Sued in New York? You may have only 20 days to answer
Summons handed to you personally: 20 days. Served another way (left with someone, or attached to your door, and mailed): 30 days.
Checked against official sources: Oct 24, 2026. · Free letters and forms ↓
Count your answer deadline in New York
Pick your court and the day you were served (got the court papers). We show the last day to answer and what to do next.
New York guides by topic
How to answer in New York
Your deadline by court, the official form, fees and defenses.
Default judgment in New York
What a default means and how to set it aside, with a calculator.
After a judgment in New York
Wage garnishment, bank levies and how to claim an exemption.
Debt buyer lawsuits in New York
What a debt buyer must prove, and old debts as a defense.
Which court hears debt cases in New York
Civil Court of the City of New York (in the five boroughs)
Most credit card, medical and debt-buyer lawsuits in New York City are filed here.
Law: N.Y. City Civ. Ct. Act § 202
City Courts outside NYC and District Courts (Nassau and western Suffolk); Town and Village Courts
City and District Courts hear money claims up to $15,000 (not counting interest and costs in City Courts). Town and Village Courts hear claims up to $3,000.
Law: Uniform City Ct. Act § 202; Uniform District Ct. Act § 202; Uniform Justice Ct. Act § 202
Supreme Court (county)
New York's general trial court; it can hear debt cases of any size, and larger ones go here.
Law: CPLR 320(a)
How to answer in New York
- How to answer
File an answer (or a notice of appearance) with the clerk of the court named on the summons, and serve a copy on the plaintiff's lawyer. List every defense you have, such as that the debt is not yours, the amount is wrong, the time limit has passed, or you were not properly served.
- Fee to answer
No fee to answer in NYC Civil Court: the court fee statute charges the plaintiff, not a defendant who answers. A consumer credit plaintiff pays an extra $95 to file.
Law: N.Y. City Civ. Ct. Act § 1911
- If you can't pay the fees
Motion to waive costs, fees, and expenses, with an affidavit about your income and assets.
Law: CPLR 1101
- How you must be served
The summons must be served under CPLR 308: handed to you; or left with an adult of suitable age at your home or job and also mailed to you; or, if those cannot be done with due diligence, attached to your door and mailed. With leave-and-mail or door-and-mail service, service is complete 10 days after proof of service is filed, and then you have 30 days to answer. Before a default judgment in a debt case, the plaintiff must also mail you a copy of the summons at least 20 days before judgment, in a plain envelope marked 'personal and confidential' that does not show it is about a debt.
Law: CPLR 308; CPLR 3215(g)(3)
Law: CPLR 320(a); N.Y. City Civ. Ct. Act § 402; § 1911
Defenses to know in New York
- Defenses in New York law
Consumer credit lawsuits must be filed within 3 years, and after that a payment or promise does not revive the debt. Medical debt suits by hospitals and health care providers must be filed within 3 years from treatment. The plaintiff's failure to meet CPLR 3016(j) pleading rules can be raised in your answer. If you were not personally served, CPLR 317 and 5015 give extra ways to reopen a default (see below).
Law: CPLR 214-i; CPLR 213-d
- Debt buyer lawsuits
- Under the Consumer Credit Fairness Act. In a consumer credit case, the complaint must attach the contract (or, for a revolving account like a credit card, the charge-off statement) and state the original creditor, the last 4 digits of the account, the date and amount of your last payment, an itemization of the amount (for credit cards: balance at charge-off, interest, fees and payments since charge-off), the last statement balance, and whether the plaintiff is the original creditor. Debt buyer lawsuits in New York: the full rules
- Time limit to sue
- A consumer credit debt in New York (such as a credit card or personal loan) must be sued on within 3 years (CPLR 214-i); other written-contract debts within 6 years (CPLR 213). Raise an older debt as a defense in your answer. · More on old debts at Debt Collector Map
If you missed the deadline in New York
A default judgment means the court decides against you because you didn't answer. You may be able to ask the court to set it aside (cancel it), but time limits are short.
- What happens
If you do not answer in time, the plaintiff can ask for a default judgment. In a consumer credit case it must first mail you the extra 'personal and confidential' notice and file the required affidavits. A default judgment can lead to a bank restraint or an income execution.
- How to set it aside (cancel it)
File a motion (order to show cause) to vacate the default. For an excusable default, file within 1 year after you were served with the judgment and notice of its entry; you must show a reasonable excuse and a meritorious defense. Lack of jurisdiction (for example, improper service) or fraud can be raised later. If the summons was not handed to you personally, you may be allowed to defend within 1 year after you learn of the judgment, and no more than 5 years after it was entered.
