New York earns a C for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Somewhat higher bar to forfeit: In drug cases, prosecutors must provide clear and convincing evidence that a crime occurred and then prove seized property’s connection to that crime by preponderance of the evidence. A very weak conviction provision applies in non-drug cases.
Innocent Owner Burden
Stronger protections for the innocent: The government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 60% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects New York’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in New York?
Under New York law, prosecutors’ and owners’ deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 80 days, but the wait may be longer due to unspecified deadlines and extensions. While you wait, the government has your property, but you can try to get it back while the case continues by contesting the attachment order or requesting a hardship release.
*This describes the process for “pre-conviction” forfeitures under New York’s main civil forfeiture law, which is available for certain drug felonies and does not require a conviction, only the establishment of criminal liability by clear and convincing evidence. The law presumes property pursued for forfeiture has not yet been seized but applies in cases when it has. The same law also allows “post-conviction” forfeitures, which do require a conviction.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $20 billion in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | New York Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $14,084,732 | $31,690,678 | $27,453,000 | $73,228,410 |
| 2001 | $5,269,566 | $19,256,431 | $22,266,000 | $46,791,997 |
| 2002 | $12,658,313 | $26,982,890 | $8,427,000 | $48,068,203 |
| 2003 | $13,739,652 | $19,423,843 | $9,466,000 | $42,629,495 |
| 2004 | $14,543,954 | $21,847,333 | $9,854,000 | $46,245,287 |
| 2005 | $15,760,196 | $27,704,134 | $15,303,000 | $58,767,330 |
| 2006 | $20,033,935 | $16,613,808 | $9,605,000 | $46,252,743 |
| 2007 | $75,145,172 | $34,612,069 | $9,064,000 | $118,821,241 |
| 2008 | $17,901,070 | $39,370,757 | $8,613,000 | $65,884,827 |
| 2009 | $21,950,339 | $42,043,421 | $11,959,000 | $75,952,760 |
| 2010 | $13,714,789 | $26,442,564 | $16,598,000 | $56,755,353 |
| 2011 | $49,983,521 | $47,349,380 | $12,863,000 | $110,195,901 |
| 2012 | $16,928,315 | $31,996,429 | $28,437,000 | $77,361,744 |
| 2013 | $46,817,727 | $232,658,540 | $11,192,000 | $290,668,267 |
| 2014 | $8,899,612,843 | $76,140,067 | $140,302,000 | $9,116,054,910 |
| 2015 | $8,873,908,220 | $152,442,031 | $47,833,000 | $9,074,183,251 |
| 2016 | $28,449,704 | $28,115,110 | $83,846,000 | $140,410,814 |
| 2017 | $43,410,169 | $30,794,069 | $17,101,000 | $91,305,238 |
| 2018 | $30,170,873 | $34,877,257 | $27,368,000 | $92,416,130 |
| 2019 | $354,269,943 | $26,451,664 | $16,275,000 | $396,996,607 |
| 2020 | $11,531,074 | $28,125,093 | $16,078,000 | $55,734,167 |
| 2021 | $17,268,375 | $11,100,901 | $2,212,000 | $30,581,276 |
| 2022 | $20,711,572 | $18,306,919 | $12,562,000 | $51,580,491 |
| 2023 | $18,085,889 | $87,502,627 | $5,580,000 | $111,168,516 |
| Totals | $18,635,949,943 | $1,111,848,015 | $570,257,000 | $20,318,054,958 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
New York does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, New York agencies have generated more than $1.6 billion in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, 231 New York agencies, or an estimated 46% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under New York Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWN
New York does not provide information necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
Aside from vehicles, New York does not report counts of the types of property forfeited.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
New York does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Additional Findings
UNKNOWN
Agencies often fail to report detailed data on seized or forfeited property, resulting in limited transparency into forfeiture activity in the state.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
CStatewide Forfeiture Reports
BPenalties for Failure to File a Report
FAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
FAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
BFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
CFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Statewide forfeiture reports were obtained from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services via download from its website and public records requests. Revenues represent the value of currency and property forfeited and distributed to agencies in a calendar year. Revenues for 2011 represent only currency forfeited. Spikes in 2014, 2015, and 2019 are attributed to New York County’s reported forfeited assets. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: In drug cases, prosecutors must provide clear and convincing evidence that a crime occurred and then link the property to that crime by a preponderance of the evidence. Very weak conviction provision applies in non-drug cases.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. §§ 1310(5), (9)–(10), 1311(3)(a)–(b); Hendley v. Clark, 543 N.Y.S.2d 554, 556 (N.Y. App. Div. 1989).
Innocent owner burden: Government.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 1311(3).
Financial incentive: 60%.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 1349(2)(g)–(h).
Process: N.Y. C.P.L.R. 1310 et seq. (forfeiture procedure); see also 1 Steven L. Kessler, New York Criminal and Civil Forfeitures § 4.02 (2025 ed.); N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 3388 (forfeiture of vehicles involved in drug crimes).