Idaho Writ of Garnishment

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Idaho gives a judgment creditor two writs out of the same district court file: a writ of execution reaching the debtor non-exempt goods, moneys, debts and credits under Section 11-201, and, where the garnishee is the debtor employer, a continuing garnishment that the clerk of court issues on application under Section 11-704 and that orders the employer to pay the sheriff future wages until the judgment is satisfied.

2. 2

   Competing garnishments are locked out rather than ranked. Under Section 11-704, while a continuing garnishment is taking the maximum allowed by Section 11-712, additional garnishments cannot be served on that employer until it is satisfied or the amount it takes drops below the maximum, and they are then served in the order in which presented.

3. 3

   The ceiling is the federal floor restated, and restated twice. Section 11-712(1) and the duplicate Section 11-207(1) both cap withholding at the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings for the workweek or the amount by which they exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage under 29 U.S.C.A. Section 206(a)(1). For a pay period other than a week the statute delegates the equivalent multiple to the Idaho commissioner of labor by regulation.

4. 4

   The forms are statewide and prescribed. File the Affidavit for Writ of Continuing Garnishment Not Small Claims, CAO CvPi 10-1 revised 1 July 2016, and the clerk issues the Writ of Continuing Garnishment, CAO CvPi 10-2 revised 1 July 2017, captioned in the district court for the judicial district and county. A small claims judgment uses the parallel CAO SC 9 set, including CAO SC 9-9, Notice of Garnishment.

5. 5

   The sheriff, not you and not a process server of your choosing, serves the writ along with the attachment notice, the exemption notice, the instructions and the blank claim form, and the employer pays the sheriff. Section 11-706 makes your contribution written directions naming the garnishee plus sufficient copies, a stamped addressed envelope for every person served, and no expectation that the sheriff will verify any address you supply.

6. 6

   The garnishee answers fast. Section 11-719 requires full and true answers to the interrogatories under oath, filed in the cause, within five days of service, failing which you may take judgment against the garnishee by default or have the court compel an answer by attachment. Watch the follow-on clocks: the answer is taken as true if it is not excepted to or denied within three days of filing, and Section 11-720 gives you 30 days to except for insufficiency.

7. 7

   There is no statewide Idaho garnishment fee to budget. Section 11-729 makes each board of county commissioners set the sheriff fee for serving an initial order of garnishment and writ of execution by resolution, capped at actual costs directly incurred and published annually on the county website, and the fee is collected from the judgment debtor. Expect the garnishee to take money out too: $10.00 by an employer from its first answer, and $12.00 plus your prepaid $7.00 search fee at a bank.

Idaho Requirements for Writ of Garnishment

• Affidavit CAO CvPi 10-1, Then the Clerk Issues

  The writ is not drafted by the creditor. File the Affidavit for Writ of Continuing Garnishment Not Small Claims, statewide form CAO CvPi 10-1 revised 1 July 2016, in the district court file holding the judgment, and under Section 11-704 the clerk of court issues the writ on it. Form CAO CvPi 10-1 asks for the judgment date, the total, amounts paid, accrued post-judgment interest and costs, and the employer name and address.

• Writ of Continuing Garnishment CAO CvPi 10-2

  The instrument served is statewide form CAO CvPi 10-2, Writ of Continuing Garnishment, revised 1 July 2017, captioned in the district court for the judicial district and in and for the county, dated and signed by a deputy for the clerk of the district court. It is addressed twice over, to the sheriff of the county and to the employer. For non-wage property the pair is CAO CvPi 10-3 and CAO CvPi 10-4; a small claims judgment uses the CAO SC 9 set.

• Written Directions, Copies, Envelopes and Postage

  Section 11-703(1)(a) makes the sheriff serve the garnishee identified in the creditor written directions with the writ, the attachment notice, the notice of exemptions, the instructions for asserting a claim and a blank claim form. Section 11-706 makes the creditor supply sufficient copies, an addressed envelope for every person to be served and the postage, and expressly relieves the sheriff of checking the accuracy of any address or other information supplied.

• Ceiling: the Federal Floor, Restated Twice

  Withholding is capped at the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings for the workweek or the amount by which they exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage under 29 U.S.C.A. Section 206(a)(1), set out at Section 11-712(1) and again at Section 11-207(1). That is the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act floor restated in Idaho words, not a state rule beating it, so do not look for an Idaho percentage or a state minimum wage. Non-weekly pay periods use the multiple the Idaho commissioner of labor prescribes by regulation.

• Later Garnishments Cannot Be Served At All

  Section 11-704 does not rank competing garnishments, it bars service. While the running continuing garnishment takes the maximum allowed by Section 11-712, additional garnishments cannot be served on that employer until it is satisfied or the amount taken drops below the maximum, and they then go in the order in which presented. The writ prints that notice to the employer. Support withholding is outside the queue and operates continuously under Section 11-705(2).

• Five Days to Answer the Interrogatories

  Section 11-719 requires the garnishee to answer the interrogatories fully and truly under oath and file them in the cause within five days of service, failing which the creditor may take judgment by default or have the court compel an answer by attachment. Then watch two follow-on clocks: the answer is taken as true and sufficient if not excepted to or denied within three days of filing (Section 11-722), and the creditor has 30 days to except for insufficiency (Section 11-720).

• Duration, the 90 Day Return and Interim Returns

  One writ keeps capturing future pay periods: Sections 11-701(1) and 11-704 both run it until the judgment is satisfied, and Section 11-704 puts the duty not to collect past the amount due on the creditor alone. The paper cycles separately. Section 11-702 makes a garnishment execution returnable 10 to 90 days after the sheriff receives it, and the sheriff files interim returns no more than 14 days apart once $100 has been collected in a 14 day stretch, and no more than 60 days apart in any event. Outer limit: 10 years from entry or renewal (Section 11-101).

• Fees Are County Set, Not Statewide

  Idaho publishes no statewide garnishment service fee. Section 11-729 makes each board of county commissioners set the sheriff fee for serving an initial order of garnishment and writ of execution by resolution, capped at actual costs directly incurred, with the criteria published annually on the county website, and the fee is collected from the judgment debtor. Section 31-3203 even excepts a wage or financial institution garnishment from the statutory default sheriff items. Budget the garnishee deductions too: $10.00 by an employer, $12.00 by a bank, plus the creditor prepaid $7.00 search fee.