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FDNY Criminal Summons

Matt F.
  • Updated
What is a Criminal Summons?

An FDNY Criminal Summons is an official notice to appear in New York Criminal Court. These are frequently issued in response to an uncorrected Violation Order. If an entity or person fails to appear in Criminal Court, it could result in default criminal penalties, an automatic misdemeanor charge, and even (in some cases) a bench warrant. 

What Should I do If I Receive A Criminal Summons?

If you fail to show up for your scheduled criminal hearing as an individual, a warrant can be issued for your arrest. If you fail to show up for your scheduled hearing as a corporation, you will receive an automatic monetary penalty (commonly $5,000). 

The state criminal court system utilizes the 10-digit string to organize and allow searches for Summonses. 

You can use the below link to search your relevant summons:
https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcrim_attorney/CaseIdentifierSearch 

If a business is listed as the named respondent and it fails to appear on the "Date of Appearance" listed on the summons, a judgment of $5,000 will be executed. Sometimes, if you do not appear to your first date of appearance, a 'stay of execution' is issued and you are given a new hearing date - if you fail to appear to this subsequent hearing, you will receive a failure to appear judgment. If a summons has a failure to appear judgment executed against it, there are two options to resolve:

  1. A certified check made out to NYC Criminal Court, with the docket number listed somewhere on the check to identify it, sent to:

NYC Criminal Court, Summons Division
346 Broadway, Room 127
NY, NY 10013

  • or -

  1. The case must be re-opened and placed on the docket with a new hearing date. Corporations will always need to appear by an attorney in this case, and the attorney will need to fill out a "440 Motion" to make this request.

Further information can be found out about specific summons' at respective Summons Clerk's Office locations - based on the borough, contact numbers listed below: 

(718) 618 - 2480 (Bronx) 
(646) 386 - 4869 (Manhattan and Brooklyn) 
(718) 298 - 0792 (Queens)