(a) Payment of sheriff’s fees and expenses. The sheriff shall not deliver a chattel to the person entitled to possession unless such person shall, upon request, pay to the sheriff his lawful fees and the expenses necessarily incurred in taking and keeping the chattel. Such fees and expenses shall be taxed as costs in the action or may be taxed immediately upon motion and the sheriff may be required to refund any amount not found to be necessarily incurred.
§ 7106.Payment of sheriff’s fees and expenses; liability of sheriff.
Article 71. Recovery of Chattel · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 7106 lets the sheriff withhold delivery of a seized chattel until fees and expenses are paid, and limits the sheriff's own liability for a wrongful delivery to whatever the injured party cannot recover from the recipient or that person's surety.
Full Text of CPLR 7106
(b) Liability of sheriff. A sheriff is liable for damages caused by his delivery of a chattel in violation of this article only to the extent that such damages can not be collected from the party to whom the chattel was delivered, or his surety. When a chattel is delivered by the sheriff to any party, as prescribed in this article, the sheriff ceases to be responsible for the sufficiency of the sureties of any party; until then, he is responsible for the sufficiency of the sureties of any party.
Plain-English Summary
Subdivision (a) gives the sheriff leverage to get paid. The sheriff does not have to hand over a seized chattel until the person entitled to it pays the sheriff's lawful fees and the expenses the sheriff necessarily incurred taking and keeping the property. Those fees and expenses become part of the costs of the action, or a party can ask the court to tax them right away by motion, and if it turns out the sheriff charged for more than was necessary, the sheriff can be ordered to refund the difference.
Subdivision (b) protects the sheriff from bearing the full cost of a mistaken delivery. If the sheriff delivers a chattel to the wrong person in violation of Article 71, the sheriff is liable for the resulting damages only to the extent those damages cannot be collected from the person who received the chattel or that person's surety — the sheriff is a backstop, not the first target. That backstop role tracks the sheriff's separate duty to answer for the sufficiency of a party's sureties: the sheriff carries that responsibility only up until delivery, and it ends once the chattel changes hands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the sheriff have to be paid before releasing seized property in a New York case?
Yes. Under CPLR 7106(a), the sheriff can withhold delivery until the person entitled to the chattel pays the sheriff's lawful fees and the expenses necessarily incurred taking and keeping it.
What if the sheriff charged more in fees than were necessary?
The party can challenge the amount, and the sheriff can be required to refund whatever was not necessarily incurred. The fees and expenses are also taxable as costs in the action.
Is the sheriff personally liable if seized property gets delivered to the wrong party?
Only to a limited extent. Subdivision (b) makes the sheriff liable for that wrongful delivery only to the extent the resulting damages cannot be collected from the person who received the chattel or that person's surety.
When does the sheriff stop being responsible for the sufficiency of a party's surety?
Once the sheriff delivers the chattel to that party as Article 71 prescribes. Before delivery, the sheriff answers for the sufficiency of the sureties; after delivery, that responsibility ends.
What if the recipient of a wrongfully delivered chattel and that person's surety cannot cover the loss at all?
Then the sheriff bears the shortfall. Subdivision (b) limits the sheriff's liability only to the extent damages cannot be collected from the recipient or the recipient's surety, so a total inability to collect from them leaves the sheriff on the hook.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subd (a) of this section is derived from the last sentence of CPA § 1101. Under this subdivision, a party who desires delivery of the chattel from the sheriff would pay the fees and expenses claimed by the sheriff at the time of delivery. Under the last sentence, the propriety of a sheriff’s fees can be determined at once. Disbursements for expenses paid to a sheriff are properly includible in a bill of costs. Whitney v Brown, 253 App Div 180, 1 NYS2d 754 (3d Dept 1938). Subd (b) of this section is derived from CPA § 1108 as construed by the courts and the last sentence of § 1107. See notes to § 7102(e). The sheriff’s liability under this subdivision is the same as that under former law.
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: sheriff's fees replevin New Yorksheriff liability for seized property New Yorksheriff expenses chattel recovery New York