Law: CPLR 5015(a)(1); CPLR 5015(a)(3)-(4); CPLR 317
Law: CPLR 5015(a); CPLR 317; CPLR 3215(g)(3), (j)
Count your deadline to set aside a default
If there is a judgment in New York
A judgment is the court's decision that you owe money. Then the creditor can ask the court to take money from your pay or bank account.
- Interest after the judgment
2% a year on a judgment in a consumer debt case against a person (9% for other judgments). The 2% rate also applies, going forward, to unpaid consumer debt judgments entered earlier.
- How long it lasts
A money judgment is presumed paid after 20 years from when it could first be enforced. Its lien on real estate lasts 10 years; the creditor can bring an action for a renewal judgment in the year before the 10 years run out.
Law: CPLR 5004(a)-(b); CPLR 211(b); CPLR 5014
Garnishment, bank levy and exemptions in New York
Exempt means protected by law: money or property the creditor can't take. Often you must claim it yourself, fast.
- Wage garnishment (taking part of your pay)
An income execution can take no more than 10% of your gross income, and never more than 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the higher of the federal or New York minimum wage, whichever is less (nothing if you earn at or below that amount). No wage garnishment at all on a medical debt judgment won by a hospital or health care provider.
Law: CPLR 5231(b)
- Bank levy (freezing and taking money in your bank account)
The creditor serves a restraining notice and execution on your bank. An amount equal to 240 times the higher of the federal or New York minimum hourly wage cannot be restrained, and directly deposited exempt payments such as Social Security in the last 45 days have extra protection.
Law: CPLR 5222(i); CPLR 5205(l)
- How to claim an exemption
The bank must mail you an Exemption Notice and two Exemption Claim Forms. Check the type of exempt money (for example Social Security, SSI, unemployment, pension, child support, or wages earned in the last 60 days — 90% exempt), sign, and mail or deliver one form to the creditor or its lawyer and one to the bank within 20 days of the postmark on the envelope. Attach proof such as an award letter or two months of bank statements. If you send proof, the creditor's lawyer must release the money within 7 days. If the creditor does not go to court to object within 8 days, the bank must release the money 8 days after the postmark on the envelope you used to mail the claim form to the bank (or 8 days after you hand-delivered it). Missing the 20 days does not waive your exemption rights. You do not need a lawyer to make a claim.
- Exemption form
- https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/laws/CVP5222-A
Law: CPLR 5222-a
These garnishment limits are from our sister site, which checks them against official sources: Debt Collector Map: New York
Count your deadline to claim an exemption
Free help in New York
- LawHelpNY (free legal aid directory)
- New York Attorney General – Consumer complaint · 1-800-771-7755
- Find free legal help at LawHelp.org
Court self-help
Free letters and forms
Ask the plaintiff's lawyer for the debt documents
The contract, the chain of ownership and an itemization of what they claim.
Exemption claim cover letter
A letter to the court clerk to file with your exemption claim form.
Good to know in New York
- Judgment interest in a New York consumer debt case is only 2% a year, not the usual 9% (CPLR 5004).
- A debt buyer cannot get a clerk's default judgment without affidavits from the original creditor and from each later seller of the debt (CPLR 3215(f)).
- Before a default judgment, you must be mailed an extra copy of the summons in a 'personal and confidential' envelope that does not say it is about a debt (CPLR 3215(g)(3)).
Federal rules in every state
- Where a collector must sue. A debt collector that sues you over a consumer debt must file where you signed the contract or where you live when the suit starts. Law: 15 U.S.C. 1692i(a)(2)
- Old debts. A debt collector must not sue you, or threaten to sue you, on a debt that is too old to sue on. Law: 12 CFR 1006.26(b)
- Before a default judgment. Before the court gives the plaintiff a default judgment, the plaintiff must file a sworn statement saying whether you are in military service. Law: 50 U.S.C. 3931(b)(1)
- Your pay. For an ordinary debt, a creditor can take at most 25% of your take-home pay, or the part above 30 times the federal minimum wage if that is less. Many states protect more. Law: 15 U.S.C. 1673(a)
- Federal benefits in the bank. Your bank must protect up to two months of Social Security, SSI, VA and some other federal benefits that were paid into your account by direct deposit. You don't have to ask. Law: 31 CFR 212.5, 212.6
Questions about debt lawsuits in New York
How long do I have to answer a debt lawsuit in New York?
