(a) Appealable Paper. An initial appeal shall be taken from the judgment or order of the court of original instance and an appeal seeking review of an appellate determination shall be taken from the order entered in the office of the clerk of the court whose order is sought to be reviewed. If a timely appeal is taken from a judgment or order other than that specified in the last sentence and no prejudice results therefrom and the proper paper is furnished to the court to which the appeal is taken, the appeal shall be deemed taken from the proper judgment or order.
§ 5512.Appealable paper; entry of order made out of court.
Article 55. Appeals Generally · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 5512 identifies which paper an appeal must be taken from -- the trial court's judgment or order, or an appellate court's own order when a further appeal is sought -- and lets a court compel entry of an order made out of court.
Full Text of CPLR 5512
(b) Entry of Order Made Out of Court. Entry of an order made out of court and filing of the papers on which the order was granted may be compelled by order of the court from or to which an appeal from the order might be taken.
Plain-English Summary
An appeal has to point at a specific piece of paper. CPLR 5512(a) says an initial appeal is taken from the judgment or order of the court of original instance, while an appeal seeking further review of an appellate ruling is taken from the order entered by the clerk of the court whose ruling is being reviewed, not from some other document generated along the way. This ends the old distinction that once required different appealable papers in actions versus special proceedings.
The section also forgives a common slip: if a party takes a timely appeal but names the wrong judgment or order, and no one is prejudiced, and the correct paper is furnished to the court hearing the appeal, the appeal is deemed taken from the proper judgment or order instead of being dismissed over the mismatch.
Subdivision (b) deals with orders signed outside the courthouse. Entry of such an order, and filing of the papers that supported it, can be compelled by an order of either the court the appeal would come from or the court it would go to, so a party is not stuck waiting indefinitely for an out-of-court ruling to become part of the record.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which document does my notice of appeal need to identify?
An initial appeal must identify the judgment or order of the court of original instance; a further appeal from an appellate ruling must identify the order entered by the clerk of the court whose ruling you are challenging.
What if I named the wrong judgment or order in my notice of appeal?
CPLR 5512(a) has a safety valve: if the appeal was timely, no one was prejudiced, and the correct paper is furnished to the court hearing the appeal, the appeal is deemed taken from the proper judgment or order rather than dismissed.
Can I compel entry of an order a judge signed out of court?
Yes. CPLR 5512(b) lets either the court the appeal would be taken from or the court it would be taken to order entry of the order and filing of the papers it was granted on.
Do I appeal from the trial court's order or an intermediate appellate order when seeking further review?
When you are seeking review of an appellate determination, CPLR 5512(a) directs you to the order entered by the clerk of the court whose determination you are reviewing, not back to the original trial court paper.
Does CPLR 5512 still distinguish appealable papers in actions from those in special proceedings?
No. The section replaced the older rule that treated actions and special proceedings differently, so the same appealable-paper rule now applies across both.
Advisory Committee Notes
(See also Article 55, Advisory Committee Notes preceding § 5501, under subheading “Distinction between appealable paper in actions and proceedings abolished.”).
Subd (a) of this section applies to all appeals. It replaces former § 591, which applied only to appeals to the Court of Appeals, and abolishes the distinction there made between the appealable paper in actions and in special proceedings. This arbitrary distinction was caused by antiquated provisions in former § 621, subparagraph 3, which differentiated between entry in the court below of final judgments and final orders. 7 NY Jud Council Rep 527–28 (1941); see 9 id. at 322 (1943); Cohen & Karger, Powers of the New York Court of Appeals 94–124 (rev ed 1952). As the Court of Appeals has put it, “These provisions of 621 create an unfortunate distinction confusing to members of the bar.” Matter of Westberg, 279 NY 316, 319, 18 NE2d 291, 293 (1938). Prior to 1953 the Court of Appeals departed from the mandate of subd 2 of former § 591 in cases originating in the Surrogate’s Court where the Appellate Division reversed or modified decree or order, by indicating that the appealable paper was the decree or order subsequently entered in the Surrogate’s Court rather than the order of the Appellate Division. See Cohen & Karger, op. cit. supra at 114–18. Upon the recommendation of the Judicial Council (19 NY Jud Council Rep 84– 86 (1953)), subd 2 was amended in 1953 (Laws 1953, c 417), by the addition of the words “whether entered below pursuant to the direction of the appellate division or statute or rule or otherwise,” to make it clear that in all special proceedings an appeal to the Court of Appeals must have been taken from the order of the Appellate Division and not from the order or decree entered below based upon that order. Those words are omitted from this subdivision, for under it all appeals from a determination of an appellate court must be taken from the order of the appellate court. This subdivision makes former § 560 unnecessary and it has been omitted. Cf. 7 NY Jud Council Rep 537– 38 (1941); 8 id. at 437 (1942).
Subd (b) of this section is derived from CPA § 559. No change is intended; the first portion of § 559 is unnecessary because of subd (a).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963.
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: appealable paper New Yorkwhat to appeal from CPLRwrong judgment named in notice of appealorder entered out of court New YorkCPLR 5512 appealable paper