How to collect unpaid invoices in New York: lien deadlines, one-party consent, and small claims

New York Penal Law §250.05 prohibits wiretapping -- intercepting a communication without the consent of at least one party to it. Because the caller's own consent satisfies this requirement, New York is a one-party consent state. Businesses following up on their own invoices can record calls without notifying the other party, though notifying is standard practice. New York does not have a separate state collection law that applies to first-party creditors, so the primary legal constraints on collection calls are the federal TCPA (8 AM to 9 PM in the customer's local time zone, no more than 3 calls per day to a mobile number) and the FDCPA if a third-party collector is involved.

New York mechanic's lien law (New York Lien Law §10) allows a contractor or subcontractor to file a mechanic's lien within 4 months after the date on which the last item of work is performed or the last item of material is furnished. For single-family and two-family residential properties, the window is 8 months. The lien must be filed with the county clerk of the county where the property is located. In New York City, the filing is with the New York City Department of Finance. An action to enforce the lien must be brought within 1 year of filing.

New York does not have a statutory preliminary notice requirement for direct contractors. Subcontractors working under a GC should still send written notice of their involvement in the project to the owner early in the project -- not because the law requires it, but because it establishes a paper trail and makes it easier to enforce the lien later if the GC goes dark. Verify the county-specific lien filing requirements before filing, as fees and procedures vary across the state's 62 counties.

New York City Small Claims Court (NYC Civil Court Act §1801) handles claims up to $5,000 for individuals and $2,000 for corporations and LLCs (limited to 5 claims per year in small claims). Outside New York City, District Courts and City Courts generally handle small claims up to $5,000 to $10,000 depending on jurisdiction. For claims above these limits, the Commercial Division of Supreme Court handles business disputes, but attorney involvement is standard at that level.

The New York statute of limitations on written contract claims is 6 years (CPLR §213). Oral contracts have a 6-year limit as well in New York under §213(2). The clock starts when the cause of action accrues, typically when payment is refused or the agreed payment date passes. New York's 6-year window is longer than many states, but evidence becomes meaningfully harder to produce after 2 to 3 years, and courts are less sympathetic to delayed claims when the delay is unexplained.