20 days after the summons is handed to you personally. If it was served another way (for example, left with someone at your home and mailed, or attached to your door and mailed), 30 days. In NYC Civil Court, the 30 days run from when the proof of service is filed with the clerk. The summons states the deadline.
How do I answer a debt lawsuit in New York?
File an answer (or a notice of appearance) with the clerk of the court named on the summons, and serve a copy on the plaintiff's lawyer. List every defense you have, such as that the debt is not yours, the amount is wrong, the time limit has passed, or you were not properly served.
Does it cost money to answer in New York?
No fee to answer in NYC Civil Court: the court fee statute charges the plaintiff, not a defendant who answers. A consumer credit plaintiff pays an extra $95 to file.
What if I can't afford the court fees in New York?
Motion to waive costs, fees, and expenses, with an affidavit about your income and assets.
What happens if I don't answer in New York?
If you do not answer in time, the plaintiff can ask for a default judgment. In a consumer credit case it must first mail you the extra 'personal and confidential' notice and file the required affidavits. A default judgment can lead to a bank restraint or an income execution.
Can I cancel a default judgment in New York?
File a motion (order to show cause) to vacate the default. For an excusable default, file within 1 year after you were served with the judgment and notice of its entry; you must show a reasonable excuse and a meritorious defense. Lack of jurisdiction (for example, improper service) or fraud can be raised later. If the summons was not handed to you personally, you may be allowed to defend within 1 year after you learn of the judgment, and no more than 5 years after it was entered.
How much interest does a judgment add in New York?
2% a year on a judgment in a consumer debt case against a person (9% for other judgments). The 2% rate also applies, going forward, to unpaid consumer debt judgments entered earlier.
How long does a judgment last in New York?
A money judgment is presumed paid after 20 years from when it could first be enforced. Its lien on real estate lasts 10 years; the creditor can bring an action for a renewal judgment in the year before the 10 years run out.
Can my wages be garnished in New York?
An income execution can take no more than 10% of your gross income, and never more than 25% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the higher of the federal or New York minimum wage, whichever is less (nothing if you earn at or below that amount). No wage garnishment at all on a medical debt judgment won by a hospital or health care provider.
Can a creditor take money from my bank account in New York?
The creditor serves a restraining notice and execution on your bank. An amount equal to 240 times the higher of the federal or New York minimum hourly wage cannot be restrained, and directly deposited exempt payments such as Social Security in the last 45 days have extra protection.
How do I claim an exemption in New York?
The bank must mail you an Exemption Notice and two Exemption Claim Forms. Check the type of exempt money (for example Social Security, SSI, unemployment, pension, child support, or wages earned in the last 60 days — 90% exempt), sign, and mail or deliver one form to the creditor or its lawyer and one to the bank within 20 days of the postmark on the envelope. Attach proof such as an award letter or two months of bank statements. If you send proof, the creditor's lawyer must release the money within 7 days. If the creditor does not go to court to object within 8 days, the bank must release the money 8 days after the postmark on the envelope you used to mail the claim form to the bank (or 8 days after you hand-delivered it). Missing the 20 days does not waive your exemption rights. You do not need a lawyer to make a claim.
More help on our sister sites
Sources
- CPLR 308 (personal service)
- CPLR 320 (time to appear)
- CPLR 3016(j) (consumer credit pleading)
- CPLR 3215 (default judgment)
- CPLR 5015 (relief from judgment)
- CPLR 317 (defense after non-personal service)
- CPLR 5004 (judgment interest)
- CPLR 211 (20 years on judgments)
- CPLR 5014 (renewal judgment)
- CPLR 5222-a (exemption notice and claim form)
- CPLR 1101 (motion to waive costs and fees)
- N.Y. City Civil Court Act § 202 (jurisdiction)
- N.Y. City Civil Court Act § 402 (time to answer)
- N.Y. City Civil Court Act § 1911 (fees)
- Uniform City Court Act § 202
- Uniform District Court Act § 202
- Uniform Justice Court Act § 202
- N.Y. CPLR 214-i (consumer credit statute of limitations)
Last checked: Oct 24, 2026.
- Venue for debt collection suits, 15 U.S.C. 1692i
- Time-barred debts, 12 CFR 1006.26 (Regulation F)
- Default judgments and servicemembers, 50 U.S.C. 3931
- Restrictions on garnishment, 15 U.S.C. 1673
- Federal benefit payments in bank accounts, 31 CFR part 212
- CFPB: What should I do if I'm sued by a debt collector or creditor?