Virginia Writ of Garnishment

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   A Virginia garnishment summons reaches either the judgment debtor's wages, salary and other compensation, or some other debt due or property the garnishee holds, but never both in the same paper, because Section 8.01-511(C) makes the creditor check exactly one of those two boxes and leaves the garnishee not liable for any property the summons failed to specify.

2. 2

   The paper is a garnishment summons, not a writ. Section 8.01-511(A) has the judgment creditor sue it out of the clerk's office of the court from which execution issued, on the lien of a writ of fieri facias the creditor already holds, and it must be directed to a single garnishee for a single judgment debtor.

3. 3

   Virginia prescribes the form by statute and the two court levels differ. Section 8.01-512.3 reproduces the whole summons, front side and plain language reverse. General district court takes form DC-451, revised 07/26, for a $36 clerk fee under Section 16.1-69.48:2. A circuit court wants two papers, the Suggestion for Summons in Garnishment on CC-1485 revised 07/26 and the summons on CC-1486 revised 1/25, and its clerk charges $15 where the case does not exceed $500 and $25 in all other cases.

4. 4

   Section 34-29(A) caps an ordinary wage garnishment at the lesser of 25 percent of that week's disposable earnings, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage or the Virginia minimum hourly wage, whichever of the two minimums is greater. Virginia's own minimum is $12.77 per hour from January 1, 2026 until January 1, 2027 under Section 40.1-28.10(B), so 40 times it shelters $510.80 of weekly disposable earnings.

5. 5

   That second prong is why plenty of Virginia paychecks yield nothing. The federal floor for ordinary debt stops at 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, about $217.50 a week, while Virginia shelters more than twice that, so a judgment debtor at or below roughly $511 of weekly disposable earnings has no garnishable wages at all. Virginia writes its own 25 percent in Section 34-29(A)(1) rather than borrowing the federal limit, so quote the state pair, not the federal number.

6. 6

   Plan around the return date rather than a renewal. Section 8.01-514 makes the summons returnable within 90 days of issuance, or not more than 180 days for a wage garnishment, and Virginia has no continuing garnishment, so later earnings require a fresh summons. Section 8.01-511(E) then blocks a second summons against the same judgment debtor inside 18 months unless the creditor can truthfully allege one of five other listed grounds, and a knowingly false allegation is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

7. 7

   Since the 2026 session a bank garnishment lands on an automatic floor. Section 34-4.3 makes the financial institution hold exempt a minimum protected account balance of up to $1,000 combined across the debtor's accounts, and Section 34-4.4 adds a protected amount equal to benefit payments deposited in the two months before its account review. Only funds above the sum of both are garnishable, and the debtor has to claim neither.

Virginia Requirements for Writ of Garnishment

• Suggestion Sued Out on Your Fieri Facias Lien

  The summons rides on a lien you already hold. Section 8.01-511(A) lets you sue it out of the clerk's office of the court from which execution on the judgment issued, on a suggestion that by reason of the lien of your writ of fieri facias a third party is liable to the judgment debtor. The judgment must still be enforceable under Section 8.01-251. If the debtor has moved, you may instead docket the case where he now resides, filing an abstract of the judgment and any release in both courts.

• Form DC-451, or CC-1485 Plus CC-1486

  Section 8.01-512.3 prescribes the summons verbatim, front side plus the plain language reverse. General district court uses form DC-451, GARNISHMENT SUMMONS, stamped revision 07/26 front and reverse and citing Sections 8.01-511 and 8.01-512.3. A circuit court takes two papers: the Suggestion for Summons in Garnishment on CC-1485, revised 07/26, and then the summons itself on CC-1486, revised 1/25.

• One Garnishee, One Debtor, One Box Checked

  Section 8.01-511(C) imposes four requisites on a wage summons: it must be in the prescribed form, be directed to only one garnishee for only one judgment debtor, carry both the TOTAL BALANCE DUE and the debtor's social security number in the proper places, and specify whether it attacks wages, salary or other compensation or instead some other debt due or property. Miss any of them and the garnishee answers to that effect, the summons is void on transmission of that answer, and the garnishee owes you nothing.

• Ceiling: Virginia's Own Pair, Not the Federal One

  Section 34-29(A) caps an ordinary wage garnishment at the lesser of 25 percent of that week's disposable earnings, or the amount by which they exceed 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage or the Virginia minimum hourly wage, whichever is greater. At Virginia's $12.77 minimum for 2026 that shelters $510.80 a week, against roughly $217.50 under the federal floor, so a debtor near or below that yields nothing. For other pay cycles the statute prints no multiplier and directs the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to set one by regulation.

• Total Balance Due and Interest to the Return Day

  The figure the garnishee is told to rely on. Section 8.01-511(D) has you specify in the suggestion the interest claimed on the judgment calculated to the return day of the summons, set out any credits already made, and roll in post-judgment costs paid to a clerk, sheriff or process server, with a process server's chargeable fee capped at what the sheriff could charge. The summons then prints judgment principal, credits, interest, judgment costs, attorney's fee and garnishment costs down to one TOTAL BALANCE DUE.

• The Return Date Is the Deadline, 90 or 180 Days

  Virginia sets no day count for the garnishee's answer. The summons commands it to file a written answer, deliver payment to the court, or appear on the return date, and to withhold everything the debtor may be entitled to between service and that appearance date. Section 8.01-514 makes the summons returnable within 90 days of issuance, or not more than 180 days for a wage garnishment. There is no continuing garnishment, so later pay periods need a new summons. Section 8.01-520 lets the garnishee pay the clerk before the return day.

• The 18-Month Bar on a Repeat Summons

  Section 8.01-511(E) requires the suggestion to allege one of six grounds, the general one being that no summons has issued on your suggestion against this judgment debtor within 18 months. The usual route past it is the first ground, a judgment on which a prior summons issued but was not fully satisfied. The others cover necessaries such as food, rent, utilities, drugs or medical care, a refinance of a lawful loan, an endorser or comaker obligation, and a debt reaffirmed after bankruptcy. Section 8.01-511(F) makes a knowingly false allegation a Class 1 misdemeanor.

• Garnishee Default, and Priority Through the Writ

  A garnishee that fails to appear or answer is handled under Section 8.01-519 through Sections 8.01-564 and 8.01-565, without a jury in general district court: the court may compel appearance or hear proof and order as if it had appeared on examination. Under Section 8.01-516.1(A) an admitted, undisputed liability is ordered delivered without judgment against the garnishee, but failure to comply within thirty days after service of that order lets judgment be entered against it. Virginia's garnishment article sets no priority rule; Section 8.01-488 gives the first writ of fieri facias delivered to the officer priority, with simultaneous deliveries satisfied ratably.