⚖️ Wage Garnishment Laws by State: Complete Guide

⚖️ Understanding Wage Garnishment

Wage garnishment is a legal process that allows a judgment creditor to collect money directly from a debtor’s wages. When you obtain a money judgment against someone who owes you money, wage garnishment becomes one of the most reliable methods of collection because it creates a steady stream of payments directly from the debtor’s employer.

The process works by serving a legal order (often called a writ of garnishment, garnishment summons, or wage execution) on the debtor’s employer. The employer is then legally obligated to withhold a portion of the debtor’s wages each pay period and remit those funds to the creditor or the court until the judgment is satisfied.

Wage garnishment is particularly effective because it doesn’t require the debtor’s cooperation. Unlike negotiating payment plans or pursuing other collection methods, once a garnishment order is in place, the money flows automatically. This makes it especially valuable when dealing with debtors who have steady employment but refuse to pay their debts voluntarily.

Understanding Disposable Earnings

Before diving into garnishment limits, it’s essential to understand what “disposable earnings” means under the law. Disposable earnings are not the same as gross wages or take-home pay. Instead, disposable earnings are calculated as the wages remaining after subtracting only legally required deductions.

Legally required deductions include federal income tax withholding, state and local income taxes, Social Security taxes (FICA), Medicare taxes, and state unemployment insurance. These are deductions that an employer must make by law, regardless of the employee’s wishes.

Importantly, voluntary deductions are NOT subtracted when calculating disposable earnings. This means health insurance premiums, retirement plan contributions (401k, IRA), union dues, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, and charitable contributions all remain part of disposable earnings for garnishment purposes. This distinction is crucial because many employees have significant voluntary deductions that reduce their take-home pay but don’t reduce the amount available for garnishment.

For example, if an employee has gross wages of $1,000 per week with $200 in mandatory tax withholdings and $150 in voluntary deductions, their disposable earnings would be $800 (not $650). The 25% garnishment limit would apply to $800, meaning up to $200 could be garnished, even though the employee only takes home $650.

Types of Wage Garnishment

Not all wage garnishments are created equal. Different types of debts have different rules and limits:

• Consumer Debt Garnishment – Credit cards, personal loans, medical bills, and other consumer debts typically follow the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) limits or stricter state limits
• Child Support Garnishment – Child support and alimony can garnish up to 50-65% of disposable earnings, significantly more than consumer debts
• Tax Levies – Federal and state tax agencies have broader garnishment powers that can exceed normal limits
• Student Loan Garnishment – Federal student loans can garnish up to 15% through administrative wage garnishment without a court judgment

This guide focuses primarily on consumer debt garnishment, which requires obtaining a court judgment before garnishment can begin. Understanding these distinctions is crucial because the rules that apply to your situation depend entirely on the type of debt you’re trying to collect.

Multiple Garnishments and Priority Rules

What happens when multiple creditors try to garnish the same debtor’s wages? This situation is more common than you might think, and understanding priority rules is essential for successful collection.

First, there’s a maximum total amount that can be garnished from any employee’s wages—typically 25% of disposable earnings for consumer debts. If this limit has already been reached by another garnishment, your garnishment may be queued until the prior garnishment is satisfied.

Child support and alimony generally take priority over consumer debt garnishments. If a debtor is already having 50% of their wages garnished for child support, there may be no room for additional consumer debt garnishment. Tax levies from the IRS or state tax agencies also typically take priority over consumer judgments.

Most states use a “first in time” rule for consumer debt garnishments, meaning the first creditor to properly serve their garnishment gets priority. This makes speed essential—once you have a judgment, moving quickly to garnish wages can mean the difference between collecting your judgment and waiting in line behind other creditors.

Some states have specific rules about how multiple garnishments are handled. For example, some states allow multiple garnishments to run concurrently as long as the total doesn’t exceed the maximum, while others require garnishments to be satisfied sequentially. Check our individual state guides for specific rules in your jurisdiction.

🏛️ Federal vs. State Garnishment Laws

Wage garnishment in the United States is governed by both federal and state laws. The federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) establishes baseline protections that apply nationwide, but states are free to provide greater protection to debtors. When federal and state laws conflict, the law that provides more protection to the debtor applies.

Federal CCPA Limits

Under federal law, the maximum amount that can be garnished from an employee’s wages for consumer debts is the lesser of:

Disposable earnings are the wages remaining after legally required deductions such as federal and state taxes, Social Security, and Medicare. Voluntary deductions like health insurance premiums, retirement contributions, and union dues are not subtracted when calculating disposable earnings.

