Wisconsin Writ of Garnishment
Wisconsin issues no writ of garnishment. A judgment creditor files an Earnings Garnishment Notice, form CV-421, and the clerk of circuit court issues the Earnings Garnishment, form CV-422, which reaches 20 percent of disposable earnings for 13 weeks. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
The first thing a Wisconsin garnishee owes you after service is a forecast, not a dollar. Section 812.35(5) of the Wisconsin Statutes tells the employer or bank to work out whether it may owe this debtor earnings in pay periods beginning within the next 13 weeks and, where the honest answer is probably not, to mail you a statement saying so by the end of the 7th business day after the papers land. Business days govern everything else the garnishee owes you as well: 3 business days to forward a copy of any answer the debtor files, and 5 to 10 business days after each affected payday to send the money. A garnishee that does expect to owe earnings files no return and answers nothing. It simply begins withholding the pay period after it receives the form, which catches creditors used to an answer-or-default pleading. What it withholds is 20 percent of disposable earnings, because Section 812.34(2)(a) exempts 80 percent, and that is Wisconsin's own legislated share rather than the federal floor. The paper is not a writ at all. The phrase writ of garnishment returns zero hits across all 34 live sections of Chapter 812, and zero hits across the 834 forms in the state court system's own catalog, because Wisconsin runs garnishment as a separate civil action under Section 812.01(2a). You file an Earnings Garnishment Notice, form CV-421, with the clerk of circuit court for the county that entered the judgment, and the clerk issues two copies of the Earnings Garnishment, form CV-422, carrying the court seal. The window that opens then is 13 weeks of pay periods, not the life of the judgment, so collecting a large balance out of a Wisconsin paycheck is a repeat filing exercise rather than one order you set and forget. DocDraft builds your Wisconsin garnishment papers from your facts, with attorney review available before you file.
Key Things to Know
- 1
A Wisconsin earnings garnishment reaches whatever the garnishee owes the debtor for personal services, whether the payroll calls it wages, salary, commission or bonus, and reaches periodic payments under a pension or retirement program, but it does not reach anything that is not earnings, and it may not be used at all to collect a payday loan (Sections 812.30(7), 812.01(2) and 812.35(1a)).
- 2
Count the garnishee's duties in business days. Section 812.35(5) gives it to the end of the 7th business day after receipt to tell you in writing that it is unlikely to owe this debtor earnings in pay periods beginning within 13 weeks, Section 812.37(2) gives it 3 business days to forward you any answer the debtor sends, and Section 812.39(1) has it pay you between 5 and 10 business days after each affected payday.
- 3
The share is 20 percent of disposable earnings, arrived at from the exemption side: Section 812.34(2)(a) exempts 80 percent. Wisconsin's base is narrower than the federal one, because Section 812.30(6) deducts only social security taxes and the federal and state income taxes listed on the wage statement. Treat 20 percent as a ceiling rather than a floor, because that subsection applies only unless the court grants relief under Section 812.38(2).
- 4
The garnishment can come back zero no matter how the arithmetic looks. Section 812.34(2)(b) makes the earnings totally exempt where household income is below the poverty line or where the debtor has need-based public assistance now, had it within the prior 6 months, or has been found eligible for it. The Judicial Conference publishes the dollar line annually on form CV-427, effective each July 1, and for the year beginning July 1, 2026 it is $307 a week for a household of one.
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One garnishment covers every pay period beginning within 13 weeks after the garnishee receives it, then expires. Two garnishees are exempt from that expiry and run until the judgment is satisfied: Wisconsin state and local government employers under Section 812.42(2)(b), and a garnishment for victim restitution under Section 812.405. Debtor and creditor may stipulate in writing to up to 13 more weeks under Section 812.40, with another $15 garnishee fee delivered before the last affected pay period ends.
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Wisconsin runs one ordinary creditor at a time in a queue, not a shared pot. Under Section 812.35(6) a garnishee already carrying an unterminated garnishment holds your form and puts it into effect the pay period after the earlier one ends, telling you within 7 business days what the pending ones still owe. A court-ordered support or maintenance assignment under Chapter 767 outranks you whenever the garnishee learned of it, and Section 812.39(2) caps you at 25 percent of disposable earnings less the amount assigned.
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A Wisconsin garnishee that keeps the money does not simply default. Section 812.41(1) has you move the court, on notice to every party, for judgment against the garnishee for the unsatisfied judgment plus interest and costs, and the garnishee may cut that down by proving the nonexempt disposable earnings were smaller, with its liability floored at the amount you should have been paid or $100, whichever is greater.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Writ of Garnishment in Wisconsin, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Writ of Garnishment guide walks through them.
