A small claims judgment is a court order stating that the defendant owes you money. It is not a payment. The court does not chase the defendant or deduct the money for you, so a plaintiff who wins still has to enforce the judgment to see any of it. New York uses the same enforcement tools for small claims judgments as for any other money judgment, set out in Article 52 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules. This is the step that follows the hearing in the New York small claims court process, for plaintiffs who have a judgment but have not been paid. New York City’s small claims part handles claims up to $10,000, with lower limits in the city, town, and village courts elsewhere in the state.
How collection works, step by step
Collection runs in a predictable order: confirm the judgment can be enforced, find the debtor’s assets, choose an enforcement method, and deliver the paperwork to an officer who collects. How long it takes depends on the method and the debtor. An information subpoena comes back within days, an income execution can take several pay periods to clear the balance, and a debtor who is hard to locate can stretch the process over months.
Confirm the judgment is enforceable
A creditor can enforce a small claims judgment once it is entered and any motion or appeal period has run. A money judgment stays enforceable for twenty years under
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 211(b), so a debtor without assets today does not put the judgment out of reach.Find the debtor's income and property
Most enforcement methods require knowing where the debtor banks, works, or holds property. An information subpoena is the standard way to get that information from the debtor or from third parties such as a bank.
Choose an enforcement method
The three common methods are an income execution against wages, a levy on a bank account, and seizure and sale of property. Which one fits depends on what the debtor actually has.
Deliver the execution to a marshal or sheriff
A creditor cannot seize anything personally. The signed execution goes to a New York City marshal or the county sheriff, who serves it and collects on the judgment.
Find out what the debtor owns
Enforcement is only as good as the information behind it. An income execution needs an employer; a bank levy needs a bank. The information subpoena is how a judgment creditor gathers those facts.
An information subpoena is a set of written questions served on the debtor, or on a third party that may hold the debtor’s money, such as a bank or employer. Under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5224, the questions must be answered in writing and under oath, and returned within seven days of receipt. The person answering an information subpoena is not entitled to a witness fee. A subpoena served on someone other than the debtor must include a certification that the creditor reasonably believes that person has information that will help collect the judgment.
Small claims plaintiffs do not have to draft these from scratch. Under N.Y.C. Civ. Ct. Act § 1812(d), the small claims clerk issues information subpoenas at nominal cost for a judgment creditor and provides help preparing and using them.
Garnish wages with an income execution
If the debtor has a job, an income execution directs part of each paycheck to the judgment until it is paid. This is the most common way an individual debtor pays an unpaid judgment, and the rules are the same here as in any wage garnishment case.
Under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5231, an income execution reaches up to 10% of the debtor’s gross income. Two limits cap that figure: nothing can be withheld in a week when the debtor’s disposable earnings are below thirty times the federal or state minimum wage, and the total withheld cannot exceed 25% of disposable earnings. The execution goes to the sheriff, who serves the debtor first. If the debtor does not start paying within twenty days, the sheriff serves the execution on the employer, who then withholds and pays over the installments.
Levy a bank account or seize property
When the debtor has money in a bank, a creditor can reach it in two steps. A restraining notice under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5222 orders the bank to freeze the debtor’s account, up to twice the amount of the judgment, so the funds cannot be withdrawn. The same section protects a baseline amount in the account from being restrained, an exempt floor tied to the minimum wage that rises over time. The levy itself, which actually takes the money, is made by an enforcement officer under an execution.
The execution under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5230 directs a marshal or sheriff to levy on the debtor’s property, whether a bank account, a vehicle, or other non-exempt personal property, and to sell what is seized to satisfy the judgment. An execution on a judgment from a small claims court must state the date a transcript of the judgment was filed with the county clerk.
That transcript does more than enable an execution. Filing a transcript of the judgment with the county clerk dockets it under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5018, giving the small claims judgment the same effect as a judgment of the Supreme Court in that county. Once docketed, the judgment becomes a lien on any real property the debtor owns in the county. That lien runs for ten years under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5203(a) and can be extended by court order.
Who carries out the collection
A judgment creditor never seizes property directly. An enforcement officer does it, and which officer depends on where the collection happens.
In New York City, that officer is usually a city marshal. The New York City Civil Court Act authorizes up to 83 city marshals to act as enforcement officers of the Civil Court. Marshals are independent public officers, not city employees, and they earn their income from fees rather than a salary. Their fees are set by state law (C.P.L.R. sections 8011 through 8014, the same fees that apply to a sheriff) and include a percentage of the amount they collect, which is added to what the debtor owes. Outside the city, the county sheriff serves executions and conducts levies and sales.
When the debtor still won’t pay
A judgment that is hard to collect today is not a dead end, because it does not expire for years and keeps growing. Interest accrues on the unpaid balance under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5004 at 9% a year for most judgments, and at 2% a year on a consumer debt where the defendant is an individual.
Business debtors face an extra pressure. Under N.Y.C. Civ. Ct. Act § 1812, a creditor can sue a business that ignores a small claims judgment for triple the amount, plus attorney fees, when narrow conditions are met.
A judgment won when the defendant never appeared is a default judgment, and it is enforced the same way as any other judgment once it is entered. The picture changes if the losing side challenges the result. When a debtor files to appeal a New York small claims judgment, enforcement can be paused while the appeal is pending, so collection often waits until the appeal is resolved.
A money judgment in New York can be enforced for twenty years under A debtor with no reachable income or assets is sometimes described as judgment-proof, meaning there is nothing for an enforcement officer to levy at the moment. The judgment does not disappear. A creditor can docket a transcript of it to create a lien on any real property the debtor later acquires in the county, repeat an information subpoena to look for new assets, and rely on the twenty-year enforcement window. Benefits such as Social Security and public assistance remain exempt even when located. Enforcement officers are paid from what they collect. Their fees are fixed by state law and added to the judgment balance, so the debtor ultimately bears the cost of collection when the judgment is paid. Interest under Yes. When a debtor files for bankruptcy, the federal automatic stay halts enforcement of a money judgment, including income executions and levies, until the bankruptcy court lifts the stay or the case ends. Some debts are discharged in bankruptcy and become uncollectible; others survive it. Enforcement steps taken in violation of the stay can be reversed. A New York judgment is enforced against property located in New York. To reach a debtor’s wages or accounts in another state, the judgment generally has to be domesticated, meaning recognized and entered, in that state under its own procedures. Once recognized, that state’s enforcement tools apply to assets there.Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to collect a New York small claims judgment?
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 211(b), after which it is presumed satisfied. A lien created by docketing the judgment against the debtor’s real property lasts ten years under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5203 and can be extended by court order. Interest continues to accrue on the unpaid balance the entire time.What if the debtor has no job, bank account, or property?
Who pays the marshal, sheriff, and other collection costs?
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5004 is also added to what the debtor owes.Does the debtor’s bankruptcy stop collection?
Can I collect from a debtor who has moved out of New York?