Legal Explainer · 8 min read · 2026-05-18

Notice of Claim deadlines:
NYC, MTA, NYCHA, 90 days.

If you were injured by a New York City agency, the MTA, NYCHA, the State, or any school district, you have 90 days to file a Notice of Claim under GML §50-e — and if you miss the deadline, the case is over before it begins.

By Yoni Klestzick, Esq. & Joe Lieberman, Esq. Updated May 18, 2026 8 min read Legal Explainers

New York State Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street — where claims against NYC municipal entities are filed

The short answer

If you were injured by the negligence of a New York municipal entity — including New York City, the MTA, NYCHA, NY State, a school district, a public hospital corporation, or any of their employees — you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the injury under General Municipal Law (GML) §50-e. Then you have one year and 90 days to file the actual lawsuit. Both deadlines are strict. Miss them, and the case is over.

Which entities trigger the 90-day rule

GML §50-e applies to claims against “public corporations” — a broad category that includes:

The City of New York and all its agencies: NYPD, FDNY, NYC Department of Education, NYC Department of Transportation, NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY), NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, NYC Department of Health.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and its subsidiaries: New York City Transit (the subway and bus system), MTA Bus, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, MTA Bridges and Tunnels.
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).
The New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation (H+H) — every public hospital in the city.
NY State and its agencies — though State claims are filed in the Court of Claims under a separate statute (Court of Claims Act §10), the 90-day discipline still applies for most personal injury actions.
School districts outside NYC — every one of them.
Counties, towns, and villages across the state — Nassau County, Suffolk County, Town of Hempstead, Village of Valley Stream, all of them.

Private contractors hired by a municipal entity are not covered by §50-e — you can sue them under the regular three-year statute of limitations. But determining whether a defendant is municipal or private isn’t always obvious. A garbage truck might be DSNY (municipal) or a private carter (not). A school bus might be operated by the district directly or by a private contractor. The Notice of Claim should be served on every potentially-municipal defendant, and the lawyer sorts out who’s actually liable later.

What the Notice of Claim must contain

Under §50-e(2), the notice must be in writing, sworn to by the claimant, and contain:

The name and post-office address of each claimant, and of their attorney, if any.
The nature of the claim — a brief description of what happened.
The time when, the place where, and the manner in which the claim arose — date, location, mechanism.
The items of damage or injuries claimed — what was injured, what costs were incurred.

The notice does not need to plead with the formality of a complaint — the Court of Appeals has been clear that the notice’s purpose is investigation, not litigation. But it does need to give the municipality enough information to investigate while the trail is fresh. A vague notice that says only “injured at NYCHA building” without specifying which building, which date, or which mechanism, will be dismissed as defective.

How to serve the notice

Service rules differ by defendant. The most common:

City of New York — served on the Comptroller at 1 Centre Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Online service is available through eClaims at comptroller.nyc.gov/eclaims.
MTA / NYCT / MTA Bus — served on the entity’s general counsel; addresses are listed on the MTA website. The deadlines are coordinated across MTA subsidiaries by GML §50-e.
NYCHA — served on NYCHA’s general counsel at 90 Church Street, New York, NY 10007.
NY State — filed in the Court of Claims, not served on the State.
School districts — served on the district clerk under Education Law §3813.
Nassau / Suffolk County — served on the County Attorney.

Service can be personal, by certified mail, or — increasingly — through the entity’s electronic filing portal. Hand-delivery with proof of service is the safest. Mail service is permitted but creates a date-of-service dispute if the notice is contested.

The §50-h hearing

After the Notice is served, the municipality has the right to demand an oral examination of the claimant under GML §50-h. This is a deposition-style proceeding — under oath, in front of a stenographer, with the municipality’s attorney asking questions. The claimant must appear at the §50-h hearing or the lawsuit can be dismissed.

The §50-h hearing is held before the lawsuit is filed and is used to lock in the claimant’s testimony early — often when memory of details is sharpest but legal counsel may be newest to the case. Preparation matters. The claimant should not appear without their attorney.

The one-year-and-90-day lawsuit deadline

Filing the Notice of Claim is not the same as filing the lawsuit. Under GML §50-i, the lawsuit must be filed within one year and 90 days of the accrual of the claim — generally the date of injury. This is the second municipal-case deadline that catches the unwary. A claimant who timely served the Notice but then sat on the case for two years has still missed the deadline.

For wrongful death cases, the lawsuit deadline is two years from death, but the Notice of Claim is still due within 90 days of the death (or 90 days after appointment of the personal representative, whichever is later, under GML §50-e(1)(a) and EPTL §5-4.1(2)).

Late-notice relief under §50-e(5)

If the 90-day deadline is missed, the only recourse is a discretionary application for leave to serve late notice under GML §50-e(5). This must be filed before the one-year-and-90-day lawsuit deadline runs. Courts weigh three factors:

Whether the municipality had actual knowledge of the essential facts within 90 days or a reasonable time thereafter — usually proved by an incident report, police report, ambulance call sheet, or hospital record involving the municipal entity.
Whether the delay would substantially prejudice the municipality in maintaining a defense — proved by showing the evidence is still available, witnesses can still be located, and the scene hasn’t changed.
The claimant’s excuse for the delay — typically illness, infancy (children under 18 have separate tolling under §50-e(5)), or lack of awareness of the municipal connection until later.

