Nebraska Writ of Garnishment

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Once served, a Nebraska summons and order of garnishment in aid of execution binds the garnishee as of that instant. Except where wages are involved, Section 25-1056(1) makes the garnishee hold the judgment debtor's property of every description and credits in its hands until the further order of the court, and where wages are involved the garnishee pays the employee the statutorily exempt earnings and retains the remainder.

2. 2

   One summons captures one snapshot. A lien reaching future pay periods is a second step: after the answer comes back showing the garnishee owes earnings or will owe them within sixty days, Section 25-1056(2) has the court order a continuing lien only upon application of the judgment creditor, filed on required form CC 3:8D in county court or DC 4:1 in district court.

3. 3

   The continuing lien expires ninety days after service of the writ. Section 25-1056(3)(g) lets the judgment creditor extend it for a second ninety-day period, but only by filing a notice of extension (form CC 3:8E) with the court during the fifteen days immediately prior to expiration. Satisfaction, a stay, a quash order, sixty days off the payroll or sixty days with no nonexempt earnings end it earlier.

4. 4

   Nebraska runs two ceilings and the creditor picks one on the affidavit. Section 25-1558(1) caps the garnishment at the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings for the week, the amount by which those earnings exceed thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage, or 15 percent of disposable earnings if the judgment debtor is a head of a family. The floor tracks the federal minimum wage, not Nebraska's own, so required form CC 3:8A still prints $217.50 for a weekly pay period.

5. 5

   The garnishee has ten days from service to answer the interrogatories, and the summons itself is returnable within ten days of issuance (Section 25-1056(1)). Answers go in writing and under Section 25-1010(1) need not be verified or sworn, but they are deemed true and carry the penalties of perjury if willfully falsified.

6. 6

   Issuance is cheap and the clerk does it without a judge. A Nebraska garnishment costs $5 in the district court under Section 25-1031.02 and $5 in the county court under Section 33-123(4), both confirmed by the Judicial Branch fee schedule effective July 1, 2026. In the district court the creditor also advances the transcript cost, and the sheriff or constable fee is set county by county.

7. 7

   Position in the queue is fixed by the clock, not by the size of the debt. Section 25-1056(4) ranks garnishments and liens by time of service and puts support withholding ahead of ordinary judgment debt, and Section 25-1056(5) allows only one order of continuing lien against a debtor's earnings at a time, with the garnishee's answer required to disclose any existing lien, its termination date and the case it came out of.

Nebraska Requirements for Writ of Garnishment

• Affidavit and Praecipe CC 3:6, $5 to Issue

  The clerk of the court that entered the judgment issues the garnishment summons on the creditor's affidavit, with no judicial order first (Section 25-1056(1)). File state form CC 3:6, Affidavit and Praecipe for Summons in Garnishment (In Aid of Execution), revised March 2022, stating the amount due plus interest and costs. The issuance fee is $5 under Section 25-1031.02 in district court and Section 33-123(4) in county court, matching the Judicial Branch fee schedule effective July 1, 2026.

• Required Statewide Forms, Not Local Practice

  Section 25-1011(3) directs that the Supreme Court shall promulgate uniform garnishment forms for use in all courts in this state, naming the summons and order of garnishment, the interrogatories, a notice to judgment debtor form and a request for hearing form. In practice that is CC 3:8P Interrogatories for Garnishments (stamped REQUIRED, revised January 2025), CC 3:8A Employer's Instructions, CC 3:8B Notice to Judgment Debtor and CC 3:8N Request for Hearing.

• Elect the Tier: 15 Percent or 25 Percent

  Section 25-1558(1) caps the garnishable share at the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings for the week, the amount by which those earnings exceed thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage, or 15 percent where the judgment debtor is a head of a family. The creditor elects the tier on the face of CC 3:6 (box A head of a family, box B not). The floor is pegged to the federal minimum wage rather than Nebraska's own, so required form CC 3:8A still prints $217.50 weekly, $435.00 biweekly, $471.25 semimonthly and $942.50 monthly.

• Ten Days to Answer, Ten Days to Return

  Section 25-1056(1) makes the summons returnable within ten days from the date of its issuance and requires the garnishee to answer within ten days from the date of service. Answers go in writing and under Section 25-1010(1) need not be verified or given under oath, but are deemed true and subject to the penalties of perjury on willful falsification. Before judgment the return window is five days instead of ten (Section 25-1010(2)).

• Certified Mail Within Seven Business Days

  This one is the creditor's own duty, not the clerk's. Section 25-1011(2) requires the judgment creditor or its agent or attorney to send the judgment debtor, by certified mail to the last known address, a copy of the summons and order of garnishment, a notice to judgment debtor form and a request for hearing form within seven business days after issuance by the court, and to certify in writing to the court the date of the mailing. If the debtor requests a hearing, Section 25-1011(5) has the court grant it within ten days of the request.

• The Continuing Lien Is a Second Application

  Service alone captures only what the garnishee holds that day. Once the answer shows the garnishee owes the debtor earnings or will owe them within sixty days, Section 25-1056(2) has the court order a continuing lien only upon application of the judgment creditor, filed on required form CC 3:8D in county court or DC 4:1 in district court, with the order issuing as CC 3:8M or DC 4:2. The same subsection routes each payment through the issuing court to record the judgment payment before the court delivers it to you.

• Ninety Days, Then One Extension Window

  Section 25-1056(3)(g) voids the continuing lien ninety days after service of the writ. The judgment creditor may extend it for a second ninety-day period by filing a notice of extension (form CC 3:8E) with the court during the fifteen days immediately prior to expiration, and the statute provides for no third period. It also dies earlier on any of six other events, including the debtor leaving the garnishee's employ for more than sixty days, sixty days without nonexempt earnings, a bankruptcy stay, or a quash order.

• Silent Garnishee, and Your Own Twenty Days

  A garnishee that fails to answer is presumed indebted to the judgment debtor in the full amount of the plaintiff's claim, and judgment may be entered against it for what the court finds due, after notice in the time and manner the court directs (Section 25-1028). The same section set binds the creditor: under Section 25-1030, where the disclosure is unsatisfactory or the garnishee does not comply with the court's order, the plaintiff has twenty days to file an application for determination of liability, and on missing it the garnishee shall be released and discharged.