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Wisconsin Requirements for Writ of Garnishment
Earnings Garnishment Notice, Form CV-421
Nothing issues until this is on file. Wis. Stat. 812.35(1) has the judgment creditor file a garnishment notice with the clerk of circuit court, and the court system prescribes form CV-421, revised 12/22, for it. It names the debtor, the garnishee, the county and case number of the original judgment, any transcript of judgment filed in this county, and the unpaid balance including statutory interest and costs as of a stated date.
Two Sealed CV-422 Forms Per Garnishee
On the notice plus the statutory fee, Wis. Stat. 812.35(2) requires the clerk to issue two Earnings Garnishment forms for every garnishee. The prescribed form is CV-422, revised 06/22, citing Wis. Stat. 812.35(2) and 812.44(3) and legended that it shall not be modified. Blank forms may be issued but they shall carry the court seal, and Wis. Stat. 812.44(1)(b) bars any substantially different paper.
The Debtor Packet: CV-423, CV-424, CV-426, CV-427
One CV-422 goes to the garnishee and the other to the debtor, both within 60 days of filing the notice. Wis. Stat. 812.35(4)(b) requires the debtor's copy to travel with the Exemption Notice CV-423, the Debtor's Answer form CV-424, and the exemption worksheet and poverty schedule adopted under Wis. Stat. 812.34(3), which are forms CV-426 and CV-427.
Ceiling: 20 Percent, Because 80 Percent Is Exempt
Wis. Stat. 812.34(2)(a) exempts 80 percent of the debtor's disposable earnings, leaving 20 percent for the creditor each affected pay period, and that is tighter than the federal floor, so do not calculate on 25 percent. Wis. Stat. 812.30(6) defines disposable earnings as what remains after social security taxes and the federal and state income taxes listed on the wage statement. The 20 percent applies only unless the court grants relief under Wis. Stat. 812.38(2).
The Poverty Line That Zeroes It Out
Under Wis. Stat. 812.34(2)(b) the earnings are totally exempt where household income is below the poverty line or the debtor has need-based public assistance now, had it within the prior 6 months, or has been found eligible. Where taking 20 percent would push household income below the line, Wis. Stat. 812.34(2)(c) caps the garnishment at the income above it. Form CV-427 carries the annual figures, effective each July 1; for the year from July 1, 2026 the weekly line is $307 for a household of one. None of this applies to support, unpaid taxes, or a debt ordered under Wis. Stat. 128.21 or 11 USC 1301 to 1330.
Filing Fee $92.50 or $210.50, Plus $15 to the Garnishee
The Wisconsin circuit court fee table updated September 2, 2026 prints, per debtor, $92.50 where the amount claimed is $10,000 or less and $210.50 where it is more: the $20 fee under Wis. Stat. 814.62(1), the court support services surcharge of $51 or $169, and the $21.50 justice information surcharge. Add $35 per case per party for eFiling and $3.50 in Milwaukee County. Restitution garnishments are free. Separately, Wis. Stat. 812.35(4)(a) requires the $15 garnishee fee to be tendered with the served form, and the garnishee keeps $3 from each later payment. As of November 1, 2026, 2025 Wisconsin Act 179 raises the statutory fee to $36 and the surcharges to $61, $202 and $24.
The Garnishee Clock Runs in Business Days
There is no answer-or-default pleading in a Wisconsin wage case. Wis. Stat. 812.35(5) gives the garnishee to the end of the 7th business day to report that it is unlikely to owe earnings in pay periods beginning within 13 weeks, Wis. Stat. 812.37(2) gives it 3 business days to forward any debtor answer, and Wis. Stat. 812.39(1) has it pay between 5 and 10 business days after each affected payday. Service on the debtor must follow service on the garnishee within 7 business days and precede the first affected payday by 3.
13 Weeks, the Queue, and Restarting the Window
One garnishment reaches every pay period beginning within 13 weeks after receipt, then expires; a public employer or a restitution garnishment runs until the judgment is satisfied under Wis. Stat. 812.42(2)(b) and 812.405. A garnishee already carrying one puts yours into effect the pay period after the earlier ends (Wis. Stat. 812.35(6)). If the debtor answers, the money stops until a court rules, and Wis. Stat. 812.38(2) substitutes the date the permitting order is served for the original service date, restarting the 13 weeks. A garnishee that keeps the money faces judgment for the unsatisfied judgment plus interest and costs under Wis. Stat. 812.41(1).