What steps does New York law require before a civil judgment can lead to seizure of real property?
Executive summary
New York law does not allow automatic seizure of land the moment a civil judgment is entered; instead creditors must take a sequence of statutory steps — obtain and (if necessary) docket or transcript the judgment where the real property sits, request an execution or property execution, enlist an enforcement officer (sheriff or marshal), and follow notice, levy and sale procedures that include specific undertakings, exemptions, and fee rules [1] [2] [3]. The system builds in county-level docketing, pre-seizure notice and statutory protections for certain exempt property, while also leaving practical gaps that make seizure an involved, sometimes costly enforcement process [1] [4] [5].
1. Win the judgment, survive the appeal window, and know the timing
A creditor cannot begin seizure steps until the debtor fails to pay and any appeal or statutory waiting period expires — for example, a creditor may request execution after the debtor does not pay within 30 days and files no appeal in many local courts [6] [7]; courts and county clerks routinely advise that collection is the second phase after winning a judgment [2] [3].
2. Docket or transcript the judgment where the real property is located to create a lien
A judgment is not effective to seize real property unless it has been docketed in the Supreme Court or a transcript of judgment is filed with the county clerk in the county where the land sits, because docketing creates the lien against real property in that county [1] [6].
3. Seek a property execution and use investigative tools to locate assets
Once the judgment is docketed where needed, the creditor must request a Property Execution from the court — a formal execution authorizing seizure and sale of property — and may also use information subpoenas to discover bank accounts, wages, or other assets to be targeted by the execution [2] [3] [5].
4. Engage an enforcement officer, pay required advance fees, and supply documents
Execution is enforced by an officer — a county sheriff, city marshal, or constable — in the county where the property is located; the creditor must provide the officer with the execution (sometimes multiple copies), the docketed judgment or transcript, the summons and complaint, and pay enforcement fees (including mileage and other advance costs), without which the sheriff will not act [3] [5] [8].
5. Legal mechanics of levy, notice, undertakings and seizure
The sheriff levies by seizure or service of the execution and must provide statutorily required notice to the judgment debtor or obligor; for certain seizure orders (including seizure of chattels on a plaintiff’s application) courts may require an undertaking (bond) typically fixed at twice the property’s claimed value, and the sheriff must follow service and holding rules before disposition or auction [4] [9] [5].
6. Sale at public auction, accounting, and treatment of surplus
If property is seized and sold — including tax-driven seizures governed to follow CPLR Article 52 procedures — proceeds are applied to the judgment and sale costs, with any surplus returned to the owner after an accounting; seizure can include non-exempt real or personal property and tax warrants must be filed prior to tax seizures [10] [3] [11].
7. Exemptions, limits, and alternate remedies that shape seizure risk
Statutory exemptions limit what can be taken and certain procedures differ for family-support debts or government creditors; the creditor also has alternatives such as wage or bank garnishment and suspension of licenses, and practical obstacles — from enforcement fees to locating assets — often constrain the use of property seizure [3] [4] [8].
8. Forfeiture and criminally‑tainted property: a separate civil route
A different statutory channel exists for civil forfeiture and recovering property tied to crime — governed by distinct provisions that allow forfeiture actions and set traceability and limitation rules — and such actions follow their own procedures separate from ordinary judgment executions [12] [13].
9. Practical takeaways and reporting limits
The statutory path to take real property for a civil money judgment is deliberate: obtain and docket a judgment where the property is, request execution, provide required papers and undertakings, engage an enforcement officer and pay fees, give required notices, and comply with levy and sale rules — sources document the steps but do not provide a collateral checklist for every county’s local variations, so county clerk or sheriff offices must be consulted for local forms and fees [1] [5] [6].