Taken In For An Evaluation
Mental Hyg. Law § 9.39 — emergency admission, confirmed within forty-eight hours
In New York, the director of an approved hospital may receive and retain as a patient, for a period of fifteen days, a person alleged to have a mental illness for which immediate observation, care and treatment in a hospital is appropriate and which is likely to result in serious harm to themself or others.
- A substantial risk of physical harm to oneself, shown by threats of or attempts at suicide or serious bodily harm, or other dangerous conduct.
- A substantial risk of physical harm to others, shown by homicidal or other violent behavior that places others in reasonable fear.
- A substantial risk of physical harm from an inability or refusal, because of mental illness, to provide for essential needs such as food, clothing, medical care, safety or shelter.
| Stage | What the section requires |
|---|---|
| StageAdmission | What the section requiresOnly if a staff physician examines the person and finds they qualify |
| StageRetention past forty-eight hours | What the section requiresOnly if another physician on the psychiatric staff confirms the finding after an examination |
| StageAt admission | What the section requiresWritten notice to the patient of their status and rights, and to the mental hygiene legal service |
| StageOthers told | What the section requiresUp to three people the patient designates in writing |
| StageHearing on written request | What the section requiresAs soon as practicable, and not more than five days after the request is received |
The patient, any relative or friend, or the mental hygiene legal service may request the hearing in writing. If the court finds reasonable cause, it orders retention for no more than fifteen days from admission, and that order is not an adjudication that the patient is mentally ill.
Transfer to involuntary status after the emergency period, and the hearings that go with it, are in other sections of the article and are not reproduced here. Whether an admission met the statute is a question for a court and for a licensed New York attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- Mental Hyg. Law § 9.39 — Emergency admissions for immediate observation, care, and treatment
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.