1. A preliminary injunction may be granted only upon notice to the defendant. Notice of the motion may be served with the summons or at any time thereafter and prior to judgment. A preliminary injunction to restrain a public officer, board or municipal corporation of the state from performing a statutory duty may be granted only by the supreme court at a term in the department in which the officer or board is located or in which the duty is required to be performed. 2. Notice of motion for a preliminary injunction to restrain state officers or boards of state officers under the provisions of this section must be upon notice served upon the defendant or respondent, state officers or board of state officers and must be served upon the attorney general by delivery of such notice to an assistant attorney general at an office of the attorney general in the county in which venue of the action is designated or if there is no office of the attorney general in such county, at the office of the attorney general nearest such county.
§ 6311.Preliminary injunction.
Article 63. Injunction · Last amended 1972 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 6311 bars a court from granting a preliminary injunction without notice to the defendant, channels injunctions against public officers or state boards to the department where the duty is performed, and requires notice to the attorney general whenever a state officer or board is the target.
Full Text of CPLR 6311
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 6311 sets the notice rules for a preliminary injunction. Unlike the temporary restraining order in CPLR 6313, which can issue without notice, a preliminary injunction may be granted only on notice to the defendant. That notice can be served with the summons at the start of the case or at any later point before judgment, giving a plaintiff flexibility in timing without ever skipping the notice step itself.
The section adds a special venue rule for a narrow category of cases: a preliminary injunction meant to stop a public officer, board, or municipal corporation of the state from carrying out a statutory duty may be granted only by the supreme court sitting in the department where that officer or board is located, or where the duty is required to be performed. This keeps disputes over how a government body should exercise its duties in front of the court most familiar with that body and its work.
Where the target is a state officer or a board of state officers, the section layers on an additional notice requirement: the motion papers must be served on the attorney general, delivered to an assistant attorney general at an office in the county where venue is designated, or, if there is no such office in that county, at the nearest office of the attorney general. That step gives the state's own counsel a chance to weigh in before a court restrains a state officer from acting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a preliminary injunction always require notice to the defendant in New York?
Yes. CPLR 6311 permits a preliminary injunction only on notice to the defendant; a court cannot grant one without notice the way it can with a temporary restraining order under CPLR 6313.
Can notice of a motion for a preliminary injunction be served with the summons?
Yes. CPLR 6311 lets the plaintiff serve notice of the motion together with the summons at the start of the case, or at any point afterward up until judgment.
Which court hears a request to enjoin a state officer from performing a duty?
Only the supreme court sitting in the department where the officer or board is located, or where the statutory duty is required to be performed.
Does the attorney general have to be notified of an injunction motion against a state officer?
Yes. CPLR 6311 requires service on an assistant attorney general at the office in the county where venue is designated, or at the nearest office if that county has none.
What happens if there is no attorney general's office in the county where the case is venued?
The notice must be delivered to whichever office of the attorney general is nearest to that county.
Does CPLR 6311 cover injunctions against city or town officers as well as state officers?
The venue rule for statutory duties reaches any public officer, board, or municipal corporation of the state, not only state-level officials, but the attorney-general notice requirement applies specifically where a state officer or board of state officers is the target.
Advisory Committee Notes
The first sentence of this section is derived from CPA § 818 and the first sentence of § 882 with no substantive change intended. The remainder of former § 882, which concerned temporary restraining orders, is covered in § 6313(a).
The second sentence of this section is derived from CPA § 879 with no substantive change intended. In view of the provision for notice in the first sentence of this section, the final phrase of former § 879 has been deleted; its application to temporary restraining orders is covered by an exception in the final phrase of § 6313(a). See notes to § 6313(a).
CPA § 880 is omitted. Its first sentence, dating back to the Field Code (Code Proc § 218), is covered by the general provision abolishing the distinction between court and judges’ orders. Its second sentence was added in 1913 (Laws 1913, c. 112). Its “not entirely clear” language has been construed to read as “Pending appeal to the Appellate Division or to the Court of Appeals from an order or judgment denying or vacating an injunction, an injunction order which, if granted, may be modified or vacated by the Appellate Division may also be granted or continued by the Appellate Division or a justice thereof.” United States Title Guaranty Co. v Brown, 158 App Div 542, 544, 143 NY Supp 835, 837 (2d Dept 1913). So construed it is, like CPA §§ 66 and 132, simply declarative of the constitutional power, possessed by the Appellate Division but utilized sparingly, to exercise all the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Const art V, § 2; see introduction to article 22. There is no reason to give this power undue prominence in the injunction situation by singling out that situation for treatment in the practice statutes, and the provision is accordingly omitted for the same reasons that former §§ 66 and 132 were omitted.
The phrase “state officer or board” has been replaced by “public officer, board or municipal corporation of the state,” since there is no reason to limit this provision to state officers.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 1972, ch 752, eff May 30, 1972.
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: notice requirement injunction New Yorkinjunction against state officer New Yorkpreliminary injunction notice CPLRattorney general notice injunction New York