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Mississippi Claim of Exemption

File a Mississippi claim of exemption to stop wage garnishment. Learn what wages are exempt, the 30-day protection after service, and how to claim it in court.

Introduction

A Mississippi claim of exemption is a request you make 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 judgment, it can serve a writ of garnishment on your employer or bank and take money from your pay or account. Mississippi does not use a single statewide claim-of-exemption form. Once the garnishee's answer shows you may have an exemption, the court clerk issues a summons, and you assert your protection by filing a motion with the court that issued the judgment. Under the civil rules a defendant generally answers within 30 days of being served. All of your wages are also fully exempt for the first 30 days after the writ is served. Because money can be held while the claim is decided, act quickly. DocDraft prepares a Mississippi claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    A Mississippi claim of exemption is a request you make 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

    Mississippi does not have a single statewide claim-of-exemption form. After the garnishee's answer shows you may claim an exemption, the clerk issues a summons and you assert your protection by filing a motion with the court that issued the judgment.

  3. 3

    All of your wages are fully exempt for the first 30 days after the writ of garnishment is served, under Miss. Code Ann. section 85-3-4. This gives you a window before any earnings can be taken.

  4. 4

    After the first 30 days, Mississippi follows the federal wage limit. A creditor can take the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, which is 217.50 dollars.

  5. 5

    The time to respond is generally short. Under the civil rules a defendant usually answers within 30 days of being served with the summons, so raise your exemption promptly once you receive the garnishment paperwork.

  6. 6

    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.

  7. 7

    Raising the claim gets you a hearing. If you appear and move to assert your exemption, the court makes up an issue and tries it between you and the creditor, who must justify the garnishment. Money can be held while the claim is decided, so act quickly.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Mississippi, 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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CLAIM OF EXEMPTION (MISSISSIPPI - WAGE GARNISHMENT)

Asserted under Miss. Code Ann. section 11-35-1 et seq. (garnishment) and section 85-3-1 et seq. (exempt property), including the wage exemption in section 85-3-4. Mississippi does not provide a single statewide claim-of-exemption form; the judgment debtor asserts the exemption by motion filed with the court that issued the judgment. The judgment debtor claims that some or all of the wages or funds being garnished are exempt and asks that they be released.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court (that issued the judgment and writ of garnishment): [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Writ or garnishment number: [GARNISHMENT NUMBER, IF ANY]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor: [CREDITOR NAME] Judgment debtor (you): [DEBTOR NAME] Debtor address: [DEBTOR ADDRESS] Garnishee (employer or bank served): [EMPLOYER OR BANK NAME]

  3. WHAT IS BEING GARNISHED [ ] Wages from my employer: [EMPLOYER NAME] [ ] Funds in my account at: [BANK NAME] Approximate amount being taken: $[AMOUNT]

  4. EXEMPTION CLAIMED I claim that the money is exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] My wages are within the 30-day full wage exemption after service of the writ (Miss. Code Ann. section 85-3-4). [ ] The wage-garnishment limit under section 85-3-4 protects part of my earnings. [ ] The funds come from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / PUBLIC BENEFITS / OTHER]. Amount I ask the court to protect: $[AMOUNT CLAIMED EXEMPT]

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

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

  7. REQUEST FOR HEARING I ask the court to set a hearing on this claim, to make up an issue between me and the creditor, and to protect the exempt money until the matter is decided.

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

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

Note: Mississippi has no single statewide claim-of-exemption form; file your motion with the court that issued the judgment after the clerk issues your summons. Confirm the current procedure, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Mississippi Requirements for Claim of Exemption

Mississippi Filing Deadline and Office

File the Mississippi claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Mississippi 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 Mississippi claim of exemption is how you protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment. Because the state has no single statewide form, you raise it by filing a motion with the court that issued the judgment after the clerk issues you a summons. It tells the court that some or all of the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it, and it sets up a hearing on your claim.

An objection challenges whether the garnishment itself is proper, such as a wrong amount or a defect in the writ. A Mississippi claim of exemption accepts the judgment but says the specific wages or funds are legally protected, for example because they fall within the 30-day full wage exemption or come from an exempt source. You raise the exemption by motion in the court that issued the judgment, and you can point out a defect at the same time.

For the first 30 days after the writ is served, all of your wages are fully exempt under Miss. Code Ann. section 85-3-4. After that, Mississippi follows the federal limit: a creditor can take the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, which is 217.50 dollars. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions.

Mississippi's garnishment statute does not set a single fixed deadline, but the process starts with a summons to you, and under the civil rules a defendant generally answers within 30 days of service. Because money can be held while the claim is decided, raise your exemption by motion as soon as you receive the summons rather than waiting.

Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, disability, veterans benefits, and many pensions and public benefits are exempt from garnishment for ordinary debts. Ordinary wages are fully exempt for the first 30 days after service, and a share is protected after that. If exempt funds are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.

Mississippi does not have a separate head-of-household wage percentage, but its protections already help families. All of your wages are exempt for the first 30 days after the writ is served, and after that the federal floor shields a baseline share of your pay. A financial statement showing your income, expenses, and dependents supports the exemption you raise with the court.

You file it with the court that issued the judgment and the writ of garnishment. Because Mississippi has no single statewide form, you assert the exemption by filing a motion with that court after the clerk issues you a summons. The court then makes up an issue and tries it between you and the creditor.

If you appear and move to assert your exemption, the court makes up an issue and tries it between you and the creditor, who must show why the money is not exempt. If the court agrees the funds are protected, it releases them and stops or reduces the garnishment. Money can be held while the claim is decided, so raising it promptly matters.