Making a Judgment Work in a Different Court or County (Transcript of Judgment)

A very important tool to help you collect money or property from the Debtor is called a Transcript of Judgment. This is needed when:

• The judgment is from a Civil, City, District, Town or Village Court and you want to use it against the Debtor’s real property (the Transcript of Judgment must first be filed in the County Clerk’s Office in the same county as the court that made the judgment), or
• The judgment is from any court and you want to use it in another county against personal property or income. (A judgment from any county in New York City can be used in the whole city).
• The judgment is from another state or federal court.

Go to the Court that entered the judgment to pay the Filing Fee to get a Transcript of Judgment. Pay a second Filing Fee and file the Transcript of Judgment in the County Clerk’s office in the county where the Debtor has the property. If the Debtor has property in multiple counties you need a Transcript of Judgment for each county. You have to pay multiple filing fees.

A Transcript of Judgment is needed before you can use other collection tools in a different Court or county. See Collection Basics.

 

The Effect of Having a Transcript of Judgment

Once a Transcript of Judgment is filed in a County Clerk’s Office:

• The judgment becomes a lien on the Debtor’s land or land he or she buys in the county. Having a lien means that the Debtor can’t sell the property without paying the Creditor.
• The judgment can be used against the Debtor’s personal property in that county.
• Credit agencies may find the judgment when they check the County Clerk’s records and deny the Debtor credit.

Read about other collection tools in Collection Basics.