241 responds to a debtor who has already defaulted, CPLR 5242 works earlier, at the moment the support order itself is entered. Subdivision (c) requires the court to issue an income deduction order at the same time it enters or registers most support orders, unless it finds good cause not to, meaning substantial harm to the debtor, or unless the parties have reached an alternative payment arrangement placed on the record. An arrearage isn't required to trigger this mechanism, and the mere existence of the order doesn't count as good cause to skip it.
Subdivision (b) also lets a creditor move for an income deduction order on a separate showing of good cause, weighing the debtor's history of financial responsibility, credit history, and any other relevant factor bearing on the likelihood of payment; proof of default alone makes out a case against the debtor that only proof of inability to pay can overcome. Once issued, the order goes to the employer or income payor, who has to begin withholding by the first pay period at least fourteen days after service and remit payments within seven business days of paying the debtor.
Subdivision (f) sets the same withholding ceilings used in CPLR 5241, up to fifty or sixty percent of disposable earnings depending on whether the debtor is supporting another spouse or child, with the higher figures available toward arrears more than twelve weeks old. Subdivision (g) gives an income deduction order the same top priority over other assignments, levies, and process, and subdivision (i) makes clear a creditor doesn't have to try a CPLR 5241 execution first before seeking relief under this section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between an income execution and an income deduction order for support?
An income execution under CPLR 5241 issues after a debtor defaults on a support order. An income deduction order under CPLR 5242 typically issues at the same time the court enters or registers the support order, before any default has occurred, unless the court finds good cause to hold off or the parties agree to an alternative arrangement.
Does a parent have to default before a support income deduction order can issue?
No. Subdivision (c) requires the court to issue the order when it enters or registers most support orders, regardless of whether a default has happened, unless it finds good cause not to or the parties have reached an alternative arrangement on the record.
What counts as good cause for an income deduction order under CPLR 5242?
For the court's automatic-issuance duty under subdivision (c), good cause means substantial harm to the debtor; an arrearage isn't required, and having already entered the order isn't itself good cause to skip withholding. For a creditor's separate motion under subdivision (b), good cause looks at the debtor's financial history and the likelihood of payment.
How much can be withheld under a CPLR 5242 income deduction order?
The same limits used for support executions under CPLR 5241 apply: up to fifty percent of disposable earnings if the debtor supports another spouse or dependent child, up to sixty percent if not, with an additional five points allowed when part of the deduction covers arrears more than twelve weeks old.
Can a court fix a mistake in a support income execution under CPLR 5242?
Yes. Subdivision (a) lets a creditor apply to correct a defect, irregularity, error, or omission in an income execution for support enforcement issued under CPLR 5241, on whatever terms justice requires.
Amendment History
Add, L 1985, ch 809, § 3; amd, L 1987, ch 815, § 10; L 1990, ch 818, § 3; L 1994, ch 170, § 358, eff June 15, 1994; L 1997, ch 398, § 42; L 2007, ch 601, § 12, eff Aug 15, 2007; L 2013, ch 270, § 7, eff April 27, 2014.
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: income deduction order for child support New Yorkautomatic wage withholding for support ordergood cause income deduction orderchild support income withholding without default