N.Y.
General Business Law Section 604-AA
Definitions
1.
“Action” means any civil judicial proceeding as defined in Civil Practice Law & Rules Law § 105 (Definitions)section one hundred five of the civil practice law and rules.2.
“Adequate documentation of coerced debt” means documentation that identifies a particular debt, or a portion thereof, as coerced debt, describes the circumstances under which such coerced debt was incurred, and takes the form of any of the following:(a)
a police report;(b)
a copy of an official, valid report filed by the debtor with a federal, state or local law enforcement agency, the filing of which subjects the person filing the report to criminal penalties relating to the filing of false information, if, in fact, the information in the report is false, that identifies a particular debt, or portion thereof, as a coerced debt;(c)
an order from a court of competent jurisdiction setting forth findings of coerced debt; or(d)
a written verification, from a qualified third party to whom the debtor reported the coerced debt while the qualified third party was acting in their professional capacity, which shall be satisfied by any sworn or notarized statement including the required information as well as the name, mailing address, and email address or telephone number, as applicable, of such qualified third party’s employer or, if self-employed, of such qualified third party.3.
“Coerced debt” means a debt arising out of a transaction primarily for personal, family or household purposes that was incurred because of duress, intimidation, threat, force, coercion, manipulation, or undue influence within the context of intimate relationships or relationships between family or household members as defined by Social Services Law § 459-A (Definitions)section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law, relationships between victims of human trafficking and traffickers as defined by paragraph (i) of subdivision (c) of Social Services Law § 483-BB (Services for victims of human trafficking)section four hundred eighty-three-bb of the social services law, relationships between children and their parents or caretakers as defined in subdivisions (b) and (c) of section one thousand ninety-two of the family court act, the elderly or individuals eligible for protective services under subdivision one of Social Services Law § 473 (Protective services)section four hundred seventy-three of the social services law, and their caregivers.4.
“Creditor” means any person, firm, corporation or organization to whom a debt is owed, due, or asserted to be due or owed, any assignee for value of said person, firm, corporation or organization, or any debt collection agency or debt collector as defined by § 600 (Definitions)section six hundred of this chapter; provided, however, that “creditor” shall not include a person to whom a debt is allegedly owed, due, or asserted to be due or owed, where the person asserting such claim caused the debt to arise by engaging in one or more acts of coercion, as identified in subdivision three of this section, against the debtor.5.
“Debtor” means any natural person who owes or who is asserted to owe a debt.6.
“Personal information” includes, but is not limited to, a name, address, telephone or mobile phone number, driver registration number or non-driver identification card number, social security number, email address, social media profile or screen name, place of employment, employee identification number, mother’s maiden name, financial services account number or code, savings account number or code, checking account number or code, debit or credit card number or code, automated teller machine number or code, electronic serial number, any personal identification number or password of a debtor, and a debtor’s personal documents, including, but not limited to, such debtor’s driver’s license or non-driver identification card, passport, permanent resident card, visa, birth certificate, social security card, and any copies thereof or information contained therein. “Personal identification number or password”, as used in this subdivision, means any number or alphanumeric code which may be used alone or in conjunction with any other information to assume the identity of another person or access financial resources or credit information of another person.7.
“Qualified third party” means any (a) law enforcement officer;(b)
employee of a court of the state, court-appointed special advocate;(c)
attorney, physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, registered nurse, therapist, or clinical professional counselor licensed to practice in any state;(d)
person employed by or working on behalf of a government or non-profit office, agency, or service that advises or provides services to persons regarding domestic violence, family violence, human trafficking, or abuse of children, the elderly, or dependent adults; or(e)
member of the clergy of a church or religious society or denomination.
Source:
Section 604-AA — Definitions, https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/604-AA (updated Jun. 19, 2026; accessed Jun. 27, 2026).