The 30× minimum wage test provides a floor of protection. At the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, this means the first $217.50 of weekly disposable earnings is completely protected from garnishment. If someone earns less than this amount, their wages cannot be garnished at all for consumer debts.

How States Differ

States take different approaches to wage garnishment:

🗺️ Wage Garnishment Laws: All 50 States + DC + Puerto Rico

Below you’ll find links to detailed wage garnishment guides for every U.S. jurisdiction. Each state guide includes specific garnishment limits, judgment duration, the garnishment process, debtor protections, and our skip tracing coverage for that state.

🚫 States That Don’t Allow Consumer Wage Garnishment

Five states have made the policy decision to prohibit wage garnishment for most consumer debts. If you have a judgment against a debtor who lives and works in one of these states, you cannot garnish their wages for consumer debts like credit cards, personal loans, or medical bills. However, even in these states, wages can still be garnished for child support, alimony, taxes, and federal student loans.

State	Judgment Duration	Alternative Collection Methods
⭐ Texas	10 years	Bank levies, property liens, asset seizure
🔔 Pennsylvania	4 years (+ 5 renewal)	Bank levies, property liens, sheriff’s sale
🏀 North Carolina	10 years	Bank levies, property liens, asset execution
🌴 South Carolina	10 years	Bank levies, property liens, supplemental proceedings
🪨 New Hampshire	20 years	Bank levies, property liens, asset attachment

If your debtor lives in one of these states, don’t despair. Our asset search services can help locate bank accounts for levies, real property for liens, and other assets that can be used to satisfy your judgment. In many cases, a well-executed bank levy can be just as effective as wage garnishment.

Alternative Collection Methods in No-Garnishment States

When wage garnishment isn’t available, successful creditors pivot to other collection methods. Here’s what works in states that prohibit consumer wage garnishment:

Bank Account Levies: Also called bank attachments or bank executions, this method allows you to freeze and seize funds in the debtor’s bank accounts. Unlike wage garnishment which provides a steady stream of payments, bank levies capture whatever funds are in the account at the moment of levy. Timing is crucial—many creditors coordinate levies shortly after paydays when account balances are highest. Our asset searches can help locate bank accounts.

Judgment Liens on Real Property: Recording your judgment with the county recorder creates a lien against any real property the debtor owns in that county. While this doesn’t provide immediate payment, the lien must be satisfied when the property is sold or refinanced. In appreciating real estate markets, this can be an excellent long-term collection strategy. Our real property searches identify properties owned by debtors.

Personal Property Seizure: Working with the sheriff’s department, you can have non-exempt personal property seized and sold at auction. This might include vehicles, equipment, jewelry, or other valuable items. However, most states have significant exemptions that protect basic necessities, so this method is often most effective for business debtors or those with luxury assets.

Supplemental Proceedings: Also called debtor’s examinations or judgment debtor interrogatories, this court process requires the debtor to appear and answer questions about their assets, income, and financial situation under oath. This information can reveal collection opportunities you might not have known about, such as pending inheritances, lawsuit settlements, or hidden assets.

Till Tap Orders: For business debtors, some states allow creditors to have a sheriff or marshal periodically visit the business and collect cash from the register. This is particularly effective against restaurants, retail stores, and other cash-heavy businesses.

📉 States with Lower Garnishment Limits

Several states have chosen to limit wage garnishment below the federal 25% maximum. If your debtor works in one of these states, you’ll collect a smaller percentage of their wages, but garnishment is still a viable collection method.

State	Maximum Garnishment	Comparison to Federal	Other Protections
🏙️ Illinois	15% of gross	Lowest in nation	45× state min wage protected
🗻 South Dakota	20%	5% below federal	40× min wage protected
⛰️ West Virginia	20%	5% below federal	Standard protections
🦡 Wisconsin	20%	5% below federal	Standard protections
🏖️ New Jersey	10-25% tiered	Income-based	10% if under 250% poverty

🛡️ States with Higher Debtor Protection

Some states protect more of the debtor’s income by using a higher multiplier of minimum wage or by using the state minimum wage (which is often higher than federal) for the calculation. This can significantly reduce the amount available for garnishment.

State	Protection Standard	Practical Effect
🗽 New York	10% of gross OR 30× min wage	Most protective state with garnishment
🌵 New Mexico	40× federal min wage	33% more protection than federal
🌾 North Dakota	40× federal min wage	33% more protection than federal
🗻 South Dakota	40× federal min wage	20% limit + higher floor
🏛️ Virginia	40× federal min wage	33% more protection than federal
🌲 Washington	35× state min wage	High state min wage = high protection
🏛️ Washington D.C.	40× DC min wage	Very high DC min wage = substantial protection
🌲 Oregon	$254/week minimum exempt	Fixed floor regardless of min wage

⏱️ Judgment Duration by State

One often-overlooked factor in wage garnishment is how long your judgment remains valid. If a judgment expires before you can collect, you may lose your ability to garnish wages entirely. Most states allow renewal, but you must renew before expiration.

