Delaware Writ of Garnishment

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Once served, a Delaware writ of garnishment binds the employer or other garnishee to withhold the attachable wages for any work week or other pay period, and to hold all money or other property of the judgment debtor in its possession, until the judgment, interest, other charges and costs are satisfied or until the issuing court notifies it otherwise (Justice of the Peace Civil Form 17).

2. 2

   The statutes never use the phrase. The string writ of garnishment returns zero hits across the attachment chapter, both execution subchapters and the justice-of-the-peace debt subchapter; Title 10 calls it an execution attachment and Section 5031 describes an attachment issued on a judgment containing an order for the summoning of garnishees. The court's own request form is nonetheless captioned a writ of garnishment, so file on the form and cite the Code.

3. 3

   The ceiling is 15 percent, not 25. Section 4913(a) exempts eighty-five percent of the amount of the wages for labor or service of a person residing in Delaware from both mesne and execution attachment process. The exemption does not apply to process issued to collect a fine, costs, or taxes due and owing the State.

4. 4

   Compute it each period on Civil Form 34, which takes the lesser of 15 percent of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the minimum hourly wage, and which directs the filer to the current Delaware Department of Labor rate. Section 902(a)(5) of Title 19 sets that rate at not less than $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2025. In a week where the subtraction comes out negative, nothing is attachable at all.

5. 5

   Only one creditor can hold the wage line. Section 4913(b) permits one attachment on any amount of wages due and gives its holder priority until the judgment with costs is paid in full, so Form 17A gives the garnishee a box and a table for reporting that the wages are already attached by someone else.

6. 6

   Which courthouse depends on the size of the judgment, and so does the fee. The Justice of the Peace Court handles claims up to $25,000 and charges $30 for an execution wage attachment or levy. The Court of Common Pleas reaches $75,000 and charges $20 for a wage attachment writ. The Superior Court charges $65 for each execution writ, and in both courts of record the sheriff's service is paid separately.

7. 7

   The money never touches the court. Form 17 orders the garnishee to send the amount withheld directly to the judgment creditor or their legal representative and not to the court, and the Justice of the Peace Court's current post-judgment procedures sheet confirms the court does not accept payment on judgments. Section 9567 then gives the creditor 90 days from payment in full to enter satisfaction, on pain of forfeiting to the debtor any sum up to one-half the judgment.

Delaware Requirements for Writ of Garnishment

• Right Court for the Judgment Size

  The writ issues out of the court that entered the judgment, and Delaware splits that three ways. Justice of the Peace Court: civil claims to $25,000 (Section 9301(1) of Title 10). Court of Common Pleas: civil actions at law not exceeding $75,000 (Section 1322(a)), with all the powers of a court of record possessed by the Superior Court (Section 1324). Superior Court: jurisdiction as the Constitution and laws confer (Section 541), with the Prothonotary issuing the execution attachment under Section 5031.

• Issuance Fee: $30, $20 or $65

  Justice of the Peace Court: $30 for an Execution (Wage Attachment/Levy) on its published civil fee schedule, which Section 9801 of Title 10 vests in court rule subject to Supreme Court approval. Court of Common Pleas: $20 for a wage attachment writ. Superior Court: $65 for each execution writ under the Civil Rule 77(h) schedule, which is not the $200 attachment complaint fee. Both courts of record pay sheriff's service separately, and Superior Court Civil Rule 5(aa)(2) requires $20 prepaid per garnishee except for a Section 4913 wage garnishment.

• Form 17, With 17A or 17B Attached

  Section 9548 of Title 10 leaves the form of execution process to the Court, so these are court-prescribed. File Civil Form 17, GARNISHMENT OF WAGES AND/OR PROPERTY ATTACHMENT (Rev 9/18/2024), and check either Attachment of Wages or Attachment other than Wages with a description. Caption the garnishee's answer form before filing: Form 17A, ANSWER TO REQUEST FOR GARNISHMENT OF WAGES (ATTACHMENT FIERI FACIAS) (Rev. 7/7/25), or Form 17B for anything other than wages. A levy on goods and chattels is a separate filing on Form 16.

• Ceiling: 15 Percent, Not 25

  Section 4913(a) of Title 10 exempts eighty-five percent of the amount of the wages for labor or service of a person residing in the State from both mesne and execution attachment process, so 15 percent is the reachable share. Compute it on the court's Civil Form 34: the lesser of 15 percent of disposable earnings, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the minimum hourly wage, using the current Department of Labor rate, which Section 902(a)(5) of Title 19 sets at not less than $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2025. The exemption does not apply to process for a fine, costs or state taxes.

• One Attachment on Any Wages Due

  Section 4913(b) permits only one attachment on any amount of wages due and gives the creditor who made it the benefit of priority until the judgment with costs for which it was made has been paid in full. A later writ is not second in line; it collects nothing, and Form 17A gives the garnishee a table for reporting the first attachment's court, case number, plaintiff, date and amount. Check whether the paycheck is already attached before you spend a writ on it.

• Answer in 20 Days, Pay the Creditor Direct

  Form 17 orders the garnishee to return the enclosed answer to the Court within 20 days, and Civil Rule 5(aa)(2) in both courts of record requires a verified answer served on the plaintiff within 20 days after service of process. Section 9549(a) sets the Justice of the Peace Court appearance day at not less than 5 days from the date of the execution and not after its return day, which Section 9547(b) fixes at 30 to 60 days out. A separate 10-day clock runs on the Garnishee's Notice of Service form under Section 9586(d). Withheld sums go directly to the creditor, never to the court.

• Five Years, Then Scire Facias

  One writ keeps capturing pay periods: Form 17 commands withholding until the judgment, interest, charges and costs are satisfied or the court orders otherwise, and Section 9549(b) keeps the garnishee answerable until the judgment with costs has been paid. The outer limit is the execution window. Section 5072(a) allows execution within 5 years of entry, Section 5073 gives a transferred judgment the same window, and Section 9581(a) bars execution after 5 years from when it might first have issued, except in the regular continuance of process, until revival by scire facias on Form 15A for $20.

• Garnishee Exposure and the Bank Carve-Out

  Form 17 warns the garnishee that the judgment may be transferred to it for non-compliance, and Civil Rule 5(aa)(2) lets the plaintiff move for personal judgment against the garnishee for the lesser of the value of the debtor's property in its hands or the plaintiff's judgment, with interest and costs. Section 9588(b) enters judgment on an admission; Section 9586(b) compels appearance. Note the limits before you serve: Section 3502(b) says banks, trust companies, savings institutions and loan associations are not subject to the attachment laws except as to their own employee's wages, Section 3502(c) carves out insurers, and Section 3509 bars dismissing an employee for being garnisheed. How far 3502(b) reaches a post-judgment attachment is worth putting to counsel.