Claim of Exemption
A claim of exemption protects wages and bank funds from garnishment. Learn what income is exempt, how much a creditor can take, and how to file to stop it.
Introduction
A claim of exemption is a form you file with the court to protect some or all of your wages or bank account from a garnishment. An exemption is money the law says a creditor cannot take. When a creditor wins a money judgment, it can serve a garnishment order on your employer or bank and pull money from every paycheck. A claim of exemption is how you push back: you tell the court which money is protected, and the creditor then has to justify taking it. Federal law shields a baseline share of your wages, many states shield more, and some income like Social Security is off limits entirely. The catch is the clock. Most states give you only a short window after you are served to file, and missing it can forfeit protected wages. DocDraft prepares a claim of exemption from your details, built around your state's deadline and exemption rules, and attorney review is available before you file.
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Key Things to Know
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A claim of exemption is a form you file with the court to protect some or all of your wages or bank funds from garnishment. It tells the court the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it.
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Federal law sets a floor on wage garnishment. For most debts a creditor can take no more than the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly pay exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage. Many states protect more.
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The deadline to object is short and starts when you are served. Most states give you only a set number of days after you get the garnishment notice to file your claim, and missing it can cost you wages the law would have protected.
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Supporting a family can protect more, sometimes all, of your wages. Several states exempt most or all of the earnings of a head of household or a person who supports dependents.
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Some income is exempt no matter the debt. Social Security, disability, veterans benefits, and many pensions and public benefits are protected, and a claim of exemption is how you free deposited benefits a bank has frozen.
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A few states bar wage garnishment for ordinary debt. Texas, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina do not let most consumer creditors garnish wages, though a bank account can still be reached.
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Filing usually gets you a hearing. In most states the claim of exemption asks the court to set a hearing where you show the money is protected, and the creditor has to justify the garnishment to keep it.
Key Decisions
Your Garnishment
The property being taken decides which exemption rules and which claim form apply. Wage garnishment and bank-account garnishment follow different limits.
Wages or earnings from a job
The most common garnishment, and the one with the strongest built-in wage protections.
Most Common OptionMoney in a bank account
A bank levy. Exemptions still apply, especially for wages already deposited and for protected benefits.
Both my wages and a bank account
Two separate garnishments that each need their own exemption claim.
Consumer debts have the fullest exemptions. Child support, taxes, and student loans follow special federal rules that override the ordinary limits.
A consumer debt or money judgment (credit card, medical, loan)
The standard case, where state exemptions and the claim of exemption give the most protection.
Most Common OptionChild or spousal support
Support orders allow a larger share of wages to be taken and limit the usual exemptions.
Taxes or another government debt
Tax and government debts follow their own collection rules rather than the ordinary judgment limits.
A defaulted student loan
Student-loan garnishment runs under separate federal rules with its own hardship objection.
Exemptions You Can Claim
The claim of exemption tells the court why some or all of the garnished money is protected. Picking the right basis is what stops or shrinks the garnishment.
The minimum the law already protects for everyone
Every debtor keeps a baseline share of earnings; this claim enforces that floor.
Most Common OptionI am the head of household or support dependents
Many states protect far more, sometimes all, of the wages of someone who supports a family.
The money comes from an exempt source
Social Security, disability, public benefits, and many pensions are exempt no matter the debt.
Garnishing this would leave me unable to afford necessities
A hardship or necessities claim, allowed in some states when the standard limit still causes real harm.
Whether you are the main support for a household changes the size of the wage exemption in many states, and can protect all of your wages in a few.
Yes, I am the primary support for my household
Opens the head-of-household or family exemption, the most powerful wage protection in many states.
Most Common OptionNo, I do not support other people
The standard exemption still protects a baseline share of your earnings.
Filing and Hearing
The deadline to object usually starts when you are served with the garnishment order or notice, so the way you found out sets your clock.
I was served with a garnishment order or notice
The usual trigger. The claim of exemption is due within a set number of days after service.
Most Common OptionI saw a smaller paycheck but was never served
Common. You may still object, and a missing or defective notice can itself be a ground to challenge the garnishment.
My bank told me my account was frozen
A bank levy notice. The objection clock and the exempt-funds claim run from that notice.
In most states filing the claim of exemption lets you ask the court for a hearing where you show the money is protected. The creditor then has to respond.
Yes, request a hearing to prove the exemption
The usual path, and the one that forces the creditor to justify the garnishment before a judge.
Most Common OptionNo, I only want to file the claim form
Some states release the exempt amount on the filing alone unless the creditor contests it.
Claim of Exemption Requirements
Debtor Name and Contact
The full legal name and address of the debtor filing the claim, the person whose wages or account are being garnished.
Judgment Creditor Name
The name of the creditor or judgment creditor that obtained the garnishment, as shown on the court papers.