Ohio Claim of Exemption
File an Ohio claim of exemption to stop wage garnishment. Learn the 5-day Request for Hearing deadline, how much can be taken, and what income is exempt.
Introduction
An Ohio claim of exemption is how you file 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 garnish your employer or bank and pull money from what would otherwise reach you. In Ohio you push back by delivering a Request for Hearing to the clerk of the court that issued the garnishment order. The deadline is short: you must file it no later than the end of the fifth business day after you receive the Notice to the Judgment Debtor. That form usually comes packaged with the garnishment papers, so read them right away. Ohio protects a baseline share of your earnings, and some income is off limits entirely. Money is withheld while your request is pending, so act fast. DocDraft prepares an Ohio claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.
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Key Things to Know
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An Ohio claim of exemption is a 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
Ohio gives you only a short 5-day window. Under Ohio Rev. Code section 2716.06 you must deliver your Request for Hearing to the clerk of the court that issued the order no later than the end of the fifth business day after you receive the Notice to the Judgment Debtor.
- 3
The Request for Hearing comes with the garnishment papers. The form is provided to you along with the Notice to the Judgment Debtor and the garnishment order itself, so you do not have to hunt for it, but you must act on it quickly.
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Ohio protects a baseline share of your pay. Under Ohio Rev. Code section 2329.66 your earnings are protected up to the greater of 75 percent of your disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage.
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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 free those funds if a bank has frozen them.
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Money is withheld while your request is pending. Because each paycheck is garnished until the court resolves your request, filing within the 5-day window limits what you lose.
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Filing on time gets you a hearing fast. If you request a hearing within the deadline, the court must hold it no later than twelve days after your request is delivered, where you show the money is protected.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Ohio, 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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Ohio Requirements for Claim of Exemption
Ohio Filing Deadline and Office
File the Ohio claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Ohio 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.