Product Prototype / Preview · 10 states · no filing
Garnishment Toolkit for Judgment Creditors
You won a judgment, but the debtor still hasn't paid. A writ of garnishment lets you collect directly from wages, a bank account, or a debt someone else owes the debtor — but the rules differ by state, and a collection agency will typically take 20-50% as a contingency fee to handle it for you. This product prototype helps you check the rules for your judgment-state/debtor-state/asset combination, get a rough recoverable-amount estimate, and generate a draft petition you can review or hand to an attorney.
Product prototype for informational and preparation purposes. Not legal advice, not a court filing, and not a guarantee that any court will approve a garnishment. Rules change; verify current official sources or consult a licensed attorney before filing. No attorney-client relationship is created.
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Memory onlyAnswers stay in this page and disappear on refresh.
Draft, not a filingThe petition preview is not a court form and must not be filed as-is.
Direct answer
What determines how much you can garnish?
Garnishment law is set state by state, and the debtor's current state generally controls execution — not the state where you won the judgment. Three things determine the outcome: the debtor's state, whether you're garnishing wages, a bank account, or a debt a third party owes the debtor, and whether the judgment first needs to be domesticated (registered) in the debtor's state. Wage garnishment for an ordinary money judgment is either capped by a percentage formula or, in a handful of states, generally prohibited outright. Bank accounts and third-party debts aren't capped by those same wage formulas, but they carry their own exemption and service rules.
Before the interactive checker
Use this manual list even without JavaScript
Questions to answer before you file
- What state is the debtor currently in — is that state one of the 10 this toolkit covers?
- Was your judgment entered in a different state? If so, you likely need to domesticate it in the debtor's state first.
- Are you targeting wages, a bank account, or a debt a third party owes the debtor?
- If wages: does the debtor's state allow wage garnishment for an ordinary debt at all?
- Have you confirmed the current official form and service method with the court where you will file?
These prompts do not decide legal eligibility. Verify current rules with an official source or a licensed attorney before filing.
Interactive preparation flow
Check the rules, then generate a draft petition
The enhanced tool asks four questions — judgment state, debtor state, asset type, and optional amounts — then returns an exemption/rule summary, service requirements, a required-forms pointer, and an optional recoverable-amount estimate. From there you can generate an editable draft petition.
- Check rules
Select the judgment state, debtor state, and asset type. - Review results
See the exemption summary, service requirements, and forms pointer for the debtor's state. - Generate & verify
Get a draft petition, then verify it with the court or an attorney.
Coverage
States currently covered
The toolkit currently covers 10 states as the debtor's state. Selecting any other state shows a not-yet-covered message and a waitlist signup instead of invented rules.
Texas
Wages are generally exempt from garnishment for an ordinary judgment debt (Texas Constitution Art. 16, §28).
Pennsylvania
Wages are generally exempt from garnishment for an ordinary judgment debt (42 Pa.C.S. §8127).
North Carolina
Wages are generally exempt from garnishment for an ordinary judgment debt (N.C. Gen. Stat. §1-362).
California
Lesser of 20% of disposable earnings, or the amount above 48x the state/local minimum wage (Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §706.050).
New York
Lesser of 10% of gross income or 25% of disposable earnings (N.Y. CPLR §5231).
Florida
Full exemption for head-of-family debtors earning $750/week or less; otherwise the federal 25% formula generally applies (Fla. Stat. §222.11).
Illinois
Lesser of 15% of gross wages, or the amount above 45x the applicable minimum wage (735 ILCS 5/12-803).
Ohio
Follows the federal CCPA formula: lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30x the federal minimum wage (Ohio Rev. Code §2716.07).
Georgia
Lesser of 25% of disposable earnings (15% for private student loan judgments), or the amount above $217.50 (O.C.G.A. §18-4-5).
Washington
For consumer-debt judgments, roughly 20% of disposable earnings is reachable; the rest is protected (RCW 6.27.150).
