Penal Law § 175.00

Definitions of terms · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 175.00 Definitions of terms.

The following definitions are applicable to this article:

1. "Enterprise" means any entity of one or more persons, corporate or otherwise, public or private, engaged in business, commercial, professional, industrial, eleemosynary, social, political or governmental activity.

2. "Business record" means any writing or article, including computer data or a computer program, kept or maintained by an enterprise for the purpose of evidencing or reflecting its condition or activity.

3. "Written instrument" means any instrument or article, including computer data or a computer program, containing written or printed matter or the equivalent thereof, used for the purpose of reciting, embodying, conveying or recording information, or constituting a symbol or evidence of value, right, privilege or identification, which is capable of being used to the advantage or disadvantage of some person.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/175.00

In plain English

This article defines:

(1) An “enterprise” as any entity of 1 or more persons, corporate or otherwise, public or private, engaged in business, commercial, professional, industrial, charitable (eleemosynary), social, political, or governmental activity.
(2) A “business record” as any writing or article, including computer data or a computer program, kept by an enterprise to show its condition or activity. ★
(3) A “written instrument” as any instrument or article, including computer data or a computer program, containing written or printed matter (or its equivalent) used to record or convey information, or serving as a symbol or evidence of value, right, privilege, or identification, that can be used to someone’s advantage or disadvantage.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.