Indiana Writ of Garnishment

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Once served, an Indiana garnishment order binds the third party holding the money going forward rather than for one pay cycle: Section 34-55-8-7(c)(1) makes the judgment or execution a continuing lien on the judgment debtor's income or profits in the hands of that employer, bank or other payer from the date the order is served, limited to what the lien together with all similar liens may take under Section 24-4.5-5-105. The document that creates it is a court order in proceedings supplemental, not a clerk issued writ.

2. 2

   The paper you file is a verified motion, not an application for a writ. Trial Rule 69(E) lets proceedings supplemental be enforced by verified motion or with affidavits in the court where the judgment is rendered, alleging that you own the judgment, that you have no cause to believe levy of execution will satisfy it, that the debtor appear and answer as to non-exempt property, and that any named garnishee appear and answer or answer interrogatories submitted with the motion.

3. 3

   Indiana prescribes no statewide garnishment form. Trial Rule 82, effective January 1, 2025, says only that forms adopted by the Supreme Court or the Coalition for Court Access are sufficient and must be accepted for filing, and the Indiana Judicial Branch catalog calls its own contents sample forms maintained by the Office of Judicial Administration, with nothing at all for garnishment, execution or proceedings supplemental. Trial Rule 69(E) prescribes the allegations, so the drafting is yours and local practice fills the gap.

4. 4

   The weekly ceiling is the federal one written into Indiana law, not an Indiana invention. Section 24-4.5-5-105(2) caps garnishment for one or more judgments at the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings for that week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1) in effect when the earnings are payable, which is $217.50 a week while that wage stays at $7.25. Indiana legislates no tighter percentage of its own, and Section 24-4.5-5-102 applies the limit to garnishments of the earnings of an individual generally, not only to consumer credit debt.

5. 5

   That 25 percent is not a number you can bank on. Section 24-4.5-5-105(2)(a) lets the court set the deduction at less than 25 percent and at least 10 percent on the judgment debtor's showing of good cause, and Section 34-55-8-7(c)(1) applies the cap to the lien together with all similar liens, so several ordinary judgment creditors share one capped pot instead of queueing behind one another.

6. 6

   The garnishee gets paid out of your recovery. Section 24-4.5-5-105(5) lets an employer collect the greater of $12 or 3 percent of the total required to be deducted under a garnishment order or a series of orders arising out of the same judgment debt, once only, with one half deducted from the employee and one half retained by the employer from the amount otherwise due you. Budget for that half, and note the fee does not increase the judgment debt for the purpose of calculating or collecting judgment interest.

7. 7

   Ignoring the order is expensive for the garnishee and useful to you. Under Section 34-25-3-5 a summoned garnishee that fails to appear and provide discovery, or fails to answer or demur to the affidavit, additional complaint or interrogatories, can have the information taken as confessed or judgment entered against it by default. A garnishee that cooperates is protected: Section 34-25-3-15(b) shields it from personal liability for amounts withheld even where a court later holds the order procedurally defective.

Indiana Requirements for Writ of Garnishment

• Verified Motion Under Trial Rule 69(E)

  There is no writ to request. Proceedings supplemental to execution are enforced by verified motion or with affidavits in the court where the judgment was rendered, alleging that you own the judgment, that you have no cause to believe levy of execution will satisfy it, that the debtor appear and answer as to non-exempt property, and that any named garnishee appear and answer or answer the interrogatories you submit with the motion.

• No Statewide Form: You Draft to the Rule

  Trial Rule 82, effective January 1, 2025, provides only that forms adopted by the Supreme Court or the Coalition for Court Access are sufficient and must be accepted for filing. The Indiana Judicial Branch catalog calls its contents sample forms maintained by the Office of Judicial Administration and carries none for garnishment, execution or proceedings supplemental, so draft to the allegations in Trial Rule 69(E) and check the local court's own motion.

• Garnishee Named and Served Under Rule 4

  Name the employer, bank or other payer as Garnishee Defendant with a real address for service of process. The motion and the court's order go to the judgment debtor under Rule 5, but the garnishee is entitled to service of process under Rule 4. Under Section 34-55-8-5 the garnishee need not appear personally unless the judge orders it, and the court may instead order interrogatories that the clerk transmits by registered mail with blanks for answer.

• Date Fixed Not Less Than 20 Days After Service

  Trial Rule 69(E) bars the court from fixing the date for appearance and hearing or for answer to interrogatories earlier than 20 days after service, so it is a minimum lead time set by the judge rather than a clock that runs on its own. Nothing in the proceedings supplemental chapter fixes a separate garnishee answer period, which is why the 20 days traces to the rule and not to a statute.

• Ceiling: Federal Figures, With Room to Go Lower

  Withholding for one or more judgments is capped at the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings for the workweek, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage under 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1) in effect when the earnings are payable, which is $217.50 a week while that wage stays at $7.25 (Section 24-4.5-5-105(2)). Those are the federal figures codified in Indiana law, not a tighter state rule, and the court may set the deduction below 25 percent and as low as 10 percent on the debtor's showing of good cause.

• Current Balance and the 20-Year Outer Limit

  State the total the order collects toward: unpaid principal, post-judgment interest to a stated date, recoverable costs, less everything already collected. Nothing is reachable from wages before judgment at all (Section 24-4.5-5-104), and at the far end Section 34-11-2-12 treats every judgment of a court of record as satisfied after 20 years, so that is the outer life of any continuing lien you obtain.

• Garnishee Fee: Half Comes Out of Your Recovery

  An employer may collect the greater of $12 or 3 percent of the total required to be deducted under a garnishment order or series of orders arising out of the same judgment debt, once only, with one half deducted from the employee and one half retained by the employer from the amount otherwise due the creditor (Section 24-4.5-5-105(5)). Add the statutory costs: a $100 civil costs fee on filing a civil action, a $10 garnishee service fee for each garnishee beyond the first three, and one additional $28 sheriff service fee covering all postjudgment services in the case.

• Continuing Lien, Re-Pointed When the Debtor Moves Jobs

  The order is a continuing lien on the debtor's income or profits in the garnishee's hands from the date it is served, capped together with all similar liens under Section 24-4.5-5-105 (Section 34-55-8-7(c)(1)). When the debtor changes employers you petition the same court naming the new third party, and it may cancel the existing order and issue a new one without a hearing (Section 34-55-8-7(h)). A support withholding order is honored ahead of yours irrespective of dates (Section 24-4.5-5-105(8)).