Capabilities
What this toolkit does and doesn't do
- Checks judgment-state/debtor-state/asset-type combinations across 10 states
- Summarizes wage, bank-account, and third-party-debt garnishment rules with a cited source
- Flags when your judgment likely needs to be domesticated in the debtor's state
- Offers a rough recoverable-amount estimate when you add numbers
- Generates an editable draft petition with your case details filled in
- Links to the official statute or agency source and a forms pointer for the debtor's state
- File anything with a court, serve any party, or submit any document
- Provide legal advice or represent you in a proceeding
- Calculate an exact, legally binding garnishment amount — estimates only
- Cover states outside the initial 10-state list
- Track renewal or re-execution deadlines, or send reminders
- Save, upload, or transmit anything you enter
Limits and alternatives
When to bring in a professional
Seek professional review
A disputed judgment, a debtor who has filed bankruptcy, a debt type with special rules (child support, taxes, student loans), an unlisted state, or an urgent deadline falls outside this self-guided tool. Bring the draft petition and result summary to a licensed attorney or legal-aid provider in the debtor's state. The tool does not form an attorney-client relationship.
Do not confuse different collection paths
A writ of garnishment, a writ of execution against other property, and a full-service collection agency engagement are different paths with different costs and control tradeoffs. This page does not choose the right path for you or negotiate with a collection agency on your behalf.
Common questions
Filing, unlisted states, and legal advice
Can I submit this draft petition directly to the court?
No. The draft petition is a starting reference generated from the categories you selected. It is not a court-ready pleading, is not notarized or signed, and must be verified against your state court's current forms and local rules — or reviewed by a licensed attorney — before filing.
What if my state, or the debtor's state, isn't in the list yet?
This prototype currently covers 10 states. If the debtor's state isn't listed, the tool shows a not-yet-covered message instead of inventing rules, and offers a waitlist signup for when more states are added.
Is this legal advice?
No. This tool provides general information and a draft document for your reference. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not represent you in any proceeding.
The debtor lives in a different state than where I won my judgment — can I still garnish them?
Often yes, but you will generally need to domesticate (register) your out-of-state judgment in the debtor's current state before that state's court will issue a garnishment order. The toolkit flags this step whenever your selected judgment state and debtor state differ.
Is it easier to garnish a bank account or a third-party debt than wages?
The percentage caps that limit wage garnishment do not apply to bank accounts or third-party debts, but both come with their own limits: banks must protect two months of certain federal benefit deposits, and state exemption statutes may protect additional funds. Neither path is automatically easier — each has its own service and exemption rules.
Sources and methodology
Trace each rule and keep versions visible
Every wage-garnishment rule above traces to the state's statute (or, for the federal baseline, the U.S. Department of Labor). The tool uses a deterministic lookup table, not an LLM, to select and display these summaries — nothing is generated or guessed for an uncovered state.
- U.S. Dept. of Labor Fact Sheet #30 (federal CCPA wage garnishment limits)
- 31 CFR Part 212, garnishment of accounts containing federal benefit payments
- Texas State Law Library: Collecting the Debt (Texas Constitution Art. 16, §28)
- 42 Pa.C.S. §8127 official text
- NC Department of Labor: Garnishments in North Carolina
- Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §706.050 official text
- N.Y. CPLR §5231 official text
- Fla. Stat. §222.11 official text
- 735 ILCS 5/12-803 official text
- Ohio Rev. Code §2716.07 official text
- Georgia Legal Aid: Garnishment Exemptions Available in Georgia
- RCW 6.27.150 official text
Sources and last reviewed: 2026-08-21. Legal review pending All rules, estimate percentages, and draft-petition language require review by a licensed attorney in each covered state before that label may be removed. Rules and county requirements can change; confirm the current official source before acting.
Search evidence recorded in the frozen research: United States keyword "writ of garnishment," SiteData volume band MoreThanOneThousand, exact KD 9, measured 2026-08-21 (see research.md).
Next safe action
Leave with a plan, not a filing you can't verify
Use the checker to understand your options, generate a draft to organize your thinking, then verify the current form and procedure with the court or an attorney before filing anything. Protect any printed or saved draft because it may contain amounts and party details you entered.