How to Garnish Wages Without a Bank-Account Number

You don't need a bank-account number to garnish wages.

If someone owes you money and you have a judgment against them in court, you have the right in most states to have the debtor's wages garnished so you can collect what you are owed. There are two ways you can accomplish the garnishment: take the money from the creditor's bank account as soon as the wages are deposited, or contact the debtor's employer to garnish a portion of the wages before they even hit the debtor's bank account. If you don't have bank-account information, your only option is to have the debtor's wages garnished.

Things You'll Need

• Court judgment in your favor

Instructions

1. Read up on your state's garnishment laws.Different states have different laws when it comes to garnishment, and some states don't allow wages to be garnished at all. For example North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas do not allow wage garnishment, and New York state requires you to give debtors 20 days' notice that their wages are going to be garnished before you inform their employer.

2. Apply for a garnishment order. You should apply to the county court in the area where the debtor lives. Once you have a court order, you'll be assigned to a levying officer who will collect the money from the debtor's employer and send it to you.

3. Adhere strictly to the garnishment order. Your garnishment order will either be continuous, which means that you can collect until the debt is paid, or noncontinuous, which means you'll have to apply for another garnishment order when the old one has expired.

Tips & Warnings

• Garnishing someone's wages could force them to quit their job or force them into bankruptcy. If that happens, you won't be able to collect. Make sure you have exhausted all reasonable efforts to collect before you attempt court-ordered wage garnishment.

• You may not be able to garnish a debtor's wages if they are being garnished by someone else already or if the debtor needs the money for basic support.

References

• Stop Bill Collectors: How to Stop Wage Garnishments Using State Laws
• Nolo: Collect Your Court Judgment With a Wage Garnishment