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Arizona Claim of Exemption

File an Arizona claim of exemption to stop wage garnishment. Learn what pay is exempt, the strong 10 percent limit, and the 10-day deadline to request a hearing.

Introduction

An Arizona claim of exemption is a request you file with the court to protect some or all of your wages or bank funds from a garnishment. An exemption is money the law says a creditor cannot take. After a creditor wins a money judgment, it can serve a writ of garnishment on your employer and take a share of each paycheck. In Arizona you file a written objection and request for hearing with the court that issued the writ, and you must do so within 10 days after you receive the garnishee's answer or nonexempt earnings statement. Arizona protects far more of your pay than the federal minimum, capping most wage garnishment at 10 percent of disposable earnings, and some income like Social Security is off limits entirely. Money is withheld while the objection is pending, so act fast. DocDraft prepares an Arizona claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    An Arizona claim of exemption is a written objection and request for hearing 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.

  2. 2

    You have 10 days to object. Under A.R.S. section 12-1598.07 you may file a written objection and request for hearing no later than 10 days after you receive the garnishee's answer or a nonexempt earnings statement.

  3. 3

    Arizona protects more of your pay than federal law. Under A.R.S. section 33-1131 a creditor can take at most the lesser of 10 percent of your disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 60 times the applicable minimum hourly wage.

  4. 4

    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 those funds if a bank has frozen them.

  5. 5

    Financial hardship can support an objection. If the amount withheld is causing extreme financial hardship for you or your family, you can raise that when you request a hearing on the garnishment.

  6. 6

    Money is withheld while your objection is pending. Because earnings are held until the court rules, filing your objection quickly limits what you lose.

  7. 7

    Filing gets you a hearing. The court sets a hearing that starts within 10 days after it receives your request and no later than 15 days, unless you ask for a continuance, where you show the money is protected.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Arizona, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Claim of Exemption guide walks through them.

Open the Claim of Exemption guide

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OBJECTION AND CLAIM OF EXEMPTION (ARIZONA - WAGE GARNISHMENT)

Filed under Arizona Revised Statutes sections 12-1598.07 and 33-1131. The judgment debtor objects to the garnishment and claims that some or all of the earnings or funds being withheld are exempt, and requests a hearing to release them and to stop or reduce the garnishment.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court that issued the writ: [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Writ of garnishment number: [WRIT NUMBER, IF ANY] Date I received the garnishee's answer or nonexempt earnings statement: [DATE]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor: [CREDITOR NAME] Judgment debtor (you): [DEBTOR NAME] Debtor address: [DEBTOR ADDRESS] Employer or bank served with the writ (garnishee): [GARNISHEE NAME]

  3. OBJECTION AND EXEMPTION CLAIMED I object and claim an exemption for the following reason(s): [ ] The amount withheld is more than A.R.S. section 33-1131 allows (the lesser of 10 percent of disposable earnings or the amount above 60 times the applicable minimum wage). [ ] The funds come from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / OTHER]. [ ] The amount withheld is causing extreme financial hardship for me or my family. Amount I ask the court to protect: $[AMOUNT CLAIMED EXEMPT]

  4. SOURCE OF THE FUNDS Describe where the money comes from: [DESCRIPTION OF WAGES OR DEPOSITED FUNDS]

  5. FINANCIAL STATEMENT (attach if the court requires one) Monthly take-home pay: $[INCOME] Monthly necessary expenses: $[EXPENSES] Number of people I support: [NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS]

  6. REQUEST FOR HEARING I request a hearing on this objection and ask the court to protect the exempt earnings until the hearing is held.

  7. VERIFICATION I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Arizona that the statements above are true and correct.

Debtor signature: [SIGNATURE] Printed name: [NAME] Date: [DATE]

Note: Arizona courts provide garnishment forms, including a Request for Hearing on Garnishment, through the self-service center, filed with the court that issued the writ. You must file your objection and request for hearing within 10 days after you receive the garnishee's answer or nonexempt earnings statement. Confirm the current form and deadline, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Arizona Requirements for Claim of Exemption

Arizona Filing Deadline and Office

File the Arizona claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Arizona directs, within the state's window after the garnishment is served. Money is usually held until the claim is decided, so filing late can forfeit wages the law would otherwise protect.

Frequently Asked Questions

An Arizona claim of exemption is a written objection and request for hearing that you file with the court to protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment. It tells the court that some or all of the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it. You file it with the court that issued the writ within 10 days after you receive the garnishee's answer or nonexempt earnings statement.

In Arizona the two are raised the same way. You file a written objection to the writ, the garnishee's answer, or the nonexempt earnings statement and request a hearing. An objection can challenge whether the garnishment or the calculation is proper, and it can also claim that specific wages or funds are exempt. You can raise both a calculation error and an exemption in the same filing.

Arizona protects more of your pay than federal law. Under A.R.S. section 33-1131 a creditor can take at most the lesser of 10 percent of your disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 60 times the applicable minimum hourly wage. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions, so most Arizona wages keep a 90 percent floor.

You have 10 days. Under A.R.S. section 12-1598.07 you may file a written objection and request for hearing no later than 10 days after you receive the garnishee's answer or a nonexempt earnings statement. Because earnings are withheld while the objection is pending, file as soon as you receive that answer or statement.

Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, veterans benefits, disability, and many pensions and public benefits are exempt from garnishment for ordinary debts, no matter how much you owe. Arizona also caps ordinary wage garnishment at 10 percent of disposable earnings. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get the bank to release them.

Arizona does not add a separate head-of-household wage exemption, but the 10 percent cap already protects most of your pay. If the amount withheld is causing extreme financial hardship for you or your family, you can raise that when you request a hearing, and the court can reduce the amount taken. Explain your household income and necessary expenses so the court can weigh the hardship.

You file your written objection and request for hearing with the court that issued the writ of garnishment. Arizona courts provide garnishment forms, including a Request for Hearing on Garnishment, through the self-service center. File within 10 days after you receive the garnishee's answer or nonexempt earnings statement so your objection is timely.

After you file your objection and request, the court sets a hearing that starts within 10 days of receiving the request and no later than 15 days, unless you ask for a continuance. At the hearing you show the money is exempt or the calculation is wrong, and the creditor must justify the garnishment. Until then, withheld earnings are generally held rather than paid out.