(a) A notice of pendency may be filed in any action in a court of the state or of the United States in which the judgment demanded would affect the title to, incumbrance of, or the possession, use or enjoyment of, real property, except in a summary proceeding brought to recover the possession of real property. The pendency of such an action is constructive notice, from the time of filing of the notice only, to a purchaser from, or incumbrancer against, any defendant named in a notice of pendency indexed in a block index against a block in which property affected is situated or any defendant against whose name a notice of pendency is indexed. A person whose conveyance or incumbrance is recorded after the filing of the notice is bound by all proceedings taken in the action after such filing to the same extent as a party.
§ 6501.Notice of pendency; constructive notice.
Article 65. Notice of Pendency · Last amended 2023 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 6501 lets a party filing an action that could affect the title, encumbrance, or possession of real property record a notice of pendency -- a lis pendens -- that puts future buyers and lenders on constructive notice of the pending lawsuit and binds them to its outcome.
Full Text of CPLR 6501
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision (a) of this section to the contrary, a notice of pendency may be filed by a district attorney’s office or the office of the attorney general upon a determination after investigation that there is probable cause that a crime has occurred that affects the title to, incumbrance of, or possession of real property, in the county where the real property is located. Such notice of pendency shall remain in effect for a period of six months but may be renewed twice.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision (a) of this section to the contrary, a notice of pendency may be filed by a district attorney’s office or the office of the attorney general upon the filing of a criminal complaint or indictment that allege charges affecting the title to, incumbrance of or possession of real property, in the county where the real property is located. A notice of pendency filed will remain in effect until the prosecution of a criminal case is either dismissed, or otherwise disposed of at sentencing and is not subject to a three year period of expiration under section six thousand five hundred thirteen of this article.
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 6501 is the foundation of New York's notice of pendency practice -- what practitioners and title searchers call a lis pendens. It lets a plaintiff in almost any lawsuit that could affect the title to, an incumbrance on, or the possession, use, or enjoyment of real property file a notice with the county clerk, warning anyone who checks the public record that a court case touching that property is pending. The one carve-out is a summary proceeding to recover possession of real property, such as a landlord's holdover or nonpayment case, which does not qualify.
The power of the notice comes from what happens after it is filed. From the moment of filing, the pendency of the action is constructive notice to anyone who later buys the property or takes a mortgage, lien, or other incumbrance against a defendant named in the notice. A buyer or lender who checks the county records and finds the notice -- or who fails to check and would have found it -- takes the property subject to whatever the lawsuit decides. Anyone whose deed or mortgage is recorded after the filing is bound by everything that happens in the case afterward, to the same degree as if they had been a party from the start.
Subdivisions (b) and (c) carve out a separate track for law enforcement. A district attorney's office or the attorney general can file a notice of pendency after investigating and finding probable cause that a crime affecting the property's title, incumbrance, or possession has occurred, even without filing a civil action first; that notice lasts six months and can be renewed twice. Once a criminal complaint or indictment alleging charges tied to the property is filed, the office can file a notice under subdivision (c) instead, and that version stays in effect until the criminal case is dismissed or resolved at sentencing -- it does not expire after three years the way a notice filed under subdivision (a) does under section 6513.
For everyone else -- the far more common case -- a notice of pendency filed under subdivision (a) works alongside the rest of Article 65: section 6511 sets out how and where to file it, section 6512 requires timely service of the summons to keep it alive, section 6513 caps it at three years unless extended, and section 6514 sets out how a defendant can get it cancelled. Anyone litigating over title to real property, foreclosing a mortgage, seeking specific performance of a contract to convey land, or partitioning jointly owned property relies on this section to keep the litigation from being undercut by a sale to an unsuspecting buyer while the case is pending.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a lis pendens in New York?
It is the common name for a notice of pendency filed under CPLR 6501 -- a document recorded with the county clerk that warns the public a lawsuit is pending which could affect the title, incumbrance, or possession of specific real property.
How do you file a lis pendens on real property in New York?
You file a notice of pendency with the clerk of the county where the property is located, under CPLR 6511, at any point before or after the summons is served but before judgment, along with the complaint if it is not already on file.
What kinds of lawsuits allow a notice of pendency?
