{"jurisdiction": "us-ny", "code": "cplr", "section": "2103", "citation": "CPLR § 2103", "heading": "Service of papers", "text": ["Rule 2103. Service of papers. (a) Who can serve. Except where otherwise prescribed by law or order of court, papers may be served by any person not a party of the age of eighteen years or over.", "(b) Upon an attorney. Except where otherwise prescribed by law or order of court, papers to be served upon a party in a pending action shall be served upon the party's attorney. Where the same attorney appears for two or more parties, only one copy need be served upon the attorney.  Such service upon an attorney shall be made:", "1. by delivering the paper to the attorney personally; or", "2. by mailing the paper to the attorney at the address designated by that attorney for that purpose or, if none is designated, at the attorney's last known address; service by mail shall be complete upon mailing; where a period of time prescribed by law is measured from the service of a paper and service is by mail, five days shall be added to the prescribed period if the mailing is made within the state and six days if the mailing is made from outside the state but within the geographic boundaries of the United States; or", "3. if the attorney's office is open, by leaving the paper with a person in charge, or if no person is in charge, by leaving it in a conspicuous place; or if the attorney's office is not open, by depositing the paper, enclosed in a sealed wrapper directed to the attorney, in the attorney's office letter drop or box; or", "4. by leaving it at the attorney's residence within the state with a person of suitable age and discretion. Service upon an attorney shall not be made at the attorney's residence unless service at the attorney's office cannot be made; or", "5. by transmitting the paper to the attorney by facsimile transmission, provided that a facsimile telephone number is designated by the attorney for that purpose. Service by facsimile transmission shall be complete upon the receipt by the sender of a signal from the equipment of the attorney served indicating that the transmission was received, and the mailing of a copy of the paper to that attorney. The designation of a facsimile telephone number in the address block subscribed on a paper served or filed in the course of an action or proceeding shall constitute consent to service by facsimile transmission in accordance with this subdivision. An attorney may change or rescind a facsimile telephone number by serving a notice on the other parties; or", "6. by dispatching the paper to the attorney by overnight delivery service at the address designated by the attorney for that purpose or, if none is designated, at the attorney's last known address. Service by overnight delivery service shall be complete upon deposit of the paper enclosed in a properly addressed wrapper into the custody of the overnight delivery service for overnight delivery, prior to the latest time designated by the overnight delivery service for overnight delivery. Where a period of time prescribed by law is measured from the service of a paper and service is by overnight delivery, one business day shall be added to the prescribed period. \"Overnight delivery service\" means any delivery service which regularly accepts items for overnight delivery to any address in the state; or", "7. by transmitting the paper to the attorney by electronic means where and in the manner authorized by the chief administrator of the courts by rule and, unless such rule shall otherwise provide, such transmission shall be upon the party's written consent. The subject matter heading for each paper sent by electronic means must indicate that the matter being transmitted electronically is related to a court proceeding.", "(c) Upon a party. If a party has not appeared by an attorney or the party's attorney cannot be served, service shall be upon the party by a method specified in paragraph one, two, four, five or six of subdivision (b) of this rule.", "(d) Filing. If a paper cannot be served by any of the methods specified in subdivisions (b) and (c), service may be made by filing the paper as if it were a paper required to be filed.", "(e) Parties to be served. Each paper served on any party shall be served on every other party who has appeared, except as otherwise may be provided by court order or as provided in section 3012 or in subdivision (f) of section 3215. Upon demand by a party, the plaintiff shall supply that party with a list of those who have appeared and the names and addresses of their attorneys.", "(f) Definitions. For the purposes of this rule:", "1. \"Mailing\" means the deposit of a paper enclosed in a first class postpaid wrapper, addressed to the address designated by a person for that purpose or, if none is designated, at that person's last known address, in a post office or official depository under the exclusive care and custody of the United States Postal Service within the United States;", "2. \"Electronic means\" means any method of transmission of information between computers or other machines designed for the purpose of sending and receiving such transmissions, and which allows the recipient to reproduce the information transmitted in a tangible medium of expression;", "3. \"Facsimile transmission\" means any method of transmission of documents to a facsimile machine at a remote location which can automatically produce a tangible copy of such documents."], "official_source": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/2103", "from_official_api": true, "plain_english": "- **(a) Who can serve.** Any **non-party**, **age 18+**. ★\n- **(b) Upon an attorney.** Papers on a party in a pending action go to the **party's attorney**. Methods:\n  1. **Personal delivery** to the attorney; or\n  2. **Mail** to the designated (or last known) address — **service by mail is complete upon mailing**; ★ **add 5 days** if mailed within the state, **6 days** if mailed from outside NY but within the U.S., to any period measured from service; or\n  3. If the office is **open**, leave with a person in charge (or in a conspicuous place); if **closed**, deposit in the office letter drop/box; or\n  4. At the attorney's **residence** with a person of suitable age/discretion — **only if** office service can't be made; or\n  5. **Fax**, if the attorney designated a fax number — complete upon the sender's receipt of a transmission-received signal **plus mailing a copy**; designating a fax number in the address block = consent; or\n  6. **Overnight delivery** — complete upon deposit into the service's custody before its cutoff; ★ **add 1 business day** to any period measured from service; or\n  7. **Electronic means** where authorized by the chief administrator, generally on the party's **written consent**; the subject line must indicate it relates to a court proceeding.\n- **(c) Upon a party.** If no attorney has appeared (or the attorney can't be served), serve the **party** by method 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6 (note: **not** 3 or 7).\n- **(d) Filing.** If no (b)/(c) method works, serve by **filing** the paper as if it were a paper required to be filed.\n- **(e) Parties to be served.** Serve **every party who has appeared** (with exceptions in § 3012 / § 3215(f)). On demand, plaintiff supplies a list of who appeared and their attorneys' names/addresses.\n- **(f) Definitions.** \"**Mailing**\" = first-class postpaid wrapper deposited with USPS. \"**Electronic means**\" = computer-to-computer transmission the recipient can reproduce tangibly. \"**Facsimile transmission**\" = to a fax machine that produces a tangible copy.", "retrieved": "2026-09-27", "url": "https://elyphived.com/us-ny/cplr/2103", "publisher": "Elyphived LLC"}