Judgment Enforcement and Collection in New York State
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If a creditor gets a court judgment against you, it can’t enforce it until it’s entered by the court clerk. If you don’t pay the judgment voluntarily, the judgment creditor has several debt collection options at its disposal. In addition to options like wage or bank account garnishment, the creditor could contact an enforcement officer for assistance. If a creditor wins a court judgment against you, you’ll have to pay the money judgment amount plus any interest the court orders. Pre-judgment interest accrues on the debt owed before the court’s decision, while post-judgment interest accrues on the money judgment after it’s entered. In New York state, the interest accrual rate for debt collection cases is 2% annually.
Written by Lawyer John Coble. Legally reviewed by Jonathan Petts
Updated August 21, 2025
Judgments & Debt Collection in New York State
If a person or company wins a lawsuit against you, they get a court judgment. At that point, they’re called a judgment creditor and you’re called a judgment debtor. A judgment creditor can also get a default judgment against you if you fail to show up in court.
The judgment creditor can start debt collection procedures on the judgment as soon as it’s entered. Entering it means the clerk of court signs and files it. Before the judgment is entered, the judgment creditor has to serve a notice of entry on the judgment debtor notifying them of a 30-day appeal period.
After the debtor is served with the notice of entry, collections can begin. The judgment creditor must file an affidavit of service with the court, which is a sworn statement that the judgment creditor has served the judgment and notice of entry.
What if the Judgment Debtor Doesn’t Pay?
While having a money judgment gives a judgment creditor the right to collect, sometimes judgment debtors don’t voluntarily pay the judgment.
In that happens, the creditor can:
Take money from your paycheck with a wage garnishment order
Freeze your bank account and levy your funds
Take certain property
If a creditor has a judgment, they can also hire an enforcement officer—like a sheriff, city marshal, or constable—to help collect the money or property owed. The type of officer depends on which court issued the judgment. The creditor may have to pay fees to the officer up front, but those costs are usually added to what you owe.
How Can a Judgment Creditor Collect in New York?
If someone has a judgment against you, they have several ways to try to collect money. The most common methods are:
Wage garnishment – They can take part of your paycheck. There are limits to how much, and some income is protected.
Bank account levy – They can freeze your bank account and take money from it. New York law protects certain types of funds.
Property liens – They can place a lien on things like your house or car, which makes it harder to sell them without paying the judgment.
Property seizure – In rare cases, they can take and sell your personal property to cover the debt. This is usually a last resort.
🗓️ In New York, creditors have up to 20 years to collect on a judgment. In some cases, that clock can restart.
Other Collection Tactics
In certain cases, like unpaid judgments from car accidents or business disputes, a creditor may ask the state to suspend your driver’s or professional license until you pay.
Transferring Property for Less Than It’s Worth: New York law doesn’t allow people to give away or sell their property for less than fair value to avoid paying a judgment. These transfers can be reversed by the court.
Confessions of Judgment: Some contracts include a “confession of judgment” clause. This lets a creditor get a judgment without going to court. In New York, these are only valid for three years and must follow specific rules—especially if the person who signed the agreement lives outside the state.
How Can a Judgment Creditor Find Out What You Own?
A judgment creditor can send you an information subpoena, which is a list of questions about your income and property. This subpoena is filed with the court and sent to you by the county clerk. You have seven days to answer truthfully. If you don’t respond, the creditor can ask the court to hold you in contempt. That could lead to fines or even jail—not for owing the debt, but for ignoring the court order.
Creditors can also try to find your assets by:
Looking at past checks to see where you bank,
Asking the DMV if you own a car,
Searching property records in your county, or
Hiring a company to search for your assets.
Once a judgment is entered, interest can start adding up—making the total amount you owe even higher over time.
How Does Judgment Interest Work in New York?
When a court issues a money judgment in New York, interest can be added before and after the judgment.
Pre-judgment interest covers the time between when the issue started—like a missed payment or breach of contract—and when the court enters the judgment. It compensates the creditor for not having use of the money during that time.
Post-judgment interest starts the day the judgment is entered and continues until it’s paid in full. It’s meant to cover delays in payment after the court's decision.
💡 Courts can award either simple or compound interest:
Simple interest is based only on the original judgment amount.
Compound interest adds new interest on top of previous interest.
Both types of interest are meant to be fair to the person who won the case. Pre-judgment interest helps prevent the person who owes money from benefiting financially while the case is still ongoing. Post-judgment interest encourages them to pay promptly after the court’s decision. Together, these rules help make sure the creditor doesn’t lose out just because of delays in the legal process or payment.
What Are the New York State Pre- and Post-Judgment Rates?
In New York, the interest rate for pre- and post-judgment amounts depends on the type of case. For consumer debt cases, the interest rate is 2% annually. This rate applies whether the interest is being calculated before or after a court judgment.
For other types of cases, such as personal injury lawsuits, the post-judgment interest rate is much higher — 2% per month, which works out to 24% annually.
These rates are designed to ensure that plaintiffs are fairly compensated for delays in payment, whether the delay happens before or after a court judgment is entered.
Let’s Summarize…
Having a court award a judgment against you isn’t a good feeling, and you may not want to pay it. But remember that the judgment creditor has access to many post-judgment debt collection tools. And judgments can be enforced as soon as they’re entered by the court clerk.
Though there are limits, New York allows several debt collection options. Judgment creditors can garnish your wages or bank account or seize your property and sell it. In some cases, you could even have your drivers’ license or business license suspended.
