If I Have a Judgment But the Defendant Works in Another State Can I Garnish His Wages?

The decision as to whether a creditor or debt collector can garnish a debtor's wages is governed by state law. Most states allow creditors to garnish wages to recover delinquent debts. Before you can seek garnishment, you must obtain a court-ordered judgment. If the debtor works in a different state from you, garnishment might still be possible.

Determination

A wage garnishment is effective in the state in which the debtor works. As of June 2011, only Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina did not allow creditors to garnish wages. For example, if you are in Texas and the debtor is paid in Texas, you can obtain a judgment in Texas, but you cannot garnish the debtor's wages. However, if the debtor's work state allows wage garnishments and you are in a different state, you can seek garnishment through a process known as domestication.

Domestication

To garnish wages, you must first file a lawsuit against the debtor. If the judge finds in your favor, he grants you a judgment. Thereafter, you can apply for a wage garnishment with the same court, which is the normal procedure for wage garnishments if you and the debtor are located in the same state. If the debtor works in a state that permits wage garnishments but you are in another state, you can obtain a judgment in your state, complete the necessary applications for domestication in the debtor's state court and then apply for a wage garnishment there. This process can take a minimum of 30 days or longer and might not be the court's highest priority.

Employer Responsibility

As long as the garnishment is valid, the debtor's employer must honor it. Therefore, whether the garnishment is from an in-state or out-of-state creditor, as long as the court issued it, the employer must abide by it. If you obtained garnishment by domestication, the garnishment laws of the state that issued the garnishment apply. Under federal law, an employer can withhold no more than the smaller of 25 percent of the debtor's disposable pay or the amount by which her disposable earnings are more than 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. The state might set a lower limit.

Considerations

Rather than go through the process of domesticating a judgment, many creditors execute judgment via a bank account garnishment. States that do not allow wage garnishment generally allow bank account garnishment, which orders the debtor's bank to turn over monies deposited into the debtor's account to the creditor.