§ 1173.Noncontinuing Earnings Garnishment - Summons - Answer - Priority of Lien

Chapter 21: Garnishment and Attachment · Last amended November 1, 2023 · Last verified August 3, 2026

In one sentenceSection 1173 sets the procedure for a noncontinuing earnings garnishment: filing the Section 1172 affidavit, serving the summons and answer forms on the garnishee, requiring an answer and payment within seven days of the pay period's end or thirty days of service, whichever is earlier, and fixing the lien's priority.

Full Text of § 1173

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A. Any judgment creditor may obtain a noncontinuing lien on earnings. For the purposes of this section, "earnings" means any form of payment to an individual including, but not limited to, salary, commission, or other compensation, but does not include reimbursements for travel expenses for state employees.

B. A noncontinuing earnings garnishment shall be commenced by filing the affidavit provided for by Section 1172 of this title.

C. The form for the summons required by this section shall be prescribed by the Oklahoma Bar Association. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide public access to the summons by providing a link to the form on the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN) website.

D. The summons shall be served upon the garnishee, together with a copy of the judgment creditor's affidavit, a garnishee's answer form, notice of garnishment and request for hearing, and claim for exemptions, in the manner provided for in Section 2004 of this title and shall be returned with proof of service within ten (10) days of its date.

E. The garnishee's answer shall be on a form prescribed by the Oklahoma Bar Association. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide public access to the garnishee's answer by providing a link to the form on the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN) website.

F. Within seven (7) days after the end of the defendant's then-current pay period or thirty (30) days from the date of service of the garnishment summons, whichever is earlier, the garnishee shall file the answer with the court clerk and the garnishee shall pay the amount withheld from the pay period to the judgment creditor's attorney or to the judgment creditor, if there is no attorney, with a copy of the answer which shall state:

1. Whether the garnishee was the employer of or indebted or under any liability to the defendant named in the notice in any manner or upon any account for earnings or wages, specifying, as applicable, the beginning and ending dates of the pay period existing at the time of the service of the affidavit and summons, the total amounts earned in the pay period, and all of the facts and circumstances necessary to a complete understanding of the indebtedness or liability. When the garnishee shall be in doubt respecting the liability or indebtedness, the garnishee may set forth all of the facts and circumstances concerning the same, and submit the question to the court;

2. If the garnishee shall claim any setoff, defense, other indebtedness, liability, lien, or claim to the property, the facts and circumstances in the affidavit;

3. At the garnishee's option, any claim of exemption from execution on the part of the defendant or other objection known to the garnishee against the right of the judgment creditor to apply the indebtedness or property disclosed;

4. If the garnishee shall disclose any indebtedness or the possession of any property to which the defendant or any other person makes claim, at the garnishee's option, the names and addresses of other claimants and, so far as known, the nature of the claims; and

5. That the garnishee has mailed or hand-delivered a copy of the notice of garnishment and exemptions, application for hearing, and the manner and date of compliance.

G. The garnishment summons served on the garnishee under this section is a lien on the defendant's property due at the time of service or the effective date of the summons to the extent the property is not exempt from garnishment.

1. A garnishment lien under this section has priority over any subsequent garnishment lien or garnishment summons served on the garnishee.

2. When a garnishment summons is served under this section on a garnishee while a previous garnishment lien is still in effect, the garnishee shall answer the subsequent garnishment lien or garnishment summons by stating that the garnishee is presently holding defendant's property under a previous garnishment lien or garnishment summons and by giving the date when all previous garnishment liens or garnishment summonses are expected to end.

1. When a postjudgment noncontinuing earnings garnishment under this section or a continuing earnings garnishment under Section 1173.4 of this title is issued against a defendant already subject to an income assignment for child support, the garnishee shall determine the maximum percentage of the defendant's disposable earnings according to the provisions of Section 1171.2 of this title and then deduct from that percentage the actual percentage of the defendant's disposable earnings actually withheld under the income assignment. The resulting percentage shall be the amount to be withheld by the garnishee, not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%).

