New York — 23 NYCRR 1, Consumer Credit Fairness Act, GBL Art. 29-H, NYC DCWP rules

Authority

Four stacked layers apply to NY collection work:

1. 23 NYCRR Part 1 — DFS "Debt Collection by Third-Party Debt Collectors and Debt Buyers," adopted 2014-11-14 (DFS FAQ + press release pr1412031). Conduct regulation, no license.
2. Consumer Credit Fairness Act (L.2021, c.593) — CPLR 214-i (3-year SOL, no revival), CPLR 306-d (clerk-mailed extra lawsuit notice), CPLR 3012-b/3016(j) (suit paperwork).
3. GBL Article 29-H (§§ 600–603) — prohibited practices; binds principal creditors and their agents (first-party coverage); criminal misdemeanor per violation.
4. NYC only: DCWP Debt Collection Agency license (Admin. Code §§ 20-489 et seq.) + 6 RCNY § 5-77 conduct rules — comprehensively amended (the SHIELD Rule), new text effective 2027-01-01. The NYC layer now has its own page: local/ny-nyc.md, verified 2026-08-21 — read it for the City licence, penalties, and the full SHIELD text. This page keeps the state analysis.

⚠ SHIELD RULE EFFECTIVE DATE — 2027-01-01, not September 2026. DCWP moved it: "NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the final rules … relating to debt collectors published in the City Record on February 26, 2026 will go into effect on January 1, 2027, not September 1, 2026, the date contained in the publication." — The City Record, Vol. CLIII No. 139 (2026-07-22), at 3099. A conforming amendment to the rule's own internal dates is pending (hearing 2026-09-17 — re-verify after that date). Until 2027-01-01 the pre-SHIELD § 5-77 governs, including its two-per-seven-days per consumer presumption. Details and pin cites: local/ny-nyc.md.

Correction history (2026-08-21, dates corrected in the body 2026-08-22): this page was written when the rule was still noticed for 2026-09-01. That date was first patched by a banner telling the reader to mentally substitute 2027-01-01 for every "effective 2026-09-01" below. The substitution instruction has been replaced with corrected dates throughout, because a banner does not survive a reader deep-linking to one section, and because one line it did not cover — "in force now (until 2026-08-31)" — would have gone affirmatively wrong on 2026-09-01, in the direction of relaxing a cap that still binds.

⚠ FLAG — amendment status (verified 2026-07-03)

• 23 NYCRR Part 1 has NOT been verified as amended. DFS proposed a major amendment 2021-12-15 (rp23a1_text_20211215_0.pdf), revised it 2022-12-28 (comments through 2023-02-13). DFS's own April 2022 industry letter states "the amendments are not yet final," and no notice of adoption could be located on dfs.ny.gov or in searches as of 2026-07-03. The briefing claim that Part 1 was "amended effective 2025" could not be confirmed from any official source — treat the 2014 regulation (as amended eff. 2015-09-09) as current, and re-verify before building enforcement code on Part 1 specifics.
• NYC 6 RCNY § 5-77: the August 2024 DCWP amendments (NOA published 2024-08-12, orig. effective 2024-12-01) never took effect — DCWP's 2026 NOA recites: "the Department published a Notice of Change of Effective Date changing the effective date of the August 2024 NOA from December 1, 2024, to April 1, 2025 … a second Notice of Change of Effective Date changing the effective date of the August 2024 NOA to October 1, 2025. Thereafter, the effective date was further postponed indefinitely." DCWP then re-proposed (2025-04-10), held a hearing (2025-06-10), and adopted the final amended rules in the Feb-2026 Notice of Adoption: "The effective date of the amendments is September 1, 2026." Until then the pre-amendment 5-77 text (including the twice-per-7-days frequency presumption) governs.

