Wyoming Writ of Garnishment
Wyoming caps a garnishment at the federal 25 percent figure, legislating no percentage of its own, and then limits the continuing writ to 90 days with a 60 day deadline to execute. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Twenty-five percent is the Wyoming ceiling, and it is twenty-five percent because Congress fixed it there, not because Cheyenne did. Wyoming Statutes Section 1-15-408(b) and Section 1-15-511(a) each cap a garnishment at the lesser of 25 percent of the judgment debtor's disposable earnings for that week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by the Fair Labor Standards Act at 29 U.S.C. Section 206(a)(1). There is no state percentage in either section and no state minimum wage multiplier anywhere in the chapter: the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act floor is simply written twice into Wyoming's own code, once for each instrument the state issues. Scanned for the phrase, both ceiling sections return zero hits on a state minimum. So a creditor who comes to Wyoming expecting a tighter local formula will not find one, and the statewide Writ of Continuing Garnishment form reduces the federal math to a table the payroll clerk reads off directly: nothing withheld at $217.50 or less a week, everything above $217.50 withheld between $217.50 and $290.00, and 25 percent withheld above $290.00, with the same three tiers restated at $435.00 and $580.00 biweekly, $471.25 and $628.33 semimonthly, and $942.50 and $1,256.67 monthly. What Wyoming does legislate for itself is the calendar, and that is where the collection is won or lost. The continuing writ dies at 90 days. The plain writ releases the garnishee at 30. Only one continuing writ may be served on the same garnishee for the same debtor in any 90 day window. And Section 1-15-424 discharges the writ with no order at all, returning the held money to the debtor, if the creditor does not secure a garnishee judgment and execute within 60 days of the garnishee's answer. DocDraft builds your Wyoming garnishment papers from your own judgment and payroll facts, with attorney review available before you file.
Key Things to Know
- 1
In Wyoming the instrument is called a writ of garnishment, and the code issues two of them. Section 1-15-401(c) makes a post judgment writ of garnishment available to satisfy a money judgment, reaching property and debts a third person holds for the debtor. Section 1-15-502(a) adds a separate writ of continuing garnishment aimed only at an employer, which the clerk issues without any writ of execution first.
- 2
The withholding cap is the federal one, labelled as federal. Section 1-15-408(b) for the general writ and Section 1-15-511(a) for the continuing writ both stop at the lesser of 25 percent of that week's disposable earnings or the excess over 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, so do not quote a Wyoming percentage to a payroll department. There is none.
- 3
The continuing writ has a hard shelf life. Section 1-15-502(b) runs the lien and continuing levy until the job ends, the judgment is vacated, modified or satisfied in full, the writ is dismissed, or 90 days expire from service, whichever is soonest. Section 1-15-503(a) reaches earnings owed at service plus everything accruing through the ninetieth day.
- 4
Two answer clocks, and the continuing one is the trap. Under Section 1-15-407(a) a general writ demands a verified answer within 10 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays from service, even where the garnishee holds nothing. Under Section 1-15-506(c) a continuing writ is answered 10 days after the debtor's first affected payday or 40 days after service, whichever comes first.
- 5
Nothing lands in the creditor's hands automatically. Section 1-15-505(c) directs the garnishee to pay withheld earnings to the clerk of the issuing court, and Section 1-15-424 then gives the creditor 60 days from the filing of the garnishee's answer to secure a garnishee judgment and execute. Miss it and the writ is released without further order and the garnishee repays the debtor.
- 6
Wyoming blocks the obvious double dip. Section 1-15-408(a) lets a creditor ask the court to serve the employer and the bank at the same time, but once earnings shown on a pay advice have been garnished at source, the remaining proceeds of that same pay advice deposited in an account are entirely exempt, and earnings banked within 20 calendar days before service keep their exemption too.
