Article 9. Class Actions · Last amended 1975 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 902 requires the plaintiff, within sixty days after every defendant's time to answer has run, to move for an order deciding whether the case may proceed as a class action, and lists five case-management factors the court weighs in making that call.
Full Text of CPLR 902
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Within sixty days after the time to serve a responsive pleading has expired for all persons named as defendants in an action brought as a class action, the plaintiff shall move for an order to determine whether it is to be so maintained. An order under this section may be conditional, and may be altered or amended before the decision on the merits on the court’s own motion or on motion of the parties. The action may be maintained as a class action only if the court finds that the prerequisites under section 901 have been satisfied. Among the matters which the court shall consider in determining whether the action may proceed as a class action are:
1. the interest of members of the class in individually controlling the prosecution or defense of separate actions; 2. the impracticability or inefficiency of prosecuting or defending separate actions; 3. the extent and nature of any litigation concerning the controversy already commenced by or against members of the class; 4. the desirability or undesirability of concentrating the litigation of the claim in the particular forum; 5. the difficulties likely to be encountered in the management of a class action.
Plain-English Summary
Meeting the five CPLR 901 prerequisites gets a case in the door; CPLR 902 is where the court decides whether it can proceed as a class action. The plaintiff has to move for that determination within sixty days after the time to serve a responsive pleading has run for every defendant named in the case, which keeps a case from drifting along as a nominal class action indefinitely without ever getting certified.
The resulting order isn't necessarily final. It can be conditional, and the court can alter or amend it before any decision on the merits, whether on its own motion or on motion of a party, so certification can adapt as discovery clarifies what the class looks like.
Beyond the CPLR 901 prerequisites, which the court must find satisfied before certifying the class at all, CPLR 902 lists five practical considerations bearing on whether class treatment makes sense: how much interest individual members have in controlling their own case, how impracticable or inefficient separate suits would be, how much related litigation is already underway, whether concentrating the litigation in this particular forum makes sense, and how difficult the class action would be to manage. Those factors give the court room to weigh real-world administrability alongside the formal CPLR 901 test.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon must a class-action certification motion be filed in New York?
CPLR 902 requires the plaintiff to move for a determination within sixty days after the time to serve a responsive pleading has expired for every named defendant.
What factors does a New York court weigh in deciding whether to certify a class?
Beyond the CPLR 901 prerequisites, CPLR 902 directs the court to consider members' interest in controlling their own litigation, the impracticability of separate suits, existing related litigation, whether this forum should host the case, and how manageable the class action would be.
Can a class certification order be changed after it's issued?
Yes. CPLR 902 allows the order to be conditional and lets the court alter or amend it before a decision on the merits, on its own motion or a party's motion.
What does manageability mean in the class-action context?
It refers to the practical difficulties a court expects in administering the class action, such as identifying members, handling notice, or distributing relief, which CPLR 902 lists among the factors bearing on certification.
Does certification require the court to find the CPLR 901 prerequisites already met?
Yes. CPLR 902 says the action may be maintained as a class action only if the court finds the CPLR 901 prerequisites satisfied, before it even reaches the additional 902 factors.
What happens if the plaintiff misses the sixty-day deadline to move for certification?
CPLR 902 sets the sixty-day window as the time to move for a determination; missing it can leave the case without a timely certification decision and open the plaintiff to a challenge over the delay.
Amendment History
Add, L 1975, ch 207, § 1; amd, L 1975, ch 474, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1975.
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:class action certification motion New YorkNew York class certification deadlineorder allowing class action NYclass action certification factors New York