Licensing / registration

New York City — DCWP Debt Collection Agency license. Official DCWP statement (nyc.gov license checklist, retrieved 2026-07-03):

Businesses whose principal purpose is to regularly collect or to attempt to collect personal or household debts from New York City residents must have a Debt Collection Agency license no matter where the agency is located, including outside of New York State. — DCWP, Debt Collection Agency License Application Checklist (nyc.gov); full definition at N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 20-489

The checklist expressly includes debt buyers ("businesses that buy debt and then try to collect money directly or through the services of another") and litigation attorneys/law firms "who regularly engage in activities traditionally performed by debt collectors."

New York State — no statewide collection-agency license was identified in the official sources reviewed (DFS regulates conduct via 23 NYCRR 1 without a licensing scheme; GBL Art. 29-H is a prohibited-practices statute). Interpretation — confirm before relying for a new-market entry decision. Buffalo also licenses collectors locally (not covered here).

Scope vs federal — who's covered beyond the FDCPA

GBL Article 29-H binds first-party creditors. The operative prohibition opens:

No principal creditor, as defined by this article, or his agent shall: — GBL § 601 (opening clause)

"Principal creditor" means any person, firm, corporation or organization to whom a consumer claim is owed, due or asserted to be due or owed, or any assignee for value of said person, firm, corporation or organization. — GBL § 600(3)

"Consumer claim" means any obligation of a natural person for the payment of money or its equivalent which is or is alleged to be in default and which arises out of a transaction wherein credit has been offered or extended to a natural person, and the money, property or service which was the subject of the transaction was primarily for personal, family or household purposes. The term includes an obligation of a natural person who is a co-maker, endorser, guarantor or surety as well as the natural person to whom such credit was originally extended. — GBL § 600(1)

Penalty: "any person who violates the terms of section six hundred one of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor, and each such violation shall be deemed a separate offense" (GBL § 602(1)); the AG or any DA may sue to restrain violations (§ 602(2)).

23 NYCRR Part 1 does NOT cover original creditors (third-party collectors + debt buyers only). DFS FAQ (official): "Does 23 NYCRR 1 apply to the collection of debts by original creditors? A. No. However, the regulation does apply to third party debt collectors collecting on behalf of original creditors to the extent another exception in the rule is not applicable." It also does not apply to seller-financed (direct seller-to-consumer) credit, to money-judgment collection, or to formal litigation activities (DFS FAQ, quoting the rule's exclusion for "serving, filing, or conveying formal legal pleadings … or … collecting on or enforcing a money judgment").

NYC (from 2027-01-01): original creditors ARE covered once "debt collection procedures" begin. New definitions (2026 NOA, 6 RCNY subchapter S/5-76 definitions):

Debt collection procedures. The term "debt collection procedures" means any attempt by any person, including an original creditor, to collect a debt after any of the following: (1) with respect to accounts for which creditors are required to send periodic statements, the creditor has ceased sending those statements, or taken or threatened to take legal action against the consumer; (2) with respect to 30-day accounts for which periodic statements are not required, the creditor has ceased sending bills for the debt or taken or threatened to take legal action against the consumer; or, (3) with respect to all other types of credit, the creditor has accelerated the unpaid balance of the debt or demanded the full balance due. — 6 RCNY (DCWP NOA 2026, eff. 2027-01-01)

Debt collector. The term "debt collector" means any person, including any natural person or organization, including a debt collection agency, who: (A) is engaged in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or (B) regularly collects, or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due to another person, or debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due to the person collecting or attempting to collect the debts. (C) The term also includes a buyer of debts who seeks to collect on such debts either directly or indirectly, as well as any creditor that, at any time, in collecting its own debts, uses any name other than its own that would suggest or indicate that someone other than such creditor is collecting or attempting to collect such debts. — 6 RCNY (DCWP NOA 2026, eff. 2027-01-01; exclusions (D)(1)–(5) cover government officers, legally-required actions, nonprofit credit counselors, regulated-utility employees, process servers)

Communication rules stricter than federal

GBL § 601 (statewide, incl. first-party) — key prohibited practices

1. Simulate in any manner a law enforcement officer, or a representative of any governmental agency of the state of New York or any of its political subdivisions; — GBL § 601(1)

