Offices of the Sheriff
Offices of the Sheriff are open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
Office of the Sheriff - New York County
Department of Finance
66 John Street, 13th Floor (between Dutch and William Streets)
New York, NY 10038
Office of the Sheriff - Kings County
Department of Finance
345 Adams Street, 5th Floor (between Johnson and Willoughby Streets)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Office of the Sheriff - Bronx County
Department of Finance
3030 Third Avenue, 2nd Floor (between East 155 and 156 Streets)
Bronx, NY 10455
Office of the Sheriff - Queens County
Department of Finance
3010 Starr Avenue (between Borden Avenue and 31st Place)
Queens, NY 11101
Office of the Sheriff - Richmond County
Department of Finance
350 St. Marks Place, Room 409 (between Hyatt Street and Victory Boulevard)
Staten Island, NY 10301
Process Rules and Fees
Fees and Timeframes
Family Court offense summonses and Orders of Protection (if there is a scheduled hearing) must be served 24 hours before the court date. There is no fee for serving these.
Family Court paternity and support papers must be served at least 8 days before the court date so the Sheriff must get the papers no later than 3 weeks before in order to have a reasonable chance of serving the papers. The New York State (NYS) mandated filing fee is $52.
All other summonses or legal papers (civil court summonses, divorce papers, etc.) must be received by the Sheriff no later than 3 weeks before the court date. The NYS mandated filing fee is $52.
If service is requested at multiple locations (for example, at home and work addresses), there is an additional $35 service fee for each location after the first one.
Evictions
Landlord and tenant cases that result in an eviction are generally handled by City Marshals. The Sheriff only handles evictions that involve the enforcement of a court order, usually Supreme Court judgments.
The fee for this type of eviction is $140. There is an additional $15 fee for each additional tenant. More information on this is available under Sheriff's Civil Law Enforcement on the Department of Finance's website.
Visit the Department of Finance website.
Making Arrests
The Office of the Sheriff may arrest someone if the arrest is in compliance with a court order.
There is no fee for filing most warrants. Family Court warrants, Family Court Warrants of Commitment, and Mental Hygiene warrants may be filed with the Sheriff and there is no fee for filing these with the Sheriff.
Civil court arrest warrants may be filed with the Sheriff's Office for a $100 fee.
Collecting Judgments and Orders of Seizure
The Sheriff's Office collects court-ordered judgments for outstanding debt. When judgments are "executed" by the Sheriff, additional fees are added to the outstanding amount and must be paid along with the original debt.
For outstanding parking debt owed the City of New York, the Sheriff's Office tows vehicles registered to those debtors.
If there are no vehicles registered to the debtor, or in other types of court-ordered money judgments, the Sheriff's Office will commence an income execution (also known as garnishing the debtor's wages).
The Sheriff's Office begins the income execution process by giving the debtor the ability to pay off the debt completely at that time or choose to have 10% of his or her gross income (the percentage set by law) taken out of each payroll period until the full debt is paid. If the debtor chooses to have the 10% taken out, a "Letter of Demand" is sent to the debtor's employer. Once this is done, only a request from the creditor or the creditor's attorney or the total satisfaction of the entire debt will stop the garnishment.
Private individuals can request the Sheriff's Office to collect NYC Small Claims Court judgments that have been outstanding for more than 30 days; NYS Supreme Court docketed Small Claims judgments outstanding for more than 30 days; NYC Civil Court judgments, NYS Supreme Court judgments and Orders of Seizure. More information on this is available under Sheriff's Civil Law Enforcement on the Department of Finance's website.
Visit the Department of Finance website.
Judgments from a Small Claims Court outside New York City are not valid in New York City unless docketed in the New York State Supreme Court.
Contempt Arrests
A civil arrest can only occur with a warrant or other written direction from a court except as provided for in the Family Court Act. The court of record can punish for civil contempt. This includes proceedings to enforce money judgments (CPLR 5210) and enforcement of a judgment or an order in divorce, separation or annulment by DBL 245.
An Arrest Warrant may be issued where a judgment debtor possesses or controls property and is concealing himself or is about to leave the state. A warrant may also be issued where a party has disobeyed a subpoena.
Additionally, any member of the public may petition the court to order someone taken into custody and brought to a hospital to receive treatment for mental illness (Kendra's Law).
Additionally, a family court warrant of arrest may be issued by the court for several different reasons:
- A summons probably cannot be served
- The person refuses to obey a summons
- The safety of a party is endangered
- A respondent on bail or parole has failed to appear
- In the court's opinion, the person is likely to leave the jurisdiction
The fee for serving an arrest warrant is $100. There is no fee for mental hygiene warrants and warrants concerning domestic violence or public safety.
