Bank Restraints

How they work, what income is exempt, and how Georgiou Law gets your money released and leverages the situation to settle your debt.

What Is a Bank Restraint?

A bank restraint (sometimes called a “freeze”) is a creditor’s post-judgment enforcement step. After obtaining a money judgment, a judgment creditor or its attorney may serve a restraining notice on your bank pursuant to CPLR 5222. The restraining notice temporarily prohibits the bank from making or allowing any transfer of your property until the notice is vacated or modified. CPLR 5222(b).

What Happens Step by Step

Service and required forms. When a judgment creditor restrains a banking institution account, the creditor must serve on the bank, together with the restraining notice, an Exemption Notice and two Exemption Claim Forms as required by CPLR 5222-a(b)(1). If the restraining notice is not accompanied by those documents, the restraining notice is void and the banking institution shall not restrain the account. CPLR 5222-a(b)(1).

Bank’s mailing to you. Within two business days of receiving a properly served restraining notice and accompanying forms, the bank must mail you the Exemption Notice and two Exemption Claim Forms. CPLR 5222-a(b)(2).

Your deadline. You have twenty days from the postmark date on the bank’s mailing to send the completed Exemption Claim Form to both the banking institution and the judgment creditor or its attorney. CPLR 5222-a(b)(3).

Fast release with proof. If the debtor includes proof that all restrained funds are exempt—such as benefit award letters or two months of bank statements—the judgment creditor must instruct the banking institution to release the account within seven days of receiving the claim form and proof. CPLR 5222-a(b)(3).

Default release if no objection. If the banking institution receives a completed Exemption Claim Form, it must release the funds eight days after receipt unless the judgment creditor objects. If the judgment creditor objects, it has eight days to move for a hearing; the court must hold the hearing within seven days after service and issue an order within five business days after the hearing. CPLR 5222-a(c)(2)–(3).

Court safety valve. Even outside the statutory exemption process, the court may at any time, on its own initiative or on motion of any interested person, make an order denying, limiting, conditioning, regulating, extending, or modifying the use of any enforcement procedure. CPLR 5240.

What Money Is Exempt from Restraint or Execution?

Under CPLR 5205, certain categories of personal property—including money—are exempt from application to the satisfaction of a money judgment. Exempt categories include, among others:

• Ninety percent of the income or other property of a judgment debtor where such property consists of earnings, wages, or salary, as set forth in CPLR 5205(d) and subject to the limitations of CPLR 5231
• Trust funds, as specified in CPLR 5205(c)
• An amount of cash or deposits in a banking institution equal to or less than the amount specified by the superintendent of financial services, adjusted periodically—currently $3,425 for cases commenced on or after April 1, 2024. CPLR 5205(l)

Additionally, the Exemption Notice required by CPLR 5222-a(b)(1) identifies categories of funds that may be exempt under federal and state law, including Social Security benefits (retirement, disability, and SSI), public assistance, veterans’ benefits, unemployment insurance, payments from pensions and retirement accounts, disability benefits, workers’ compensation, child support, spousal support/maintenance, railroad retirement benefits, black lung benefits, and certain statutorily designated relief payments.

Federal law independently protects directly deposited federal benefit payments; those protections operate separately from and in addition to the CPLR framework.

Automatic “Baseline” Protections in New York

Minimum-wage formula. A restraining notice served on a banking institution shall not apply to an amount equal to or less than two hundred forty times the state or federal minimum hourly wage, whichever is greater, in a debtor’s account. CPLR 5222(i).

Example for 2025: In New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, where the state minimum wage is $16.50/hour, the protected amount is 240 × $16.50 = $3,960. In the rest of New York State, where the minimum wage is $15.50/hour, the protected amount is 240 × $15.50 = $3,720.

Personal-property exemption. Separately, CPLR 5205(l) exempts from execution an amount of cash or deposits in a banking institution not exceeding $3,425 (for cases commenced on or after April 1, 2024, subject to periodic adjustment by the superintendent of financial services).

How Georgiou Law Gets Accounts Released—Fast

Same-day triage. We review your judgment status, service history, bank records, and income sources to identify every applicable exemption and any procedural defect immediately.

File the claim and send proof. We complete and serve the Exemption Claim Form and transmit documentary proof to the judgment creditor’s attorney, triggering the seven-day release requirement under CPLR 5222-a(b)(3) where all restrained funds are exempt.

Push for automatic protections. We enforce the CPLR 5222(i) minimum-wage baseline and the CPLR 5205(l) cash exemption so you can access protected funds without waiting for the claim process to run its course. Where applicable, we also invoke federal protections for directly deposited benefit payments.

Court relief if needed. If the judgment creditor objects or you face hardship, we move under CPLR 5240 for a protective order to modify or vacate the restraint and, where appropriate, challenge non-compliance—including the creditor’s failure to include the required EIPA forms, which renders the restraining notice void under CPLR 5222-a(b)(1).

Settle from a position of strength. Once we demonstrate that your funds are exempt or that you are judgment-proof, the creditor’s enforcement leverage drops. We negotiate written settlements or payment plans that fit your budget.

Your Leverage to Settle

• Exempt or protected funds. If the judgment creditor cannot reach your income or a baseline protected amount under CPLR 5222(i) or CPLR 5205, their practical ability to collect diminishes and settlement expectations often come down.
• Procedural defects. Failure to include the required Exemption Notice and claim forms renders a restraining notice void. CPLR 5222-a(b)(1). Defects like these create risk for the creditor and leverage for you.
• Cost and delay. Judgment creditors must meet the tight timelines set by CPLR 5222-a and risk court scrutiny for bad-faith objections.
• Court oversight. The court retains broad power under CPLR 5240 to deny, limit, or modify any enforcement procedure in the interest of fairness.

Recent Result

After proving a client’s funds were exempt, we obtained a full release of the restraint and negotiated a 45% settlement of the claim. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

What to Do if Your Account Is Frozen Today

1. Don’t panic—and don’t ignore the mail. Watch for the bank’s Exemption Notice and Exemption Claim Forms, which the bank must mail to you within two business days. CPLR 5222-a(b)(2).
2. Gather proof: benefit award letters, recent bank statements (last two months), pay stubs, pension/retirement statements.
3. Call Georgiou Law. We’ll file the Exemption Claim Form, send proof to the judgment creditor’s attorney to trigger a rapid release under CPLR 5222-a(b)(3), and—if necessary—move the court under CPLR 5240 to protect you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Social Security untouchable? Social Security benefits are protected from most private creditors under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 407), with limited exceptions for certain federal debts and support obligations. Under New York law, Social Security benefits are among the categories identified in the Exemption Notice required by CPLR 5222-a.

Can the bank take fees from protected funds? Federal regulations prohibit banks from charging garnishment fees against the federally protected amount for directly deposited benefit payments. Under New York law, the baseline amount protected by CPLR 5222(i) may not be restrained, which limits a bank’s ability to assess fees against those funds.

How long does the exemption process take? If you include proof that all funds are exempt, the judgment creditor must direct the bank to release the account within seven days. CPLR 5222-a(b)(3). Otherwise, the bank must release funds eight days after receiving your claim form unless the creditor objects, and any objection is fast-tracked: the court must hold a hearing within seven days and issue an order within five business days. CPLR 5222-a(c)(2)–(3).

Ready to Get Help?

Call Georgiou Law at (917) 764-3072 for a free consultation. We move quickly to release improper restraints and negotiate practical resolutions.

Clear Your Debt, Claim Your Future.

Legal notices:

This page provides general information, not legal advice. Statutory thresholds and exemption amounts are subject to change; we confirm the current figures applicable to your situation.

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