6. Communicate with the debtor or any member of his family or household with such frequency or at such unusual hours or in such a manner as can reasonably be expected to abuse or harass the debtor; — GBL § 601(6)

8. Claim, or attempt or threaten to enforce a right with knowledge or reason to know that the right does not exist; — GBL § 601(8)

9. Use a communication which simulates in any manner legal or judicial process or which gives the appearance of being authorized, issued or approved by a government, governmental agency, or attorney at law when it is not; — GBL § 601(9)

12. Use a social media platform as a means to collect on a consumer claim from a debtor. — GBL § 601(12) (first sentence; the subdivision continues with a "social media platform" definition)

Also prohibited (verified summary of the remaining subdivisions, official text at nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/601): collecting collection fees/attorney fees/court costs not "justly due and legally chargeable against the debtor" (§ 601(2)); knowingly-false credit-standing disclosures (§ 601(3)); communicating/threatening to communicate the claim to the employer before final judgment (§ 601(4)); disclosing/threatening to disclose a disputed claim without revealing the dispute (§ 601(5)); threatening action the principal creditor does not usually take (§ 601(7)); 10-day registered/certified-mail notice before remote vehicle disabling (§ 601(10)); 5-year record retention for creditors serving >50 information subpoenas/month (§ 601(11), with a $10-per-subpoena private remedy in § 602(3)).

NYC 6 RCNY § 5-77 — frequency cap (STRICTER than Reg F 7-in-7)

In force now (until 2026-12-31) — the pre-amendment text (shown as deleted matter in the DCWP NOA redlines):

with excessive frequency. In the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a debt collector shall assume that more than twice during a seven-calendar-day period is excessively frequent. — 6 RCNY § 5-77(b)(1)(iv) (pre-amendment text, quoted from the official NOA redline)

Effective 2027-01-01 — a 3-per-7-days cap across ALL media, per account, that also stops contact for the rest of the window once the consumer responds:

(A) Excessive frequency means any communication or attempted communication, except communications or attempted communications set forth in item (D) of this subparagraph, made by the debt collector to a consumer by any medium of communication, in connection with the collection of debt within a seven-consecutive-calendar-day period, either 1) more than three times in total during such period or 2) any time after the consumer responded to a prior communication within such period. (B) Where a debt collector is attempting to collect on multiple debts from the same consumer, excessive frequency shall be calculated separately for each distinct account belonging to the consumer. (C) The seven-day consecutive calendar-day period shall start on the date of the first communication or attempted communication including limited content-messages. — 6 RCNY § 5-77(b)(1)(iv) (DCWP NOA 2026, eff. 2027-01-01). Item (D) excludes from the count: hard-copy U.S. mail/delivery-service communications, consumer-initiated/consumer-requested exchanges, same-thread email/chat replies, undelivered attempts (wrong number, returned mail, bounced email), legally required communications, and formal litigation communications.

NYC — electronic communication consent (eff. 2027-01-01)

A debt collector may not:

Contact a consumer by electronic communication to collect or attempt to collect debt unless the debt collector satisfies the following requirements: (i) A debt collector may only use a specific email address, text message number, social media account, or specific electronic medium of communication if such electronic communication is private and direct to the consumer and one of the following requirements is met: (A) the debt collector obtains revocable consent from the consumer in writing, given directly to such debt collector, to use such email address, text message number, social media account, or another electronic medium of communication to communicate about the specific debt, and the consumer has not since revoked the consent … — 6 RCNY § 5-77(b)(5) (DCWP NOA 2026; excerpt. Alternative (B) covers an original creditor's consent obtained directly, before debt collection procedures began; alternative (C) — present in the adopted 2026 text, re-verified 2026-08-21 — covers a channel the consumer used to communicate with the collector about a debt within the past 60 days and has not since opted out of. Every electronic communication must carry a clear opt-out disclosure honoring "stop" and equivalent replies, in the language of the communication, with no opt-out fee.)

