Maryland Claim of Exemption
File a Maryland claim of exemption to protect wages from garnishment. Learn the DC-002 motion, what pay is exempt, and how to stop or reduce a garnishment.
Introduction
A Maryland 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 pull a share of every paycheck. In Maryland you assert your exemption by filing a motion, form DC-002, with the court that issued the judgment. Under Maryland Rule 3-646, you may file that motion at any time while the garnishment is in effect, and the court schedules a hearing promptly. Maryland protects 75 percent of your disposable wages, measured against the state minimum wage, and income like Social Security stays off limits no matter the debt. Because money is withheld while your motion is pending, act quickly. DocDraft prepares a Maryland claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.
Key Things to Know
- 1
A Maryland claim of exemption is a request 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
You can file at any time. Under Maryland Rule 3-646(e) the debtor may file a motion asserting a defense or objection at any time while the garnishment is in effect, so you are not locked out by a short day-count.
- 3
Maryland protects 75 percent of your pay. Under Commercial Law section 15-601.1(b) the exempt amount is the greater of 75 percent of your weekly disposable wages, or the amount by which they exceed 30 times the Maryland minimum hourly wage.
- 4
You raise the exemption on a motion. Maryland uses a Motion, form DC-002, filed with the court that issued the judgment, rather than a separate statewide claim-of-exemption form.
- 5
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.
- 6
Money is withheld while your motion is pending. Because each paycheck is garnished until the court resolves your motion, filing quickly limits what you lose.
- 7
Filing gets you a hearing. When you file a motion asserting a defense or objection, the court schedules a hearing promptly, where you show the wages are protected and the creditor must justify the garnishment.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Maryland, 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 guideCustomize your Claim of Exemption Template with DocDraft
Maryland Requirements for Claim of Exemption
File the Maryland claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Maryland 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
A Maryland claim of exemption is a request 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. In Maryland you raise it by filing a Motion, form DC-002, with the court that issued the judgment, and you can file it at any time while the garnishment is in effect.
An objection challenges whether the garnishment itself is proper, such as a wrong amount, the wrong person, or a defective writ. A claim of exemption accepts that the debt exists but says the specific wages or funds are legally protected. In Maryland the same Motion under Rule 3-646 lets you assert a defense, an objection, or an exemption, so you can raise them together.
Under Commercial Law section 15-601.1(b) the exempt amount is the greater of 75 percent of your weekly disposable wages, or the amount by which they exceed 30 times the Maryland minimum hourly wage. A creditor can reach only what is left after that. Disposable wages are what remains after legally required deductions, and Maryland measures the floor against its own minimum wage.
Under Maryland Rule 3-646(e) you may file a motion asserting your exemption at any time while the garnishment is in effect, so there is no short day-count for wage garnishment. Even so, money is withheld from each paycheck until the court rules, so you should file as soon as you learn of the garnishment to limit what you lose.
Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, disability, veterans benefits, and many pensions and public benefits are exempt from garnishment for ordinary debts, no matter how much you owe. At least 75 percent of ordinary disposable wages is also protected under Maryland law. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.
Maryland does not add a separate head-of-household exemption on top of the wage cap the way some states do. Your earnings are protected at the greater of 75 percent of disposable wages or the amount above 30 times the Maryland minimum wage. If money you need for support comes from an exempt source like Social Security, you can claim that on your motion.
You file a Motion, form DC-002, with the court that issued the judgment and the writ of garnishment. Maryland does not use a separate statewide claim-of-exemption form for wages, so the Motion is how you raise the exemption. Bring proof of your income and of any exempt sources of the money to the hearing the court schedules.
When you file a motion asserting a defense, objection, or exemption, the court schedules a hearing promptly. At the hearing you show that the wages or funds are exempt, and the creditor must justify the garnishment. If the court agrees the money is protected, it releases those funds and stops or reduces the garnishment. Until then, money generally keeps being withheld.