The order permitting a class action shall describe the class. When appropriate the court may limit the class to those members who do not request exclusion from the class within a specified time after notice.
§ 903.Description of class
Article 9. Class Actions · Last amended 1975 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 903 requires a class-action order to describe the class it certifies and lets the court, when appropriate, set a deadline for members to opt out before that description becomes final.
Full Text of CPLR 903
Plain-English Summary
Once a court decides a case can proceed as a class action, someone has to say who belongs in it. CPLR 903 requires the certification order itself to describe the class, giving the parties, and eventually anyone bound by the judgment, a working definition of membership.
The section also gives the court a tool for narrowing that membership after the fact: when appropriate, the court can limit the class to those members who don't request exclusion within a specified time after notice goes out. That opt-out mechanism lets individuals with their own reasons for going it alone step outside the class judgment, while everyone who stays silent remains bound.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a class-certification order include in New York?
CPLR 903 requires the order permitting a class action to describe the class, defining who counts as a member.
Can I opt out of a class action in New York?
When the court finds it appropriate, CPLR 903 lets the court limit the class to members who don't request exclusion within a specified time after notice, giving members a chance to opt out.
Is an opt-out period required in every New York class action?
No. CPLR 903 leaves the opt-out limitation to the court's discretion, available when the court finds it appropriate, rather than making it mandatory in every case.
What happens if a class member does nothing after receiving notice?
A member who doesn't request exclusion within the specified time stays in the class and remains bound by whatever happens in the case.
Who decides how the class is defined?
The court defines the class in the order permitting the case to proceed as a class action, based on the record developed on the certification motion.
Does the class description in CPLR 903 need to match how the class was pleaded in the complaint?
Not necessarily. The court's certification order under CPLR 903 controls the class definition going forward, and the court can narrow or refine the class described in the complaint based on the record developed before certification.
Amendment History
Add, L 1975, ch 207, § 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 description order New Yorkopt out of class action New Yorkclass action exclusion request NYhow is a class defined in New York lawsuit