Workplace-channel ban: no communication "by sending an electronic message to an email address or a text message number that the debt collector knows or should know is provided to the consumer by the consumer's employer" absent direct consent (2024 NOA § 5-77(b)(6); carried in the 2026 scheme).

NYC — language access (eff. 2027-01-01; core duties date to the June 2020 rules)

• Prohibited: "the false, inaccurate, or partial translation of any communication" and, where the collector knows or should know of it, "the false representation or omission of a consumer's language preference when returning, selling or referring for debt collection litigation any consumer account" (6 RCNY § 5-77(d)(18)–(19)).
• Unfair practice: "collecting or attempting to collect a debt without recording the language preference of such consumer, except where the debt collector is not aware of such preference despite reasonable attempts to obtain it" (§ 5-77(e)(9), 2026 text).
• Validation notices offered in a language must be delivered "completely and accurately in the language requested within 30 days"; contacting a consumer in a non-English language triggers a validation notice in that language within 5 days of first contact; disputes must then be accepted and answered in that language (§ 5-77(f)(3), 2024 NOA text; carried forward in 2026).
• Public-facing collection websites must disclose available language access services and link DCWP's multi-language glossary under "NYC Rules on Language Services and Rights" (§ 5-77(h)).

NYC — credit-reporting gate (eff. 2027-01-01)

(10) furnishing to a consumer reporting agency, as defined in section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f)), information about a debt unless the debt collector has sent to the consumer in at least one medium of communication used to collect the debt, and sent a written copy to the consumer via U.S. mail or other delivery service, a notice that states, clearly and conspicuously, that the information about the debt will be reported to a consumer reporting agency and has waited 14 consecutive days after sending such notice. — 6 RCNY § 5-77(e)(10) (DCWP NOA 2026, eff. 2027-01-01; exemptions: check-history specialty CRAs, and furnishers complying with FCRA § 623(a)(7) (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(7)))

Required disclosures / notices

23 NYCRR Part 1 (statewide, third-party collectors + debt buyers)

• § 1.2(a) initial disclosures for all debts; § 1.2(b) charged-off-debt disclosures in the initial communication (itemized accounting: charge-off balance, post-charge-off interest, fees, payments). Confirmed to exist and to work this way by the DFS FAQ (official), but the verbatim rule text of §§ 1.1–1.2 and 1.4–1.6 was NOT retrieved — the official NYCRR compilation (govt.westlaw.com, linked as official from dfs.ny.gov) blocks automated fetch and DFS does not host a consolidated Part 1 text. UNVERIFIED — official text not retrieved; do not rely on or quote § 1.2/1.4/1.5/1.6 wording without pulling it. Pointer: NYCRR Title 23 Ch. I Part 1 at https://govt.westlaw.com/nycrr/Browse/Home/NewYork/NewYorkCodesRulesandRegulations?guid=I1ef8d86074cd11e48fa40000845b8d3e (the guid DFS itself links).
• § 1.3(b) — time-barred debt notice (verbatim via DFS Industry Letter 2022-04-07, official):

[i]f a debt collector knows or has reason to know that the statute of limitations for a debt may be expired, before accepting payment on the debt, the debt collector must provide the consumer with clear and conspicuous notice, in the same medium (such as via telephone or electronic communication) by which the debt collector will accept payment, that, [among other things,] if the consumer makes any payment on a debt for which the statute of limitations has expired or admits, affirms, acknowledges, or promises to pay such debt, the statute of limitations may restart. — 23 NYCRR § 1.3(b), as quoted in DFS Industry Letter (2022-04-07). The letter provides DFS's own model compliance language reconciling § 1.3(b) with CPLR 214-i's no-revival rule (see SOL section) — for post-CCFA consumer credit transactions the collector must NOT tell the consumer payment restarts the SOL; DFS's example wording states the collector "will NOT sue you to collect this debt."

