The New York military affidavit

How New York handles it

New York calls the document an Affirmation of Military Investigation, and the word investigation is doing real work. Civil Court form CIV-GP-100 (Revised 01/24) does not ask you to check a box. It asks you to state that "In compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act I believe that the defendant [name] is not currently in the military service based upon the following," and then leaves you the space to describe what you did. The affiant states an age over 18, a relationship to the case, and a home address before reaching that paragraph.

The rules for the affidavit are in a Civil Court directive, LSM 152A, effective June 21, 2004 and still posted. It requires an affidavit for every individual natural person against whom a default judgment is sought, including undertenants in a summary proceeding and every person named by pseudonym such as John or Jane Doe. One affidavit may cover several defendants, but each person must be named individually: if the defendants are John and Mary Smith, the affidavit must say that neither John nor Mary is in the military.

The freshness rule is thirty days and it is enforced by the clerk. LSM 152A says any application for entry of judgment on a failure to answer requires a military investigation no older than 30 days before the application is filed, and that a clerk who receives a stale one is to reject it and tell the plaintiff a current investigation and affidavit are required. The Civil Court self-help page on entering judgments repeats it in plain language: the affidavit generally must be less than 30 days old. Where issue has joined and a pro se defendant fails to appear more than 30 days after their last court appearance, the application goes to a judge for an inquiry into military status rather than to the clerk.

The directive also tells you what counts as facts, and a conclusory sentence is not enough. Its list of acceptable investigations includes asking the defendant personally, speaking with neighbors or the defendant’s employer or co-workers, checking records that must be updated as to military status, a certificate from the Defense Manpower Data Center, the defendant’s age or infirmity, and a telephone conversation, provided the investigator explains how they know the voice. Anyone the investigator spoke to must be identifiable, down to a physical description if the person refuses a name, and the affidavit must say where the investigation took place.

Housing Court adds a clause the civil form does not have. CIV-LT-106 (1/24) requires the affiant to be over 18 and not a party, and to state that the respondent "is not currently in the military service, nor is he or she a dependent on someone in the military service." LSM 152A section 5 explains why: New York State Military Law § 309 gives dependents the same eviction protection with no rent ceiling, unlike the federal provision, so any case that could end in an eviction needs a dependency clause and any inquiry has to address it.

What trips filers up here

• Clerks reject on a published checklist. LSM 152A lists nine grounds, including inability to tell who the investigator was, an investigation carried out before the papers were served, no facts, no location, a missing dependency clause in a summary proceeding, an unsworn affidavit, and a stale one.
• State law says the opposite of what you would expect. Military Law § 303(3) directs that where a default judgment may properly be rendered, the court shall not require plaintiff’s counsel to file a non-military affirmation, except where federal law authorizes the requirement. The affidavit you file in New York is there because of 50 U.S.C. § 3931, not because the state code demands it.
• A finding beats a filing. Under the directive, if a judge holds an inquest and finds the defendant is not in military service, the clerk is not to require an additional affidavit.
• In a summary proceeding the Civil Court Act allows $5.00 in costs for each non-military affidavit filed, and only $5.00 if one affidavit covers several people. In an ordinary civil action no costs are permitted for filing it at all.

Signing it: declaration, no notary

The signature line is an affirmation, not an oath: "I affirm this ___ day of ___, 20___, under the penalties of perjury under the laws of New York, which may include a fine or imprisonment, that the foregoing is true, and I understand that this document may be filed in an action or proceeding in a court of law." No notary appears anywhere on the sheet. The clerk will still reject it if it is neither sworn nor affirmed.

No notary is needed. The signature block is an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury, which is what 50 U.S.C. § 3931(b)(4) expressly allows. Signing it knowing the military statement is false is still a federal crime, and a state perjury exposure on top.

New York law on top of the federal rule

N.Y. Military Law § 303: New York’s Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act provision on representation, opening judgments, and default. It lets the court appoint an attorney for an absent servicemember and require an indemnity bond, bars that attorney from waiving any right, and allows a judgment entered during service or within thirty days after to be opened on application filed no later than ninety days after service ends, if a meritorious or legal defense is shown.

Getting the military-status answer right

The affidavit is only as good as the search behind it. The Defense Manpower Data Center runs the free lookup that courts and creditors rely on, and since 2026 it requires a free account even for a single record. Our guide to the DMDC SCRA website covers the search itself, what a "no information found" result does and does not prove, and the batch route for high-volume filers. The federal rules behind this form, including what happens when you genuinely cannot determine status, sit on the hub page.

If one was filed against you

A false affidavit is not a technicality. In May 2026 the Justice Department settled with a Florida property manager that swore a Navy sailor was not on active duty, took a default eviction judgment, and left him with an eviction on his record that a dozen landlords then refused to rent around: $60,000 to one servicemember plus a civil penalty . If a default judgment was entered against you while you were serving, it can be reopened; the default-judgment shield walks the deadlines.

Serving in New York and looking for what the state adds to your own protections rather than court procedure? That is a different page: New York SCRA benefits.