The most important factor is actual knowledge. If the police report identified an MTA bus, or the ambulance was called by NYCHA security, the municipality usually has actual knowledge — and late notice is more readily granted. But these motions are increasingly hard to win as appellate courts have grown stricter in the past decade. The practical implication: never rely on late-notice relief. File on time.

Special rule: infant claimants

Under CPLR §208, the personal injury statute of limitations for minor plaintiffs is generally tolled until the child’s 18th birthday — they then have three years from that birthday to sue. But this tolling does not automatically extend the Notice of Claim deadline. §50-e(5) gives courts discretion to extend the Notice deadline for infants, but the lawsuit must still be filed before the child turns 19 years and 90 days old (one year and 90 days after the toll lifts).

For a child injured at age 6, this means the Notice of Claim is still due within 90 days, but late-notice relief is easier to obtain, and the lawsuit can wait until age 19.

Practice areas where Notice of Claim deadlines apply

Municipal-defendant cases come up in every personal injury practice area:

Car accidents involving NYPD vehicles, school buses, NYCDOE drivers, or NY State DOT vehicles.
Truck accidents involving DSNY garbage trucks, NY State DOT trucks, or municipally-owned utility trucks.
Pedestrian accidents involving NYC street defects, school-zone collisions, or MTA buses.
Slip-and-fall in NYCHA buildings, public hospitals, NYC parks, school playgrounds, MTA stations, or NYC sidewalks owned by 1–3 family residences.
Wrongful death arising from any of the above.

What to do if you’re hurt and a municipal entity may be involved

Document the entity immediately. Photograph badges, license plates, vehicle markings, building names, signage.
Get a copy of the incident report. NYPD reports are obtained through the OCRR. NYCHA incidents go through building management. MTA incidents are recorded by NYCT/MTA Bus on internal forms.
Get medical attention. Even a brief ER visit creates a contemporaneous record of injury.
Call a personal injury attorney within days. The Notice of Claim takes time to draft correctly, and the lawyer needs to investigate the proper municipal defendant before drafting.
Do not give a recorded statement to the municipality’s claims adjuster before consulting counsel.

Municipal-Case Representation

If your injury involves a New York municipal entity — NYPD, MTA bus, NYCHA building, school bus, NYC sidewalk, public hospital — talk to a personal injury attorney immediately. The 90-day Notice of Claim deadline is jurisdictional. Once it lapses, the case is generally over.

Talk to a New York attorney →

Questions on
this topic.

Common follow-up questions from clients and prospective clients reading this explainer.

All 45 firm FAQs →

How long do I have to file a Notice of Claim in New York?

Under General Municipal Law §50-e, you have 90 days from the date of injury to serve a Notice of Claim on a New York municipal entity. The lawsuit itself must then be filed within one year and 90 days under GML §50-i. Both deadlines are strict.

Which entities require a Notice of Claim?

Notice of Claim is required for any tort suit against a “public corporation” in New York — including NYC and all its agencies (NYPD, FDNY, NYCDOE, NYCDOT, DSNY), the MTA (and its subsidiaries: NYCT, MTA Bus, LIRR, Metro-North), NYCHA, NYC Health + Hospitals, NY State agencies, school districts, and counties, towns, and villages across the state.

What must the Notice of Claim contain?

Under §50-e(2), the Notice must be in writing, sworn to by the claimant, and contain: (1) the name and address of each claimant and attorney; (2) the nature of the claim; (3) the time, place, and manner in which the claim arose; and (4) the items of damage or injuries claimed. The purpose is to give the municipality enough information to investigate while the trail is fresh.

What happens if I miss the 90-day deadline?

The only recourse is a discretionary application for leave to serve a late Notice of Claim under GML §50-e(5), which must be filed before the one-year-and-90-day lawsuit deadline. Courts weigh three factors: whether the municipality had actual knowledge of the essential facts, whether the delay prejudices the defense, and the claimant’s excuse for the delay. These motions are increasingly hard to win. Never rely on late-notice relief.

What is a §50-h hearing?

After the Notice of Claim is served, the municipality can demand a §50-h hearing — an oral examination of the claimant under oath, before a stenographer, with the municipality’s attorney asking questions. The claimant must appear or the lawsuit can be dismissed. The hearing is held before the lawsuit is filed and is used to lock in testimony. Preparation with counsel is essential.

Does the 90-day rule apply to children?

Yes, but with relief. The Notice of Claim is still due within 90 days, but under §50-e(5) and CPLR §208, the deadline may be extended for infants — and the lawsuit deadline is tolled until the child’s 18th birthday. The child then has three years from the 18th birthday to sue, subject to a one-year-and-90-day cap after the toll lifts. The practical rule: file the Notice of Claim within 90 days when possible, but late relief is more readily granted for minor plaintiffs.