• § 1.4 — substantiation right. DFS FAQ (official): "A debt collector cannot collect a debt until substantiation is provided. Once substantiation is furnished, a debt collector may begin collecting, even if substantiation is provided after the required 60-day period. While the debt collector may continue collecting, note that failure to provide the required information within 60 days of receipt of the request for substantiation is a violation of the rule separately enforceable by the Department." § 1.4(c)(4) requires "records reflecting the amount and date of any prior settlement agreement" (FAQ, quoting the rule).
• § 1.5 — payment-plan accounting: accounting of the debt on "at least a quarterly basis while the consumer is making scheduled payments" (DFS FAQ, quoting the rule).
• DFS FAQ confirms a collector may satisfy both the DFS and NYC SOL disclosures with a single combined disclosure (NYC language + any additional § 1.3 items).

CCFA — consumer credit lawsuit paperwork (statewide)

• CPLR 306-d (clerk mails an extra notice): plaintiff must submit "a stamped, unsealed envelope addressed to the defendant together with a written notice in clear type of no less than twelve-point in size, in both English and Spanish," and "No default judgment based on the defendant's failure to answer shall be entered unless there has been compliance with this section, and at least twenty days have elapsed from the date of mailing by the clerk"; no default judgment may be entered if "the additional notice is returned to the court as undeliverable" (CPLR 306-d, official text at nysenate.gov).
• CPLR 3016(j) — pleading requirements in consumer credit actions (verbatim, nysenate.gov):

In an action arising out of a consumer credit transaction where a purchaser, borrower or debtor is a defendant, the contract or other written instrument on which the action is based shall be attached to the complaint, however, for the purposes of this section, if the account was a revolving credit account, the charge-off statement may be attached to the complaint instead of the contract or other written instrument, and the following information shall be set forth in the complaint: (1) The name of the original creditor; (2) The last four digits of the account number printed on the most recent monthly statement recording a purchase transaction, last payment or balance transfer; (3) The date and amount of the last payment or, if no payment was made, a statement that the purchaser, borrower or debtor made no payment on the account; (4) If the complaint contains a cause of action based on an account stated, the date on or about which the final statement of account was provided to the defendant; (5) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, an itemization of the amount sought, by (i) principal; (ii) finance charge or charges; (iii) fees imposed by the original creditor; (iv) collection costs; (v) attorney's fees; (vi) interest; and (vii) any other fees and charges. (B) If the account was a revolving credit account, an itemization of the amount sought, by: (i) the total amount of the debt due as of charge-off; (ii) the total amount of interest accrued since charge-off; (iii) the total amount of non-interest charges or fees accrued since charge-off; and (iv) the total amount of payments and/or credits made on the debt since charge-off; (6) The account balance printed on the most recent monthly statement recording a purchase transaction, last payment or balance transfer; (7) (A) Whether the plaintiff is the original creditor. (B) If the plaintiff is not the original creditor, the complaint shall also state (i) the date on which the debt was sold or assigned to the plaintiff; (ii) the name of each previous owner of the account from the original creditor to the plaintiff and the date on which the debt was assigned to that owner by the original creditor or subsequent owner; and (iii) the amount due at the time of the sale or assignment of the debt by the original creditor; and (8) Any matters required to be stated with particularity pursuant to rule 3015 of this article. — CPLR 3016(j)

• CCFA also touches attorney certification and default-judgment proof requirements; effective dates for the lawsuit provisions (30 days after 214-i, i.e. ~2022-05-07 per secondary sources) are UNVERIFIED against an official source — confirm before litigation-workflow work.

NYC — validation notice (6 RCNY § 5-77(f), eff. 2027-01-01)

Within 5 days after the initial communication, a written validation notice by U.S. mail/delivery service containing everything federal + state law requires plus (verbatim, 2026 NOA): the DCWP license number "if applicable"; a named natural-person callback contact and a phone number answered by that person during business hours; the date of the notice; a NYC-specific itemization of the debt keyed to the "itemization reference date"; language-access statements; and this mandatory statement:

PLEASE READ: Information About Your Rights as a New York City Consumer

• There is no time limit for a New York City consumer to dispute the debt in collection under New York City Law. You can let collectors know you dispute the debt using any of the ways they contact you, including by phone.