2. For any involuntary legal or equitable procedures through which the earnings of any individual are required to be withheld for the payment of any debt which has statutory priority over this section, the amount withheld pursuant to a garnishment under this section shall be reduced by the actual sums withheld pursuant to such other involuntary process.

J. A noncontinuing earnings garnishment may be suspended or modified by the judgment creditor upon agreement with the judgment debtor, which agreement shall be in writing and filed by the judgment creditor with the clerk of the court in which the judgment was entered. A copy of such agreement shall be mailed by first class mail to the garnishee, postage prepaid by judgment creditor.

End

Amendment History

Amended by Laws 2023, c. 184, s. 4, eff. 11/1/2023. R.L. 1910, § 4824; Amended by Laws 1965, HB 535, c. 297, § 3; Amended by Laws 1974, HB 1614, c. 71, § 3, emerg. eff. 4/15/1974; Amended by Laws 1976, HB 1927, c. 87, § 5, emerg. eff. 5/4/1976; Amended by Laws 1978, HB 1659, c. 190, § 3, eff. 10/1/1978; Amended by Laws 1982, SB 379, c. 159, § 1, emerg. eff. 4/12/1982; Amended by Laws 1983, SB 88, c. 50, § 3, emerg. eff. 4/26/1983; Amended by Laws 1984, SB 480, c. 22, § 1, emerg. eff. 3/20/1984; Amended by Laws 1985, HB 1209, c. 297, § 14, eff. 10/1/1985; Amended by Laws 1986, SB 430, c. 185, § 2, eff. 9/1/1986; Amended by Laws 1990, SB 843, c. 248, § 1, emerg. eff. 5/21/1990; Amended by Laws 1995, HB 1324, c. 338, § 4, eff. 11/1/1995; Amended by Laws 1999, SB 751, c. 293, §14, eff. 11/1/1999; Amended by Laws 2011, SB 527, c. 187, §5, eff. 11/1/2011.

Plain-English Summary

A noncontinuing earnings garnishment lets a judgment creditor place a lien on a debtor's earnings, broadly defined to include salary and commission but not state employee travel reimbursements. The creditor commences it with the Section 1172 affidavit, then serves the garnishee with a summons, on an Oklahoma Bar Association form, along with the affidavit, an answer form, and a notice of garnishment and exemptions, all served the way Section 2004 requires and returned with proof of service within ten days.

The garnishee must answer and pay over whatever's withheld within seven days after the current pay period ends, or thirty days from service, whichever comes first, to the judgment creditor's attorney or the creditor directly. The answer states the garnishee's relationship to the defendant, the pay period and earnings involved, any setoff or competing claim, and confirmation that the required notices went out to the defendant. Once served, the summons becomes a lien on the defendant's nonexempt property due at the time of service, and that lien outranks any later garnishment lien served on the same garnishee. When the debtor is already subject to a child support income assignment, the garnishee recalculates the withholding percentage to account for what's already being withheld, capped at twenty-five percent under this section. The creditor and debtor can jointly agree, in writing filed with the clerk and mailed to the garnishee, to suspend or modify the garnishment.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a garnishee have to answer a noncontinuing earnings garnishment in Oklahoma?

Within seven (7) days after the end of the defendant's then-current pay period, or thirty (30) days from service of the summons, whichever is earlier.

What counts as earnings for a noncontinuing earnings garnishment?

Any form of payment to an individual, including salary and commission, but not travel expense reimbursements for state employees.

Does a noncontinuing earnings garnishment outrank a later garnishment on the same paycheck?

Yes. Section 1173(H) gives the lien priority over any subsequent garnishment lien or summons served on the same garnishee.

What happens if the debtor already has child support withheld from their paycheck?

The garnishee reduces the withholding percentage to account for the child support already withheld, and the combined amount withheld under this section can't exceed twenty-five percent.

Can the judgment creditor and debtor agree to pause a wage garnishment?

Yes, if the agreement is in writing, filed with the court clerk, and mailed to the garnishee.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature. Last verified August 3, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: oklahoma noncontinuing wage garnishmenthow to garnish wages oklahomawage garnishment lien priority oklahoma12 O.S. § 1173