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Is A Social Security Number Required To Garnish Someone's Wages

Employers require (besides the defendant’s name) another identifier such as a social security number. This is to ensure the correct person is being garnished. Without this information the wage garnishment can still be served, but your chance of receiving any funds may be reduced dramatically.

Hire a Private Investigator to get someone’s social security number to file a wage garnishment.  Complete the form below to hire a private investigator.

Find Someone's Social Security Number

What Is Wage Garnishment

Wage garnishment, the most common type of garnishment, is the process of deducting money from an employee’s monetary compensation (including salary), usually as a result of a court order. Wage garnishments may continue until the entire debt is paid or arrangements are made to pay off the debt.[3] Garnishments can be taken for any type of debt but common examples of debt that result in garnishments include:

  • Child support
  • Defaulted student loans
  • Taxes
  • Unpaid Court costs
  • Court-ordered judgments

When served on an employer, garnishments are taken as part of the payroll process. When processing payroll, sometimes there is not enough money in the employee’s net pay to satisfy all of the garnishments. For example, in a case with federal tax, local tax, and credit card garnishments, the first garnishment taken would be the federal tax garnishments, then local tax garnishments, and, finally, garnishments for the credit card. Employers receive a notice telling them to withhold a certain amount of their employee’s wages for payment and cannot refuse to garnish wages. Employers must correctly calculate the amount to withhold, and must make the deductions until the garnishment expires.

How To Garnish Wages

wage garnishment laws by state

A wage garnishment requires little effort on your part. Procedures vary by state and locality, but usually you give the sheriff or other local official (called the “levying officer”) information about where the judgment debtor works. The levying officer serves the garnishment order on the employer and the employer is required to withhold the proper amount of money (which is limited, see below) which then goes to you.

Collect Your Court Judgment With a Wage Garnishment

If the debtor has a job, you may be able to grab up to 25% of his or her wages.

If you have won a court judgment against someone with a decent job, you may be able to intercept up to 25% of his or her wages to satisfy your judgment. This process, permitted in nearly every state, is called a wage garnishment.

wage garnishment

When You Can Garnish Wages

You can garnish wages relatively quickly and cheaply if:

  • the debtor receives a regular wage (he or she isn’t self-employed)
  • the debtor’s pay is above the poverty line
  • other wage garnishments aren’t already in effect (unless your debt is for child or spousal support), and
  • the debtor does not quit the job, contest the garnishment, or file for bankruptcy.

Limits on Wage Garnishments

Under federal law, you cannot garnish more than:

  • 25% of the debtor’s disposable earnings (what’s left after mandatory deductions),
  • or the amount by which the debtor’s wages exceed 30 times the minimum wage, whichever is lower.

If your judgment is for child or spousal support, you can garnish up to 50% of the debtor’s take-home pay (55% if the debtor is 12 or more weeks in arrears). If the judgment debtor does not currently support a spouse or child, you can garnish up to 60% of the wages (65% if the debtor is 12 or more weeks in arrears).

Some states have even lower wage garnishment limits. If a state wage garnishment law results in a smaller garnishment, the state law must be followed.

How To Stop Wage Garnishment

Wage Garnishment Laws By State

Alabama Wage Garnishment Laws
Alaska Wage Garnishment Laws
Arizona Wage Garnishment Laws
Arkansas Wage Garnishment Laws
California Wage Garnishment Laws
Colorado Wage Garnishment Laws
Connecticut Wage Garnishment Laws
Delaware Wage Garnishment Laws
D.C. Wage Garnishment Laws
Florida Wage Garnishment Laws
Georgia Wage Garnishment Laws
Hawaii Wage Garnishment Laws
Idaho Wage Garnishment Laws

Illinois Wage Garnishment Laws
Indiana Wage Garnishment Laws
Iowa Wage Garnishment Laws
Kansas Wage Garnishment Laws
Kentucky Wage Garnishment Laws
Louisiana Wage Garnishment Laws
Maine Wage Garnishment Laws
Maryland Wage Garnishment Laws
Massachusetts Wage Garnishment Laws
Michigan Wage Garnishment Laws
Minnesota Wage Garnishment Laws
Mississippi Wage Garnishment Laws
Missouri Wage Garnishment Laws

Montana Wage Garnishment Laws
Nebraska Wage Garnishment Laws
Nevada Wage Garnishment Laws
New Hampshire Wage Garnishment Laws
New Jersey Wage Garnishment Laws
New Mexico Wage Garnishment Laws
New York Wage Garnishment Laws
North Carolina Wage Garnishment Laws
North Dakota Wage Garnishment Laws
Ohio Wage Garnishment Laws
Oklahoma Wage Garnishment Laws
Oregon Wage Garnishment Laws
Pennsylvania Wage Garnishment Laws

Rhode Island Wage Garnishment Laws
South Carolina Wage Garnishment Laws
South Dakota Wage Garnishment Laws
Tennessee Wage Garnishment Laws
Texas Wage Garnishment Laws
Utah Wage Garnishment Laws
Vermont Wage Garnishment Laws
Virginia Wage Garnishment Laws
Washington Wage Garnishment Laws
West Virginia Wage Garnishment Laws
Wisconsin Wage Garnishment Laws
Wyoming Wage Garnishment Laws