• You must get a response to the disputed debt in 60 days. Once you dispute the debt, the collector must stop collection. Within 60 days after receiving your dispute, a debt collector must give you either 1) verification of the debt, or 2) a "Notice of Unverified Debt" stating it can't verify the debt or continue collection. Be sure to keep a copy of all letters.

• Inform the debt collector if any charges arise from medical debt. If you have a low or limited income, you may be eligible to apply for help under a hospital's "Financial Assistance Policy." Medical debt cannot be reported on your credit report. Note: Medical debt does not include charges to a credit card unless the credit card is offered specifically for the payment of health care services, products, or devices. — 6 RCNY § 5-77(f)(1)(iv) (DCWP NOA 2026, eff. 2027-01-01)

(The never-effective 2024 NOA version said 45 days for the verification response; the adopted 2026 text says 60 days. Verification must rest on original-creditor documentation; failure ⇒ "Notice of Unverified Debt" and cessation.)

NYC — time-barred debt (6 RCNY § 5-77(i), eff. 2027-01-01)

(1) A debt collector must maintain reasonable procedures for determining the statute of limitations applicable to a debt it is collecting and whether such statute of limitations has expired. — 6 RCNY § 5-77(i)(1) (DCWP NOA 2026)

Before contacting the consumer about a known/should-have-known time-barred debt by any other means, the collector must first deliver by U.S. mail/delivery service a written notice of time-barred debt disclosing, "in English and any other language used by the debt collector to communicate with the consumer," substantially:

• THE TIME TO SUE ON THIS DEBT HAS EXPIRED.

IF YOU ARE SUED ILLEGALLY:

o It is a violation of federal law (the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act). o You may be able to stop the lawsuit by telling the court that the statute of limitations on this debt expired. o You are not required to admit that you owe this debt, promise to pay this debt, or waive the statute of limitations on this debt. o Note: If you make a payment on this debt, the creditors' right to sue you and make you pay the entire debt may start again. o Consult an attorney or a legal aid organization to learn more about your legal rights and options; — 6 RCNY § 5-77(i)(2)(i) (DCWP NOA 2026, eff. 2027-01-01)

Then: a 14-consecutive-day waiting period monitoring for undeliverability before other-medium contact (§ 5-77(i)(3)); no telephone/oral/electronic-only collection on expired debt without prior written revocable consent, oral time-barred disclosure before discussing amounts, and re-mailing of the disclosure within 5 days after each oral communication (unless mailed within 30 days) (§ 5-77(i)(4)); the disclosure repeated in "every permitted communication," ≥12-point type "set off in a sharply contrasting color," first page, adjacent to the amount (§ 5-77(i)(5)); and no settlement or payment may be taken on a time-barred account unless (i)(2)–(4) are satisfied (§ 5-77(i)(4), last sentence).

Trap: the NYC notice's "may start again" bullet coexists with CPLR 214-i's no-revival rule for consumer credit transactions — § 5-77(i)(2)(i) allows "changes allowed to conform with New York State's disclosure," and DFS's 2022 letter shows the state-conforming approach (tell the consumer the SOL can NOT restart for these debts). Templates must branch on debt type.

SOL + time-barred rules

CPLR 214-i — 3-year SOL for consumer credit transactions, no revival (verbatim, nysenate.gov):

An action arising out of a consumer credit transaction where a purchaser, borrower or debtor is a defendant must be commenced within three years, except as provided in section two hundred thirteen-a of this article or article 2 of the uniform commercial code or article 36-B of the general business law. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when the applicable limitations period expires, any subsequent payment toward, written or oral affirmation of or other activity on the debt does not revive or extend the limitations period. — CPLR 214-i (added by CCFA § 4, L.2021, c.593; effective 2022-04-07 per DFS Industry Letter 2022-04-07)

Non-consumer-credit contract claims remain under CPLR 213(2) (6 years, breach of contract — see ./_matrix.md NY row, verified separately). The interplay: for NY consumer credit claims the planning number is 3 years and payment/acknowledgment does NOT restart it; for commercial claims 214-i does not apply.

