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North Dakota Claim of Exemption

File a North Dakota claim of exemption to protect wages from garnishment. Learn the 25 percent cap, the per-dependent reduction, and the 20-day deadline.

Introduction

A North Dakota claim of exemption is a filing 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 money judgment, it can serve a garnishee summons on your employer or bank and pull money that would otherwise reach you. A claim of exemption is how you push back: you file a schedule of your personal property with the court within 20 days after the garnishee summons is served and say which money is protected. North Dakota follows the standard wage cap and then gives families extra room, lowering the garnishable amount by 20 dollars a week for each dependent who lives with you. Money is held while the claim is decided, so act quickly. DocDraft prepares a North Dakota 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 North Dakota claim of exemption is a filing you make 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 file within 20 days of the garnishee summons. Under N.D. Cent. Code section 32-09.1-22 you file a schedule of all your personal property at or before 20 days after you are served with the garnishee summons to claim your exemptions.

  3. 3

    North Dakota caps wage garnishment. Under section 32-09.1-03 a creditor can take no more than the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 40 times the federal minimum wage.

  4. 4

    Supporting dependents lowers what can be taken. The garnishable amount is reduced by 20 dollars a week for each dependent family member who lives with you, so a larger household protects more of your pay.

  5. 5

    The dependent reduction is not automatic. To get the 20-dollar-per-dependent reduction you must give your employer a list of your dependents within 10 days of receiving the garnishee summons, so provide it promptly.

  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

    The court can hold a hearing quickly. Your claim of exemption can be heard and decided at any time after it is made, on three days' notice to the creditor, where you show the money is protected.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Claim of Exemption in North Dakota, 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 EXEMPTIONS / SCHEDULE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY (NORTH DAKOTA)

Filed under N.D. Cent. Code section 32-09.1-01 et seq., section 32-09.1-03, and section 32-09.1-22. The judgment debtor claims that some or all of the wages or property being garnished are exempt and asks that they be released.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court that issued the judgment: [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Garnishee summons date of service: [DATE SERVED]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor (plaintiff): [CREDITOR NAME] Judgment debtor (you): [DEBTOR NAME] Debtor address: [DEBTOR ADDRESS] Garnishee (employer or bank): [GARNISHEE NAME]

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

  4. EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED I claim that the money and property are exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] More than the lesser of 25 percent of my disposable earnings or the amount above 40 times the federal minimum wage is being withheld (section 32-09.1-03). [ ] The garnishable amount was not reduced by 20 dollars per week for each dependent who lives with me. [ ] The money comes from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / OTHER]. Dependents who reside with me: [LIST NAMES AND RELATIONSHIP] Amount I ask the court to protect: $[AMOUNT CLAIMED EXEMPT]

  5. SCHEDULE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY / SOURCE OF FUNDS Describe the personal property and where the money comes from: [DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY, 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 protect the exempt money and to set a hearing on this claim, which may be heard on three days' notice to the creditor.

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

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

Note: File this schedule of personal property claiming exemptions with the court that issued the judgment, at or before 20 days after you are served with the garnishee summons. To secure the 20-dollar-per-dependent reduction, give your employer a written list of your dependents within 10 days of the summons. Confirm the current forms and procedure, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

North Dakota Requirements for Claim of Exemption

North Dakota Filing Deadline and Office

File the North Dakota claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as North Dakota 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 North Dakota claim of exemption is a filing you make with the court to protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment. You file a schedule of your personal property that tells the court some or all of the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it. You file it within 20 days after you are served with the garnishee summons.

A garnishee summons is the document a creditor serves to start a garnishment in North Dakota. After winning a money judgment, the creditor serves it on your employer or bank, directing them to hold money that would otherwise go to you. Being served with the garnishee summons also starts your 20-day clock to file a schedule of personal property and claim your exemptions.

Under N.D. Cent. Code section 32-09.1-03 a creditor can take no more than the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 40 times the federal minimum wage. That amount is then reduced by 20 dollars a week for each dependent family member who lives with you, so supporting dependents lowers what can be taken.

You must file your schedule of personal property claiming exemptions at or before 20 days after you are served with the garnishee summons. Separately, to get the 20-dollar-per-dependent reduction, you must give your employer a list of your dependents within 10 days of receiving the summons. Because money is held while the claim is decided, act as soon as you are served.

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. A baseline share of ordinary wages is also protected, reduced further for each dependent who lives with you. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.

Yes. North Dakota lowers the garnishable amount by 20 dollars a week for each dependent family member who lives with you, so a larger household keeps more of each paycheck. The reduction is not automatic: you must give your employer a written list of your dependents within 10 days of receiving the garnishee summons for it to apply.

You file your schedule of personal property claiming exemptions with the court that issued the judgment and garnishment. North Dakota does not publish a single statewide wage-exemption form, so the claim is made through the schedule the statute requires. To secure the per-dependent reduction, you also give your employer a list of your dependents within 10 days of the garnishee summons.

The court can hear and decide your claim of exemption at any time after you file it, on three days' notice to the creditor. At that point you show the money is exempt and the creditor must justify the garnishment. If the court agrees the funds are protected, it releases them. Garnished money is held until the claim is decided.