Longest Judgment Periods (20 Years)

These states give you the most time to collect: Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin.

Shortest Judgment Periods (4-5 Years)

Act quickly in these states: Pennsylvania (4), Arizona (5), Idaho (5), Kansas (5), Nebraska (5), Ohio (5), Oklahoma (5), Puerto Rico (5), Wyoming (5).

📋 The Wage Garnishment Process

While specific procedures vary by state, the general wage garnishment process follows these steps:

Employer Obligations and Compliance

Understanding employer obligations is crucial for successful garnishment. When an employer receives a valid garnishment order, they become legally obligated to comply. Failure to do so can make the employer liable for the amount they should have withheld.

Employers must typically respond to a garnishment within a specified time frame (often 10-20 days depending on the state) with information about the debtor’s employment status, wages, and any existing garnishments. This response, often called an “answer” or “garnishee’s answer,” helps you understand whether garnishment will be effective.

If the employer fails to respond or improperly refuses to withhold wages, you may be able to obtain a judgment against the employer for the amount they should have withheld. This provides powerful leverage to ensure compliance.

Some employers try to assist employees in avoiding garnishment by terminating employment or reducing hours. Federal law (and most state laws) prohibit employers from firing an employee because of a single garnishment. However, this protection may not extend to multiple garnishments, so debtors with several garnishments may face employment consequences.

Continuing vs. Non-Continuing Garnishments

One important distinction is between continuing and non-continuing garnishments. A continuing garnishment remains in effect until the judgment is satisfied, requiring the employer to withhold from each paycheck automatically. A non-continuing garnishment applies only to wages earned as of the date of service, requiring you to serve new garnishment papers periodically.

Most states now use continuing garnishments for efficiency, but some still require periodic renewal. Check our state-specific guides to understand which type applies in your jurisdiction. Continuing garnishments are obviously preferable as they reduce administrative burden and ensure consistent collection.

🔍 Finding Debtors & Employers for Garnishment

The most perfectly drafted garnishment papers are worthless if you don’t know where the debtor works. This is where our services become invaluable. With over 20 years of experience helping creditors collect judgments, we specialize in locating debtors and their employers nationwide.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

📚 Additional Resources

Common Mistakes to Avoid

After 20+ years helping creditors collect judgments, we’ve seen many avoidable mistakes that delay or prevent successful collection. Here are the most common pitfalls:

Waiting too long to act: Judgments have expiration dates, and debtors’ circumstances change. The debtor who has a good job today might be unemployed, moved out of state, or declared bankruptcy next year. Start collection efforts as soon as you obtain your judgment.

Not verifying current employment: Serving garnishment papers on a former employer wastes time and money. Always verify current employment before filing garnishment papers. Our employment verification services confirm employment status within 24-48 hours.

Ignoring state-specific rules: Each state has unique garnishment procedures, forms, and limits. Using the wrong form or following the wrong procedure can result in dismissal of your garnishment. Our state-specific guides provide the details you need.

Failing to add interest and costs: Your judgment likely accrues interest, and you’re entitled to recover certain collection costs. Make sure your garnishment includes all amounts owed, not just the original judgment amount.

Not monitoring for job changes: Debtors change jobs, and garnishments don’t automatically follow them. Set up a system to periodically verify employment and be ready to serve new garnishment papers if needed.

Putting all eggs in one basket: Wage garnishment is powerful, but it shouldn’t be your only collection tool. Simultaneously pursue bank levies, property liens, and other methods to maximize your chances of full collection.

Tips for Successful Garnishment

Act quickly: In states with “first in time” priority rules, being first to file can mean the difference between collection and waiting in line behind other creditors.

Calculate accurately: Ensure your garnishment papers correctly state the judgment amount, accrued interest, and recoverable costs. Errors can delay collection or give the debtor grounds to challenge the garnishment.

Serve properly: Improper service is one of the most common reasons garnishments fail. Follow your state’s service requirements exactly, and keep proof of service for your records.

Follow up promptly: If an employer doesn’t respond or payments stop unexpectedly, investigate immediately. The debtor may have quit, been fired, or the employer may need a reminder of their legal obligations.

Keep detailed records: Track every payment received, and maintain copies of all garnishment documents. You’ll need this documentation to file a satisfaction of judgment when the debt is paid and to defend against any debtor challenges.

📚 Additional Resources