Arkansas Writ of Garnishment

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Once served, an Arkansas writ of garnishment binds the third party rather than the debtor: Section 16-110-415(a) makes an employer garnishee hold any nonexempt wages due or which subsequently become due, to the extent of the amount due upon the judgment and costs, subject to the order of the court. Section 16-110-401 is the authority a judgment creditor sues it out under, against any person believed to be indebted to the defendant or holding the defendant's goods, chattels, moneys, credits and effects.

2. 2

   Arkansas prescribes no statewide numbered form for the writ. What it prescribes is mandatory notice text, and three separate pieces of it: one of the two garnishee notices set out in Section 16-110-401, the further Notice to Employer Garnishee required by Section 16-110-416 on any wage garnishment, and the Notice to Defendant whose full wording Section 16-110-402 prints, which the clerk attaches or which may be incorporated into the writ itself.

3. 3

   There is no Arkansas percentage, and inventing one is the classic error here. The General Assembly legislated no cap of its own on ordinary judgment debt, and Section 16-110-416 reaches the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act limit by cross-reference only. The Arkansas-specific floor is a flat dollar amount: Section 16-66-208(d) makes the first $25.00 per week of net wages absolutely exempt, counting net wages as gross less what the employer actually withheld for Arkansas income tax, federal income tax, social security, group retirement, group hospitalization premiums and group life premiums.

4. 4

   The sixty-day wage exemption has a sting for the creditor. Section 16-66-208(a) lets up to sixty days of wages be claimed on a sworn statement that they come to less than the constitutional amount and that the person owns no other personal property that would push the total past it. If that claim is sustained, subsection (c) bars seizing the same person's wages by garnishment or other legal process for a further sixty days, so a lost contest costs you the next two months of that paycheck.

5. 5

   One writ is continuing and you do not re-serve it each payday. Section 16-110-415(b) keeps the lien running on subsequent earnings until the total amount due upon the judgment and costs is paid or satisfied. It terminates sooner on only three events the statute names: the employment relationship ending, the underlying judgment being vacated, or the underlying judgment being modified.

6. 6

   The garnishee's clock is 30 days from service of the writ, raised from 20 days by Acts 2013 No. 229, so any Arkansas summary written before 2013 states the wrong number. Section 16-110-407 does not hand you an automatic default: on your motion the court may notice the garnishee to appear personally at a hearing not later than 10 days after receipt of that notice. A bank, savings bank or trust company domiciled in Arkansas is on a harder rule under Section 16-110-406, where service 10 days before the return day plus no answer by the return day means the court shall enter judgment in general terms against it.

7. 7

   Budget three statutory charges and watch your own 5-day clock. The circuit clerk's fee for writs or executions is $20.00 under Section 21-6-402(c), a district court clerk collects $10.00 under Section 16-17-126(a)(1) and that figure is expressly in addition to other fees allowed by law or by the quorum court, and the sheriff charges $30.00 to serve the writ under Section 21-6-307. Section 16-110-402 then requires you, not the clerk, to mail the writ and the Notice to Defendant to the judgment debtor within 5 days of service on the garnishee and to file a signed certificate of service on return.

Arkansas Requirements for Writ of Garnishment

• Sue Out the Writ, and File Interrogatories the Same Day

  Section 16-110-401 lets a judgment creditor sue out the writ against anyone it has reason to believe is indebted to the defendant or holds the defendant's goods, chattels, moneys, credits and effects. Section 16-110-403 then makes you prepare and file your written allegations and interrogatories with the issuing clerk on the day the writ is sued out, reaching property held at service or at any time thereafter. A circuit court writ may issue to any other county in the state (16-110-412).

• Three Statutory Notices, No Statewide Form

  Arkansas prescribes no numbered form: a scan of Sections 16-110-401 through 16-110-417 returns no form number. It prescribes wording instead. The writ served on the garnishee must carry one of the two notices in Section 16-110-401; any wage garnishment must also carry the Notice to Employer Garnishee required by Section 16-110-416; and the clerk attaches, or the writ incorporates, the Notice to Defendant whose text Section 16-110-402 sets out in full.

• No Arkansas Percentage: $25 a Week Is the State Floor

  The General Assembly legislated no percentage cap of its own on ordinary judgment debt, and Section 16-110-416 reaches the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act limit only by cross-reference, so do not calculate on a state percentage. The Arkansas floor is a flat figure: Section 16-66-208(d) makes the first $25.00 per week of net wages of laborers and mechanics absolutely exempt without any schedule being filed, net wages meaning gross less the deductions actually withheld for Arkansas income tax, federal income tax, social security, group retirement, group hospitalization premiums and group life premiums.

• Sixty Days of Wages, Capped at $500 or $200

  Section 16-66-208(a) allows up to sixty days of wages to be claimed exempt on a sworn statement that they come to less than the amount exempt under the state Constitution and that the person owns no other personal property that would exceed it. That constitutional amount is a fixed dollar figure, not a percentage: $500 for a resident who is married or the head of a family under Article 9 Section 2, and $200 for a resident who is neither under Section 1, each in specific articles the resident selects and in addition to wearing apparel.

• One Writ Keeps Working on Later Earnings

  Section 16-110-415(a) makes an employer garnishee hold nonexempt wages due or which subsequently become due, to the extent of the amount due upon the judgment and costs, and subsection (b) keeps the lien running on subsequent earnings until that total is paid or satisfied. There is no re-serving each payday and no fixed term to renew. The statute names only three early endings: the employment relationship terminating, or the underlying judgment being vacated or modified.

• Garnishee Answers in 30 Days; Banks Answer by the Return Day

  Section 16-110-407 gives the garnishee 30 days from service of the writ, a figure raised from 20 days by Acts 2013 No. 229, so pre-2013 summaries are wrong. It is not an automatic default: on your motion the court may notice the garnishee to appear personally at a hearing not later than 10 days after receipt. A bank, savings bank or trust company domiciled in Arkansas faces a harder rule under Section 16-110-406, where service 10 days before the return day plus no answer by the return day means the court shall enter judgment in general terms against it.

• Your Own Clocks: Mail in 5 Days, Contest in 10

  Section 16-110-402 puts two duties on the creditor rather than the clerk. Mail a copy of the writ and the Notice to Defendant to the judgment debtor and the debtor's attorney within 5 days of service on the garnishee, by first-class mail to the last known residential address, and file a signed certificate of service on return. No further Notice to Defendant is needed for later garnishments on the same debt within twelve months, and annually after that. A writ of supersedeas issues with no hearing unless you file a written contest within 10 days of an exemption claim; the separate track in Section 16-66-208(b) states 5 days' written notice and a 5 day supersedeas bar.

• Fees, and the One Thing the State Will Not Pay Over

  The circuit clerk charges $20.00 for writs or executions (21-6-402(c)), a district court clerk charges $10.00 and that is expressly in addition to other fees allowed by law or by the quorum court (16-17-126(a)(1) and (a)(2)), and the sheriff charges $30.00 to serve the writ (21-6-307). Section 21-6-403(e)(2)(C) charges no reopening fee where a money judgment holder takes court action to enforce it within twelve months of the final judgment. Section 16-110-413 makes the State of Arkansas and its subdivisions garnishable after judgment except for refunds for overpayment of Arkansas state income tax. Confirm every figure with the clerk: no published Arkansas court fee schedule was reachable to reconcile against these statutes.