Pursuant to Administrative Order 208/13 and L. 2013, c. 203 and effective August 30, 2013, the Civil Practice Law and Rules were amended to include section §3012-b, which requires that Plaintiffs commencing residential foreclosure actions are required to serve and file a Certificate of Merit, together with copies of relevant financial documents, with the summons and complaint. The Office of Court Administration drafted a model form for this purpose but practitioners may employ their own form of Cerfificate to comply with the statute.

The provisions of Administrative Order 431/11 - which required that Plaintiffs' Counsel in residential foreclosure actions commenced on or after November 18, 2010 submit an Affirmation confirming that the pleadings and other papers filed or submitted to the Court in the matter are accurate - shall not apply to residential mortgage foreclosure actions commenced on or after August 30, 2013.

In residential mortgage foreclosure actions commenced prior to August 30, 2013, where no affirmation has been filed pursuant to AO/431/11, Plaintiff's Counsel may either (1) comply with AO/431/11, or (2) file with the court at the time of the filing of the Request for Judicial Intervention a certificate of merit whose contents are described in section 3012-b(a) of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.