CPLR 213 — the 6-year track (verbatim)

(This subsection and the two below added 2026-08-12 from the NYS Legislative Retrieval System — see the source-URL comment in the frontmatter for the navigation path. The rest of this page carries the 2026-07-03 last_verified date.)

§ 213. Actions to be commenced within six years: where not otherwise provided for; on contract; on sealed instrument; on bond or note, and mortgage upon real property; … The following actions must be commenced within six years:

1. an action for which no limitation is specifically prescribed by law;
2. an action upon a contractual obligation or liability, express or implied, except as provided in section two hundred thirteen-a or two hundred fourteen-i of this article or article 2 of the uniform commercial code or article 36-B of the general business law;
3. an action upon a sealed instrument;
4. an action upon a bond or note, the payment of which is secured by a mortgage upon real property, or upon a bond or note and mortgage so secured, or upon a mortgage of real property, or any interest therein; … — CPLR 213(1)–(4) (excerpt; (4)(a)–(b) add the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act estoppel rules on mortgage acceleration, and (5)–(9) cover public-property misappropriation, mistake, corporate claims, fraud, and Martin Act/Exec. Law § 63(12) actions)

Note the shape of 213(2): the 6-year contract period is the residual, and 214-i is carved out of it. So a NY consumer credit transaction is 3 years under 214-i; everything else contractual (commercial paper, non-consumer accounts, guaranties) is 6 years under 213(2).

Promissory notes — NY has NO UCC § 3-118 limitations period

New York never adopted Revised UCC Article 3. The section that in every Revised-Article-3 state is the 6-year note statute is, in New York, a rule of construction:

Section 3--118. Ambiguous Terms and Rules of Construction. The following rules apply to every instrument: (a) Where there is doubt whether the instrument is a draft or a note the holder may treat it as either. A draft drawn on the drawer is effective as a note. (b) Handwritten terms control typewritten and printed terms, and typewritten control printed. (c) Words control figures except that if the words are ambiguous figures control. … — N.Y. UCC § 3-118 (pre-revision Article 3, still in force)

Consequence (interpretation). There is no NY note-specific limitations statute to apply. A New York promissory note is limited by the CPLR: 6 years under CPLR 213(2) as a contractual obligation, or under CPLR 213(4) where the note is secured by a mortgage on real property — and 3 years under CPLR 214-i if the note arises out of a consumer credit transaction, since 213(2) expressly yields to 214-i. The right answer is the same number as most states for commercial paper (6), but it comes from a different statute, and the consumer-credit override has no analogue in UCC states. Do not cite "N.Y. UCC § 3-118" for a limitations period — it does not say that.

Revival for NON-consumer-credit debt — GOL §§ 17-101, 17-103, 17-107

214-i's anti-revival sentence reaches only consumer credit transactions. For every other NY debt, revival is governed by General Obligations Law article 17 ("REVIVAL OR EXTENSION; WAIVER OF DEFENSE OR BAR"), title 1 ("OBLIGATIONS BARRED BY STATUTES OF LIMITATION"):

§ 17-101. Acknowledgment or new promise must be in writing. An acknowledgment or promise contained in a writing signed by the party to be charged thereby is the only competent evidence of a new or continuing contract whereby to take an action out of the operation of the provisions of limitations of time for commencing actions under the civil practice law and rules other than an action for the recovery of real property. This section does not alter the effect of a payment of principal or interest. — GOL § 17-101 (emphasis added)

Waiver/extension agreements are separately regulated, and § 17-103(4)(a) repeats the payment carve-out:

