Colorado Writ of Continuing Garnishment

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Once served, a Colorado writ of continuing garnishment binds the person who pays the judgment debtor, as garnishee, for a fixed 182 days: it is the clerk-issued paper, statewide form CRCCP Form 26, that makes every nonexempt paycheck falling inside that window payable to the judgment creditor instead of to the debtor.

2. 2

   The 182 days are the whole life of the writ. Code Section 13-54.5-102(2) ends the lien early only if earnings stop being due, the judgment is vacated, modified or satisfied in full, or the writ is dismissed, and nothing in the article renews it, so an unpaid balance means a second fee and a second writ.

3. 3

   Nothing is withheld on the day you serve. Section 13-54.5-105(6) starts the garnishment on the first payday that occurs at least twenty-one days after the garnishee was served, and where a writ with priority is already running, on the first payday after that one expires that is also twenty-one days out.

4. 4

   Colorado caps each workweek at the lesser of 20 percent of the debtor's disposable earnings or the amount by which those earnings exceed 40 times the minimum hourly wage, using the state or federal figure whichever is greater (Section 13-54-104(2)(a)(I)). That is tighter than the federal floor, so do not calculate on 25 percent.

5. 5

   The clerk charges per target, not per writ. Code Section 13-32-104(1)(j) sets the issuance fee at forty-five dollars for each garnishee named in the writ, so naming three banks on one writ costs $135. The published fee schedules print a flat $45 and leave the per-garnishee words out.

6. 6

   Where the withheld money is allowed to go is a Colorado rule in its own right. Form 26 lets the garnishee make checks payable to the judgment creditor only if that creditor is a licensed collection agency, or to the creditor's attorney. A creditor who is neither has the checks sent to the clerk of the court.

7. 7

   Only one ordinary creditor collects at a time. Section 13-54.5-104(1)(a) satisfies competing continuing garnishments in the order they were served on the garnishee, a writ in place outranks every later garnishment lien or wage attachment, and a child support garnishment under Section 14-14-105 outranks all of them.

Colorado Requirements for Writ of Garnishment

• Effective Garnishment Period: 182 Days

  Line 1a of the writ is a checkbox, and for every judgment entered on or after August 8, 2001 the answer is 182 days. Code Section 13-54.5-102(2) makes the writ a lien and continuing levy on earnings due for that period, or for 182 days following the expiration of any writ with priority. The 91-day box exists only for judgments older than August 8, 2001.

• No Renewal: Plan the Second Writ

  Nothing in the article renews a writ of continuing garnishment. It ends early only if earnings stop being due, the judgment is vacated, modified or satisfied in full, the writ is dismissed, or the garnishee has paid over the line 5 total. On an unpaid balance you pay the clerk again and serve again. You may instead suspend it by written agreement with the debtor, filed with the clerk and copied to the garnishee, which keeps your priority.

• Form 26 Issued by the Court Clerk

  Colorado prescribes its garnishment forms statewide: Code Section 13-54.5-111 gives the supreme court the practice, the procedure and all forms. The earnings writ is CRCCP Form 26 SC, Writ of Continuing Garnishment, revised January 2022, issued by the clerk of the court that entered the judgment under Section 13-54.5-102(1). There is no levying officer step and no earnings withholding order.

• Ceiling: 20 Percent, or the Excess Over 40x

  Each workweek is capped at the lesser of 20 percent of the debtor's disposable earnings or the amount by which those earnings exceed 40 times the minimum hourly wage, using the state or federal figure whichever is greater (Code Section 13-54-104(2)(a)(I)). Other cycles use 80 bi-weekly, 86.67 semi-monthly, 173.3 monthly. Tighter than the federal floor, so do not calculate on 25 percent.

• Fee of $45 for Each Garnishee Named

  Code Section 13-32-104(1)(j) sets the clerk's fee at forty-five dollars for each garnishee named in the writ, so three banks on one writ is $135. The State Court Administrator's JDF 1 chart revised January 20, 2022 and the judicial branch List of Fees page published January 2025 both print a flat $45 and omit the per-garnishee wording. The fee is additive to Sections 13-32-101, 13-32-103 and 13-32-105(1).

• Answer in 7 Days, Money on Day 21

  Section 13-54.5-105(5) gives the garnishee seven days from service to answer under oath, file with the clerk, and mail the creditor either a disqualifying ground or a confirmation naming the pay frequency and the first payday at least twenty-one days out. Withholding itself starts on that payday under Section 13-54.5-105(6). After that, payment comes no less than 7 nor more than 14 days after each payday.

• One Creditor at a Time, in Order of Service

  Section 13-54.5-104(1)(a) satisfies only one continuing garnishment against the same earnings at a time, in the order the writs were served on the garnishee, and a writ in place outranks every later garnishment lien or wage attachment. Child support under Section 14-14-105 outranks all of them. A garnishee served while an earlier writ is live must state the prior writs and when those liens are expected to terminate.

• Non-Wage Targets Use Form 29, Answered in 14 Days

  A bank account, a receivable or any other third party holding the debtor's property is reached on CRCCP Form 29, Writ of Garnishment with Notice of Exemption and Pending Levy, revised January 2024, under Section 13-54.5-103(2). The answer is due in fourteen days and does not release the money: the garnishee holds pending court order and may assert a setoff. A debtor that is not a natural person is reached on Form 32.