New Hampshire Claim of Exemption
New Hampshire heavily restricts wage garnishment for consumer debt. Learn the trustee process, what wages and benefits are exempt, and how to protect them.
Introduction
A New Hampshire claim of exemption is how you protect your wages or bank funds from a garnishment. An exemption is money the law says a creditor cannot take. New Hampshire heavily restricts wage garnishment for consumer debt. It uses a protective trustee process under RSA 512: wages you earn after the writ is served on your employer are exempt, and wages earned before service are exempt up to 50 times the federal minimum wage. That leaves ordinary wage garnishment for consumer debt extremely limited. Because of this structure, New Hampshire has no fixed claim-of-exemption deadline; instead you raise your protection in the trustee action, usually by filing an Objection with the court that issued the writ. A claim of exemption is how you protect wages and exempt benefits, including money deposited in a bank account, and ask the court to release it. Act promptly once you learn of it. DocDraft prepares a New Hampshire claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.
Key Things to Know
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A New Hampshire claim of exemption is how you protect 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, and you raise it inside the trustee-process case.
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New Hampshire heavily restricts wage garnishment for consumer debt. The state uses the protective trustee process under RSA 512 rather than an ongoing paycheck garnishment, so most wages stay out of a creditor's reach.
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Wages earned after the writ is served on your employer are exempt. Under RSA 512:21 the trustee process only reaches wages earned before the writ was served, and even those are exempt up to 50 times the federal minimum wage for each week.
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There is no fixed claim-of-exemption deadline for wages. Your wage protection runs through the trustee-process exemptions, which you raise in the trustee action, usually by filing an Objection, rather than by a separate timed claim form.
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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 protect those funds, including when they sit in a bank account a creditor has reached.
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Act promptly even without a set deadline. Because money can be tied up while the trustee process plays out, raise your exemption as soon as you learn of the case to protect wages and deposited benefits.
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Filing a written objection gets you a hearing. If you file an Objection in the trustee-process case, the court is required to schedule an evidentiary hearing, where you show the money is exempt and the creditor must justify reaching it.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Claim of Exemption in New Hampshire, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Claim of Exemption guide walks through them.
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New Hampshire Requirements for Claim of Exemption
File the New Hampshire claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire claim of exemption is how you protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment. Because the state uses the trustee process under RSA 512, you raise it inside that case, usually by filing an Objection with the court that issued the writ. It tells the court that some or all of the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it, and asks the court to release it.
Only in a very limited way. New Hampshire heavily restricts wage garnishment for consumer debt through the trustee process under RSA 512. Wages you earn after the writ is served on your employer are exempt, and wages earned before service are exempt up to 50 times the federal minimum wage each week. That leaves ordinary paycheck garnishment for consumer debt extremely limited, though a creditor may still try to reach a bank account.
Very little for ordinary consumer debt. Under RSA 512:21 wages you earn after the writ is served on your employer are fully exempt, and wages earned before service are exempt up to 50 times the federal minimum wage for each week. Because the trustee process does not continue against future paychecks, ordinary wage garnishment in New Hampshire is extremely limited.
New Hampshire does not set a fixed claim-of-exemption deadline for wages. Your protection runs through the trustee-process exemptions in RSA 512, which you raise in the trustee action, usually by filing an Objection, rather than by a separate timed form. Because money can be tied up while the case plays out, act promptly once you learn of it.
Wages earned after the writ is served are exempt, and pre-service wages are exempt up to 50 times the federal minimum wage. Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, disability, veterans benefits, and many pensions and public benefits are also exempt for ordinary debts. If exempt funds are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.
New Hampshire does not use a separate head-of-household wage percentage, but its base protection is already strong. Through the trustee process, wages earned after service are exempt and pre-service wages are exempt up to 50 times the federal minimum wage, so most earnings are shielded. Details of your income and expenses support the exemption you raise in the case.
You raise it in the trustee-process case, usually by filing an Objection with the court that issued the trustee-process writ. Because New Hampshire handles wage protection through the trustee process rather than an ongoing garnishment, there is no separate levying office; the court that issued the writ handles your objection and any hearing.
If you file a written Objection in the trustee-process case, the court is required to schedule an evidentiary hearing. At the hearing you show the money is exempt, and the creditor must justify reaching it. If the court agrees the funds are protected, it releases them. Money can be tied up while the case is decided, so raising your exemption promptly matters.