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Oklahoma Claim of Exemption

File an Oklahoma claim of exemption to stop wage garnishment. Learn the 75 percent wage rule, the 5-day deadline, and the family hardship exemption.

Introduction

An Oklahoma claim of exemption is a form 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 serve a garnishment 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 Claim for Exemption and Request for Hearing with the court clerk and ask the court to protect the money. The deadline is short. You have 5 days from receiving the notice of garnishment to file. Oklahoma protects 75 percent of your recent earnings, and if you support a family, you can ask the court to protect even more through a hardship hearing. Money is held while your claim is decided, so act quickly. DocDraft prepares an Oklahoma claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    An Oklahoma claim of exemption is a Claim for Exemption and Request for Hearing you file with the court clerk 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 have only 5 days to file. Under Okla. Stat. tit. 12 section 1174 you must file your claim with the court clerk within five days from receiving the notice of garnishment to request a hearing, so read the papers as soon as they arrive.

  3. 3

    Oklahoma protects 75 percent of recent earnings. Under Okla. Stat. tit. 31 section 1, 75 percent of your current wages or earnings for personal or professional services earned during the last 90 days are exempt from garnishment.

  4. 4

    Consumer-debt garnishment follows the federal formula. For a consumer credit debt, the exemption is the greater of 75 percent of your disposable earnings for the week or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage.

  5. 5

    Supporting a family can protect even more. If you support a family or other dependents, you can file an application for an undue hardship hearing and ask the court to exempt a greater portion of your earnings needed to maintain your family.

  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

    Filing gets you a hearing. After you file the Claim for Exemption and Request for Hearing, the court clerk sets the matter for a hearing and notifies the parties, where you show the money is protected.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Oklahoma, 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 FOR EXEMPTION AND REQUEST FOR HEARING (OKLAHOMA - WAGE GARNISHMENT)

Filed under Okla. Stat. tit. 12 section 1170 et seq., section 1174, and Okla. Stat. tit. 31 section 1 and section 1.1. The judgment debtor claims that some or all of the wages or funds being garnished are exempt and requests a hearing.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court that issued the garnishment summons: [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Garnishment summons number, if any: [GARNISHMENT NUMBER]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor: [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. EXEMPTION CLAIMED I claim that the money is exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] 75 percent of my current wages or earnings for personal or professional services earned in the last 90 days is exempt (tit. 31 section 1). [ ] For a consumer credit debt, more than the greater of 75 percent of my disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage is being withheld. [ ] I support a family or dependents and ask for an undue hardship exemption of a greater portion of my earnings (tit. 31 section 1.1). [ ] The money comes from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / 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 request a hearing on this claim and ask the court to protect the exempt money until the claim is decided.

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

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

Note: File this Claim for Exemption and Request for Hearing, on the form prescribed by the Oklahoma Bar Association, with the court clerk of the court that issued the garnishment summons, within five days from receiving the notice of garnishment. Confirm the current forms and procedure, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Oklahoma Requirements for Claim of Exemption

Oklahoma Filing Deadline and Office

File the Oklahoma claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Oklahoma 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

An Oklahoma claim of exemption is a Claim for Exemption and Request for Hearing that you file with the court clerk 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. You file it within five days of the garnishment notice, and the clerk sets a hearing.

In Oklahoma, after a creditor wins a money judgment it can serve a garnishment summons on your employer, who then withholds part of your pay for the creditor. State law exempts 75 percent of your recent earnings, and for consumer debts it follows the federal formula. You can protect your wages by filing a Claim for Exemption and Request for Hearing within five days of the notice.

Oklahoma exempts 75 percent of your current wages or earnings for personal or professional services earned during the last 90 days. For a consumer credit debt, the exemption is the greater of 75 percent of your disposable earnings for the week or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, which is 217.50 dollars. A creditor can only reach what is left.

You have five days from receiving the notice of garnishment to file your Claim for Exemption and Request for Hearing with the court clerk. Because that window is short and money is held while the claim is decided, file as soon as the garnishment papers arrive. Missing the deadline can cost you the chance to claim protection at a hearing.

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. Oklahoma also exempts 75 percent of your recent earnings for personal services. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.

Yes. On top of the general 75 percent wage exemption, if you support a family or other dependents you can file an application for an undue hardship hearing. At that hearing you ask the court to exempt a greater portion of your earnings that you need to maintain your family, and the court can protect more of your pay based on your finances.

You file the Claim for Exemption and Request for Hearing with the court clerk of the court that issued the garnishment summons. Oklahoma uses a form prescribed by the Oklahoma Bar Association for this claim. After you file, the court clerk sets the matter for a hearing and provides notice to you and the creditor.

The court clerk sets the matter for a hearing and notifies the parties. At the hearing you show the money is exempt, and if you support a family you can ask the court to protect a greater portion of your earnings for hardship. If the court agrees the funds are protected, it releases them. Garnished money is held until the claim is decided.