Garnishing wages in Ohio: the fifteen-day demand comes first
Ohio procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Ohio does not let a judgment creditor go straight from judgment to paycheck. There is a mandatory step in between, and skipping it is the most common reason a garnishment gets unwound.
The creditor must first make a written demand giving the debtor fifteen days to resolve the debt another way.
A note on sources
Ohio's garnishment procedure is Chapter 2716 of the Revised Code, and the exemptions are in R.C. 2329.66. Both are statutes rather than rules of civil procedure, so they sit outside this site's Ohio corpus, which publishes the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure. This page describes the procedure and cites it precisely rather than reproducing the text. The official text is published by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission at codes.ohio.gov.
Step one: the fifteen-day demand
R.C. 2716.02 requires a written demand on the judgment debtor before an application for a garnishment order of personal earnings may be filed. The demand must give the debtor at least fifteen days in which to avoid garnishment by:
- paying the amount due;
- completing and returning the payment form the creditor supplies; or
- applying to a local court for the appointment of a trustee under Chapter 2329.
Two practical points for the creditor. The fifteen days is a minimum, and the demand has to actually offer those alternatives — a bare demand letter that only asks for payment does not track the statute.
And the trustee route is real: a debtor who applies for a trustee can stop the garnishment while paying through the court, so a creditor should expect it as a possible outcome of its own demand.
Step two: the application and the order
Once the fifteen days have run without resolution, the creditor applies to the court that rendered the judgment. R.C. 2716.03 governs commencing the proceeding, and the application is made on an affidavit establishing the judgment, the amount due, and that the demand was made.
The court then issues the combined document Ohio practice calls the Affidavit, Order and Notice of Garnishment and Answer of Garnishee, directed to the employer.
Step three: what the debtor receives
The employer is served, and the debtor receives the statutory Notice to Judgment Debtor whose form is prescribed by R.C. 2716.06. That notice tells the debtor how to contest, and its deadlines bind the creditor's timetable too:
- the debtor may request a hearing by delivering a written request to the clerk of court within five business days after receipt; and
- the court must then schedule a hearing no later than twelve days after the request — sooner if the debtor indicates an emergency.
So a creditor should expect a possible two-week pause between service and any money moving. The debtor's side of this is covered in stopping an Ohio wage garnishment.
Step four: the employer answers and pays
The employer answers on the form served with the order, stating what it owes the debtor, and thereafter withholds and pays over the non-exempt portion.
Ohio wage garnishment operates as a continuous order: it does not expire after one pay period but runs until the judgment is satisfied or the order is terminated. That is a significant advantage over states that require a fresh writ every few months.
How much can be reached
Ohio follows the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act ceiling: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. "Disposable earnings" is gross pay less legally required deductions.
Exempt categories are in R.C. 2329.66, and federal benefits carry their own protections independently. A creditor should assume that benefit income traceable in a bank account will be claimed as exempt, and that the hearing is where that is decided.
Where garnishment is the wrong tool
Three situations worth recognising before spending the filing fee:
The debtor has no employer. Wage garnishment reaches personal earnings. For a self-employed debtor, the target is other property or a bank account, which runs on a different garnishment under the same chapter.
Another order already takes the maximum. A second garnishment cannot exceed the ceiling, and support orders take priority.
The judgment is vulnerable. If the underlying judgment was entered by default without proper service, a garnishment often prompts the debtor to move under Ohio Civ.R. 60(B) — and a successful motion unwinds the collection along with the judgment. Where service was doubtful, that risk is worth weighing before enforcing.
The rules that do apply
Although the garnishment chapter is statutory, the Rules of Civil Procedure govern the surrounding civil action:
- Ohio Civ.R. 69 — execution and proceedings in aid of execution, including discovery of assets.
- Ohio Civ.R. 64 — seizure of person or property.
- Ohio Civ.R. 60 — the route a debtor uses to attack the judgment.
- Ohio Civ.R. 4 — service, which is where most default judgments are lost.
Civ.R. 69 is the tool for finding out whether the debtor has an employer worth garnishing, and it is usually the sensible first step after judgment.
How Ohio compares
| Ohio | Illinois | Colorado | Georgia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-garnishment demand required | yes, 15 days | notice mailed before the affidavit | no | no |
| Debtor's alternatives named in the statute | pay, payment form, or a trustee | — | — | — |
| Debtor's window to contest | 5 business days | on or before the return date | 21 days | none before disbursement |
| Order is continuous | yes | yes, lien on future earnings | 182 days | — |
| Maximum reachable | 25% of disposable | 15% of gross or the 45× excess | federal floor | 25% |
A short checklist
- Make the written demand first, and give at least fifteen days.
- Offer the statutory alternatives in the demand — payment, the payment form, and the trustee application.
- Use Civ.R. 69 proceedings first if you do not know where the debtor works.
- Apply on the prescribed affidavit once the fifteen days have run.
- Expect a possible hearing — five business days for the request, then up to twelve days to hear it.
- Serve the employer correctly and make sure the debtor receives the statutory notice; the notice is what makes the order stick.
- Check for competing orders. Support obligations take priority and another garnishment may already be taking the maximum.
- Expect exemption claims on benefit income, and be ready at the hearing.
- Weigh the service record on the underlying judgment before enforcing a default — a Civ.R. 60(B) motion can undo everything.
Where these rules live
- Ohio Civ.R. 4 — Process: Summons
- Ohio Civ.R. 60 — Relief from Judgment or Order
- Ohio Civ.R. 64 — Seizure of Person or Property
- Ohio Civ.R. 69 — Execution
- Official statutory text: R.C. Chapter 2716 (Garnishment) and R.C. 2329.66, published by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.
This page explains how the procedure works. It isn't legal advice. Chapter 2716 and R.C. 2329.66 are statutes, so their text is not reproduced on this site; check the current sections and your court's local forms before filing.