Any action in a state or federal court in which the judgment demanded would affect the title to, an incumbrance on, or the possession, use, or enjoyment of real property -- except a summary proceeding to recover possession of the property.
Does a lis pendens bind a buyer who purchases the property after it is filed?
Yes. Under CPLR 6501, anyone who records a conveyance or incumbrance against a named defendant after the notice is filed is bound by everything that happens in the action afterward, to the same extent as a party.
Can a district attorney file a notice of pendency without filing a civil lawsuit?
Yes. Subdivision (b) lets a district attorney's office or the attorney general file a notice of pendency after investigating and finding probable cause that a crime affecting the property occurred, and that notice lasts six months, renewable twice.
How long does a notice of pendency filed after a criminal indictment last?
Under subdivision (c), it stays in effect until the criminal case is dismissed or otherwise resolved at sentencing, and it is not subject to the three-year expiration that applies to notices filed under subdivision (a).
Does filing a notice of pendency apply to eviction cases?
No. CPLR 6501 excludes summary proceedings brought to recover possession of real property, such as landlord-tenant holdover or nonpayment cases.
What happens if a lis pendens is filed but the summons is never served?
The notice loses its effect; section 6512 requires the summons to be served, or publication completed, within thirty days of filing for the notice of pendency to remain valid.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section limits the common-law doctrine and states the conditions under which interests in real property may be affected. See introduction to this article. It is derived from the first two sentences of CPA § 121, the class of action in which a notice may be filed is taken from CPA § 120, and it also replaces the last sentence of CPA § 122. The significant language of the second sentence of CPA § 121 has been included although it is partially repetitious to make it clear that a conveyance subsequently recorded although previously executed is subject to the notice. The third sentence of CPA § 121 and the remainder of CPA §§ 120 and 122 are treated in other provisions of this article.
County clerks in New York index notices of pendency in one of two ways: in counties where a block index is maintained—notably in New York city—notices are indexed to the blocks in which the property is located; in other counties, they are indexed in an alphabetical file against the defendants’ names. Section 919 of the County Law authorizes the use of block indexes, and in 1956, at the suggestion of the clerk of New York county, the lis pendens provisions of the civil practice act were amended to reflect this alternative indexing method. See Laws 1956, c 793; NY Leg Ann 5 (1956). This section therefore continues the former provision that a block index filing is notice to a purchaser from, or incumbrancer against, all defendants named in the notice.
Moreover, by specifying that only a properly indexed notice is effective, the section eliminates the need for the last sentence of CPA § 122, which dealt with erroneous or omitted designations and indexing. Under the last sentence of CPA § 122, a new entry made pursuant to a corrected notice would not have related back to the date of filing of the original; that sound rule will also result under this section. There does not seem to be a need to expressly deal with the related problem of the last sentence of CPA § 122 of erasing an entry from a name or block to which it has been erroneously indexed. The clerk can always withdraw or cancel a notice at the request of the party who filed it. If there is serious dispute as to the propriety of an entry, however, it is a matter for the court to decide, upon a motion for cancellation of the notice, and the county clerk should not be permitted to determine what is “proper proof” of an error.
Inclusion of actions in the Federal courts in this section is discussed in the introduction to the article.
Although the former statute required a county clerk to index a notice of pendency filed with him, the notice was effective under the literal wording of CPA § 121 to bind purchasers from a defendant specified as one against whom the notice should be indexed whether or not it was actually indexed against that defendant. In the case of a county clerk who maintains a block index, however, the section appears to have required that the indexing entry actually have been made in order for the notice to be effective. In either case, the notice is effective from the date of filing. It seems apparent that the distinction was inadvertent and this section, for the protection of prospective purchasers, requires that the notice be properly indexed in either case.
Editor's Notes Laws 2023, ch 630, § 8, eff December 14, 2023, provides:
§ 8. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308; amd, L 1963, ch 532, § 44; L 1993, ch 657, § 1, eff Jan 1, 1994; L 2023, ch 630, § 7, effective December 14, 2023.
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: lis pendens New Yorknotice of pendency New Yorkfiling a lis pendens on real property New Yorkhow to file a notice of pendency NYlis pendens real estate litigation New Yorknotice of pendency foreclosure New YorkCPLR 6501 constructive notice