A levy may be a fine or tax imposed by a government authority. In this case, levy can also be used as a verb, as in “to levy taxes” which means to impose a tax.
A levy is also a legally ordered seizure and sale of property to satisfy a debt or judgment. The term is often used in connection with attachment or lien. The procedures for a levy are usually governed by state law.
New York’s Civil Practice Law §5232 provides the state rules for a levy on personal property, while §5235 provides the rules for a levy on real property – “After the expiration of ten years after the filing of the judgment-roll, the sheriff shall levy upon any interest of the judgment debtor in real property, pursuant to an execution other than one issued upon a judgment for any part of a mortgage debt upon the property, by filing with the clerk of the county in which the property is located a notice of levy describing the judgment, the execution and the property. The clerk shall record and index the notice against the name of the judgment debtor, or against the property, in the same books, and in the same manner as a notice of the pendency of an action.”
[Last updated in June of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]