1. A promise to waive, to extend, or not to plead the statute of limitation applicable to an action arising out of a contract express or implied in fact or in law, if made after the accrual of the cause of action and made, either with or without consideration, in a writing signed by the promisor or his agent is effective, according to its terms, to prevent interposition of the defense of the statute of limitation in an action or proceeding commenced within the time that would be applicable if the cause of action had arisen at the date of the promise, or within such shorter time as may be provided in the promise. …
2. This section a. does not change the requirements or the effect with respect to the statute of limitation, of an acknowledgment or promise to pay, or a payment or part payment of principal or interest, or a stipulation made in an action or proceeding; … — GOL § 17-103(1), (4)(a) (excerpt)

⚠ Correction to a common assumption: GOL § 17-107 is NOT the general part-payment statute. Its own caption and text limit it to mortgage foreclosure:

§ 17-107. Effect of part payment on time limited for foreclosure of a mortgage. 1. A payment on account of a mortgage indebtedness, or instalment thereof or interest thereon, which is effective to revive an action to recover such indebtedness, instalment or interest or to extend the time limited for such action, is also effective, between persons described in subdivision two of this section, to make the time limited for commencement of an action to foreclose the mortgage run from the date of payment, unless the payment is accompanied by written disclaimer of intention to affect the time limited for foreclosure of the mortgage. … — GOL § 17-107(1) (excerpt; subdivision 2 lists the persons bound and benefited, and subdivision 3 caps the effect: "No payment described in subdivision one of this section has any greater effect, with respect to the time limited for foreclosure of the mortgage, than that provided in this section.")

Title 1 contains exactly four sections — 17-101, 17-103, 17-105, and 17-107 — and 17-105 and 17-107 are both mortgage-specific. There is no New York statute stating the effect of part payment on an ordinary debt.

Plain English (interpretation — the quotes win). For NY debt that is not a consumer credit transaction:

• Acknowledgment or new promise: signed writing only. § 17-101 makes a signed writing "the only competent evidence." An oral acknowledgment, a recorded call, or a verbal promise to pay does not extend or revive a NY period.
• Part payment: still effective, but the rule is common law, not statute. Both § 17-101 and § 17-103(4)(a) deliberately preserve payment's effect rather than define it, so the operative standard (payment made under circumstances implying a promise to pay the balance) comes from case law. UNVERIFIED against an official source — no statute states it; treat the revival effect of a part payment on a non-consumer NY debt as attorney-review territory and do not auto-re-age.
• Consumer credit is the opposite regime. CPLR 214-i overrides all of the above: after the 3-year period runs, "any subsequent payment toward, written or oral affirmation of or other activity on the debt does not revive or extend the limitations period." Article 17 never gets reached for those accounts.
• CPLR 203(h) is mortgage-note-specific, not a general anti-revival rule. It bars unilateral reset only for "an instrument described in subdivision four of section two hundred thirteen" — i.e. a bond or note secured by a real-property mortgage:

(h) Claim and action upon certain instruments. Once a cause of action upon an instrument described in subdivision four of section two hundred thirteen of this article has accrued, no party may, in form or effect, unilaterally waive, postpone, cancel, toll, revive, or reset the accrual thereof, or otherwise purport to effect a unilateral extension of the limitations period prescribed by law to commence an action and to interpose the claim, unless expressly prescribed by statute. — CPLR 203(h)

State disclosure duty when collecting expired debt: 23 NYCRR § 1.3(b) (quoted above) — notice required in the payment-acceptance medium before accepting any payment, with DFS-blessed post-CCFA wording in the 2022 Industry Letter. NYC adds the § 5-77(i) regime above from 2027-01-01 (current § 5-77 time-barred provisions in the pre-amendment text remain in force until then).

Related

• FDCPA overview
• Reg F call frequency — NYC cap is stricter and cross-medium
• Reg F time-barred debt — federal suit bar; NY adds notice regimes
• State matrix