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South Dakota Claim of Exemption

File a South Dakota claim of exemption to protect wages from garnishment. Learn the 5-day window, the Claim of Exemptions form, and the per-dependent reduction.

Introduction

A South Dakota 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 judgment, it can levy on your wages or property and pull money from what you have. In South Dakota you push back by filing the Claim of Exemptions with the court. The window is short: you have only 5 days after you are served with the notice of levy to claim your exemptions, or 8 days if the notice was sent by registered or certified mail. South Dakota caps what can be taken and lowers it further for each dependent who lives with you, and some income like Social Security is off limits entirely. Money is held while the claim is decided, so act fast. DocDraft prepares a South 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 South Dakota claim of exemption, filed as the Claim of Exemptions, is a form you give to the court to protect some or all of your wages or bank funds from garnishment. It tells the court the money is exempt, meaning a creditor cannot take it.

  2. 2

    The window is very short. Under SDCL 21-19-9 you have only 5 days after you are served with the notice of levy to claim your exemptions, or 8 days if the notice was sent by registered or certified mail, so act immediately.

  3. 3

    South Dakota caps what can be taken. Under SDCL 21-18-51 the most a creditor can garnish is the lesser of 20 percent of your disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 40 times the greater of the federal or state minimum wage.

  4. 4

    Supporting dependents lowers the garnishment further. South Dakota reduces the amount that can be taken by 25 dollars per week for each dependent family member who lives with you, so a larger household keeps more of each paycheck.

  5. 5

    Some income is exempt no matter the debt. Social Security, disability, veterans benefits, and many pensions and public benefits are protected, and the Claim of Exemptions is how you free those funds if a bank has frozen them.

  6. 6

    Money is held while the claim is decided. Because a levy keeps pulling from your pay or account until the court rules, filing within the short window and listing every exempt source limits what you lose.

  7. 7

    The court decides at a hearing. After you file the Claim of Exemptions and serve it on the creditor and the officer who made the levy, the court holds a hearing to determine the disputed facts about your right to the exemptions.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Claim of Exemption in South 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 (SOUTH DAKOTA - CLAIM OF EXEMPTION)

Filed under South Dakota Codified Laws chapters 21-18 (including SDCL 21-18-51) and 21-19 (including SDCL 21-19-9). The judgment debtor claims that some or all of the wages or funds being levied are exempt and asks the court to release them and to stop or reduce the garnishment.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court: [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Levy or garnishment number: [NUMBER, IF ANY] Officer who made the levy: [OFFICER / SHERIFF]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor: [CREDITOR NAME] Judgment debtor (you): [DEBTOR NAME] Debtor address: [DEBTOR ADDRESS]

  3. WHAT IS BEING LEVIED [ ] 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): [ ] The garnishment cap under SDCL 21-18-51 protects part of my earnings (the lesser of 20 percent of disposable earnings or the amount above 40 times the applicable minimum wage). [ ] I support dependent family members who live with me, which reduces the garnishable amount by 25 dollars per week for each such dependent. [ ] 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] Dependent family members living with me: [NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS]

  7. REQUEST FOR HEARING I ask the court to set a hearing on this claim and to protect the exempt money until the hearing is held.

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

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

Note: File the Claim of Exemptions with the court within 5 days after you are served with the notice of levy, or 8 days if the notice was sent by registered or certified mail, and serve a copy on the creditor and the officer who made the levy. Confirm the current form and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

South Dakota Requirements for Claim of Exemption

South Dakota Filing Deadline and Office

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

In South Dakota a claim of exemption is filed as the Claim of Exemptions, a form you give to the court to protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment or levy. 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 lets you ask for a hearing to prove the money is protected.

The Claim of Exemptions is South Dakota's form for claiming that levied wages or funds are protected. You file it with the court and serve it on the creditor and the officer who made the levy. On it you state which money is exempt and why, and the court then holds a hearing to decide any disputed facts about your exemptions.

Under SDCL 21-18-51 a creditor can take the lesser of 20 percent of your disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 40 times the greater of the federal or state minimum wage. That amount is then reduced by 25 dollars a week for each dependent family member who lives with you, so South Dakota protects more of your pay than the federal cap.

The deadline is very short. Under SDCL 21-19-9 you have only 5 days after you are served with the notice of levy to file your Claim of Exemptions, or 8 days if the notice was sent by registered or certified mail. Because the window is so brief and money is held in the meantime, file as soon as you receive the notice.

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 share of ordinary wages is also protected under South Dakota's garnishment cap. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, the Claim of Exemptions is how you ask the court to release them.

Yes. South Dakota reduces the amount a creditor can garnish by 25 dollars per week for each dependent family member who lives with you. That means the more dependents you support in your household, the more of each paycheck stays protected. You claim this by listing your dependents on the Claim of Exemptions and, if needed, showing they reside with you at the hearing.

You file the Claim of Exemptions with the court and serve a copy on the creditor and the officer who made the levy. You are not filing only with the creditor. Once filed, the court schedules a hearing to determine any disputed facts about the wages or funds you claim are exempt.

After you file and serve the Claim of Exemptions, the court holds a hearing to determine the disputed facts about your right to the exemptions. At the hearing you show the money is protected, and the creditor must justify keeping it. If the court agrees the funds are exempt, it releases them and stops or reduces the garnishment. If you miss the short deadline, the levy usually continues.