How Long Is a Judgment Good for in New York?

The 20-Year Enforcement Window

Under CPLR 211(b), a money judgment in New York is enforceable for 20 years from the date it was entered by the court clerk. That is not a soft deadline — you can pursue bank levies, wage garnishment, and property executions at any point during those two decades.

This is longer than most states allow. California gives 10 years (renewable once). Florida gives 20 but requires a separate action to renew after 5. New York's window runs continuously without renewal of the judgment itself.

The 20-year clock starts from the date of entry, not from the date you won at trial or the date the clerk mailed the Notice of Judgment. If there is a gap between the hearing and formal entry, the entry date controls.

Post-Judgment Interest From Day One

CPLR 5004 sets post-judgment interest at 9% per annum simple interest for standard civil judgments and 2% per annum for consumer debt judgments. Interest accrues automatically from the date the judgment is entered — you do not need to file anything or ask the court for it. The examples below use the 9% rate for a standard civil judgment.

On a $5,000 standard civil judgment, that means $450 per year in interest. After five years of non-payment, the debtor owes $7,250. After ten years, $9,500. The interest alone can nearly double the original judgment over the full 20-year enforcement period.

Here is what a $5,000 judgment looks like over time:

When you send an enforcement officer to levy a bank account or garnish wages, you include the accrued interest in the total amount on the execution. The debtor pays the original judgment plus all accumulated interest plus the officer's statutory fees.

The 10-Year Real Property Lien

The judgment itself lasts 20 years, but the real property lien created by docketing a Transcript of Judgment with the County Clerk lasts only 10 years from the date the judgment was originally entered (CPLR 5203).

If the 10-year lien period expires while you still have years left on the judgment, you can renew the lien by filing a motion under CPLR 5014. The renewed lien extends for an additional 10 years, covering the rest of the judgment's enforcement life. Miss the renewal window, and the lien dissolves — the debtor can sell or refinance the property free of your claim, even though the underlying judgment is still enforceable through other mechanisms.

Docketing costs $40 total ($15 for the Transcript of Judgment from the court clerk plus $25 to file with the County Clerk). That single filing creates an automatic lien on every parcel of real property the debtor owns in that county, preventing any clean title transfer until the judgment is satisfied.

What Happens at Year 20

After 20 years, CPLR 211(b) presumes the judgment satisfied unless the debtor acknowledged it in writing or made a partial payment within that period. The judgment does not automatically renew because it remains unpaid. The strategy, then, is to docket the judgment early (creating the property lien), use information subpoenas to check for new assets, and act when the debtor's financial situation changes.

Tracking the Balance

Keeping an accurate running ledger — original judgment, court costs, interest accrued, payments received, enforcement fees incurred — matters every time you send an execution to an officer. Overstating the balance can lead to sanctions; understating it means you leave money on the table.

Our New York Judgment Collection Guide includes a balance and interest tracker worksheet that calculates the running total at any point during the judgment's 20-year life.

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