- 7
No Wyoming statute puts a price on the writ itself. The district clerk fee list at Section 5-3-206(a) runs ten paragraphs with no garnishment or writ line, and Section 5-9-135 charges a circuit plaintiff only the $20 filing plus $40 automation plus $10 indigent civil legal services that opens the case. Budget instead for sheriff service, set county by county after a public hearing and capped by Section 18-3-608(a) at $50.00 for the first three attempts plus up to $10.00 for each later one. Ask your clerk to confirm, because the Supreme Court also publishes Rules for Fees and Costs for each court.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Writ of Garnishment in Wyoming, 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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Wyoming Requirements for Writ of Garnishment
Two Writs, Not One
Wyoming issues both. Section 1-15-401(c) gives a post judgment writ of garnishment to satisfy a money judgment against property and debts in a third person's hands. Section 1-15-502(a) adds a separate writ of continuing garnishment against an employer, which the clerk issues without a writ of execution first. Pick the wrong one and the wrong clock applies.
Statewide Forms 01 Through 08
Section 1-15-510 requires the forms to follow Supreme Court rules, and the Judicial Branch publishes two numbered families. Continuing: 01 Request, 02 Writ of Continuing Garnishment, 04 Return of Service, 06 Answer. Non continuing: 01 Request, 02 Post Judgment Writ of Non-Continuing Garnishment, 04 Return of Service, 05 Notice of Right to Hearing and Objection, 06 Answer, 07 Order on Hearing, 08 Privacy Notification Letter.
Circuit Court Up To $50,000
Section 5-9-128(a)(i) gives each circuit court exclusive original civil jurisdiction where the prayer for recovery does not exceed $50,000, and Section 5-9-128(b) empowers it to issue writs of garnishment under Sections 1-15-401 through 1-15-511. Above that figure the judgment and the writ sit in district court. Both statewide writ forms caption the circuit court and the clerk signs them.
The Cap Is Federal, Not Wyoming's Own
Section 1-15-408(b) and Section 1-15-511(a) both stop at the lesser of 25 percent of that week's disposable earnings or the excess over 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage under 29 U.S.C. Section 206(a)(1). Wyoming legislates no percentage of its own and no state minimum wage multiplier. The statewide form prints the tiers: $217.50 and $290.00 weekly, $435.00 and $580.00 biweekly, $471.25 and $628.33 semimonthly, $942.50 and $1,256.67 monthly.
Ninety Days, And One Writ Per Garnishee
Section 1-15-502(b) ends the continuing levy at the earliest of the job ending, the judgment being vacated, modified or satisfied in full, dismissal, or 90 days from service. Section 1-15-504(a) bars serving more than one continuing writ on the same garnishee for the same debtor in any 90 day period, and a suspension agreed with the debtor does not extend it. The general writ releases the garnishee at 30 days under Section 1-15-407(c).
Answer In 10 Days, Or 40, Depending
Section 1-15-407(a) gives a general writ garnishee 10 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays from service to file a verified answer, required even where it holds nothing. Section 1-15-506(c) gives a continuing writ garnishee until 10 days after the first affected payday or 40 days after service, whichever is earlier. Pay over follows every payday under Section 1-15-506(d).
Sixty Days To Execute Or Lose It
Withheld money goes to the clerk of the issuing court, not to the creditor, under Section 1-15-505(c). Section 1-15-424 then discharges the writ without further order, and returns the held earnings to the judgment debtor, if the creditor has not secured a garnishee judgment and executed within 60 days of the filing of the garnishee's answer. Calendar that date the day the answer is filed.
Budget For Service, Not For Issuance
The clerk fee statutes carry no garnishment line: Section 5-3-206(a) lists the district clerk fees in ten paragraphs without one, and Section 5-9-135 charges a circuit plaintiff only the $20 filing plus $40 automation plus $10 indigent civil legal services that opens the case. The real cost is sheriff service, set by each board of county commissioners after a public hearing and capped by Section 18-3-608(a) at $50.00 for the first three attempts plus up to $10.00 for each later attempt, and a commission of 2, 1 and 0.5 percent on money collected. Confirm the issuance charge with your clerk against the Supreme Court Rules for Fees and Costs.