A notice of claim is a sworn paper that tells New York City, or another public body, that you have a claim against it for an injury. In most cases you have 90 days to serve it. Without one, the law doesn't let you sue the City and many other public bodies, unless a judge later allows a late notice.
This guide is general information, not legal advice for your situation. We checked each law it links to on November 10, 2026.
Who needs a notice of claim
You need one for an injury claim against New York City or any other city, county, town, village, fire district or school district (General Municipal Law §50-i). If you tripped on a broken sidewalk, our trip-and-fall page explains when the City is responsible and when the building owner is.
Several public authorities have their own laws that call for the same notice, served under the same rules: the New York City Transit Authority (Public Authorities Law §1212), the MTA (§1276), NYCHA (Public Housing Law §157) and the New York City School Construction Authority (Public Authorities Law §1744).
Hurt at work on a construction job owned by the City or one of these authorities? Ask a lawyer about a notice of claim right away, along with your other rights after a construction accident.
The 90-day clock
The law gives you 90 days after the claim arises to serve the notice (General Municipal Law §50-e). The City Comptroller counts those 90 days from the date of the incident.
If you send the notice by registered or certified mail, the law treats it as served on the day you mail it. Online filing with the City is complete once it goes through, and the City then sends you a receipt number.
What goes in the notice
Section 50-e asks for four things:
- your name and mailing address, and your lawyer's if you have one
- what the claim is about
- when, where and how it happened
- your injuries and other losses, as far as you know them when you file
Whether to name a dollar amount depends on who you are claiming against. For New York City the law allows it. For most other cities, counties, towns and villages it says the notice must not state how much money you want (General Municipal Law §50-e(2)). Be exact about the place: the street address, the corner, the side of the street, the stairwell.
The notice has to be sworn. On paper, that means signing it in front of a notary. When you file online with the City, you certify instead that everything in it is true.
Where to send it
Claims against New York City go to the City Comptroller. Claims against many other public bodies don't. The Comptroller's office lists bodies whose claims it won't take. You serve those on the body itself or its agent. NYCHA, the Transit Authority, the MTA, MTA Bus, the School Construction Authority, NYC Health + Hospitals and the Port Authority are all on that list.
Serving the wrong body by mistake is one of the things a judge weighs if you later ask to file late (§50-e(5)). Check before you file.
How to file a notice of claim with New York City
The Comptroller recommends filing online, through eClaim:
- Download the claim form and fill it in with Adobe Reader, not in your web browser. The Comptroller won't accept a form filled in any other way.
- Fill in every field marked with an asterisk.
- Attach your photos and papers one at a time, as JPEG, TIFF or PDF files of up to 20MB each.
- Choose "I Agree" to certify that the information is true, then file the claim.
- Save or print the eCLAIM receipt, and keep it with your medical papers.
You can also file on paper. Sign the form in front of a notary, then deliver it by hand or send it by registered or certified mail to the Office of the New York City Comptroller, 1 Centre Street, Room 1329, New York, NY 10007. If you mail it, keep the post office receipt. The office does not accept notices by email.
What happens next: the 50-h hearing
The City gives your claim a number, and an examiner from the Comptroller's office investigates it (Comptroller's personal injury FAQ).
The City, or the other public body, can also demand a hearing. People call it a 50-h hearing, after the section of the law that allows it (General Municipal Law §50-h). You answer questions about how you were hurt and how badly, and your answers go into a transcript. It can include an exam by a doctor. The demand has to be in writing and served within 90 days of your notice.
You can bring a lawyer. You can't sue until you have gone to the hearing. If the body doesn't hold the hearing within 90 days of the demand, you may sue anyway. If you ask for a later date, the body must reschedule it for the earliest date available.
If the Comptroller's office decides the City is responsible, it may offer to settle. You accept by signing and returning a release within 30 days. The Comptroller says you don't need a lawyer to settle a personal injury claim, and its office settles with people who have lawyers and people who don't. It can't settle once you file a lawsuit, or after one year and 90 days.
If you missed the 90 days
You can ask a court for permission to serve a late notice. The judge decides, and doesn't have to say yes (§50-e(5)). The extra time can't run past the deadline to sue, so don't wait to ask.
Among other things, the court looks at:
- whether the public body, its lawyer or its insurer already knew about the claim
- whether you were a child, too ill or injured to act, or died before the time ran out
- whether you missed the date because you justifiably relied on something
- whether you served the wrong public body by an excusable mistake
- whether the delay substantially hurt the public body
A notice served on time with an honest mistake in it is a smaller problem. A court can correct or disregard a good-faith mistake if the other side wasn't harmed by it (§50-e(6)).
The deadline to sue
A notice of claim is not a lawsuit. If the claim doesn't settle, you have to sue in court, and the timing is strict:
- not before 30 days after you serve the notice (§50-i)
- within one year and 90 days of the incident for New York City and the other local governments (§50-i), the Transit Authority (§1212), the MTA (§1276) and NYCHA (§157)
- within one year for the School Construction Authority (§1744)
- within two years of the death, for a wrongful death claim against the City or another local government (§50-i)
For most other injury claims in New York, the general deadline is three years (CPLR §214). Claims against public bodies run on the shorter clock.
Talk to a lawyer about a notice of claim
The consultation is free. Call 718.376.0216, or send us a message with the date you were hurt, where it happened and who you think owns the place. If your 90 days are close, say so.
We meet clients at our Manhattan office, 425 Madison Ave, Suite 505, by appointment only. We can work with clients in English and Russian.