§ 1193.Summons - Service When State, State Department Or Institution, County Or Municipality Garnished - Warrants

Chapter 21: Garnishment and Attachment · Last amended April 9, 1979 · Last verified August 3, 2026

In one sentenceSection 1193 designates exactly which official must be served with a garnishment summons when the garnishee is the state, a state agency, a county, city, town, township, or school board, and directs the State Treasurer to route warrants through the debtor agency rather than pay the garnishee-creditor directly.

Full Text of § 1193

Text size

Where the state is garnisheed, service shall be made by summons, as in other cases, upon the officer having control of the department or institution which caused the state to become indebted to the defendant in the case in which the garnishment summons is issued. Where the state department is under the control of a board or commission, service of the garnishment summons may be had upon either the chairman or the secretary of said board or commission. Service upon the officer having control of a state institution shall be had upon the president of the school, college or university, the superintendent of the institution, or the warden of the penitentiary or reformatory involved, although such persons may not be technically officers. It is the intent and purpose of this section that the officer, board or commission which caused the state to become indebted, and whose duty it is to see that the indebtedness is paid, shall be the agency of the state upon which the garnishment summons shall be served. Upon request of any such agency of the state, the State Treasurer shall draw warrants, or cancel warrants already drawn by him, and reissue same in such amounts as will enable the agency of the state served to comply with the garnishment proceedings. The State Treasurer shall not deliver any warrant direct to the payee thereof, but he shall in every instance deliver warrants drawn by him to the agency of the state which caused the indebtedness, to be paid by the warrant, to be incurred. Provided, that when a state officer not under the control of a state department or institution of the state is the defendant, service of garnishment shall be made by summons, as in other cases, upon the State Treasurer. Where the county is garnisheed, service shall be made by summons, as in other cases, upon the county clerk; where a city is garnisheed, service shall be made by summons, as in other cases, upon the city clerk; where towns are garnisheed, service shall be made by summons, as in other cases, upon the town clerk; where townships are garnisheed, service shall be made by summons, as in other cases, upon the township clerk; where township government has heretofore been abolished and the functions and powers of township government are being performed by a board of county commissioners, service herein shall be made by summons, as in other cases, upon the county clerk; where school boards or board of education are garnisheed, service herein shall be made by summons, as in other cases, upon the clerk of such boards.

End

Amendment History

Laws 1925, SB 128, c. 33, p. 51, § 2; Amended by Laws 1939, HB 251, p. 1, § 1, emerg. eff. 3/15/1939; Amended by Laws 1949, HB 357, p. 97, § 1, emerg. eff. 6/6/1949; Amended by Laws 1979, HB 1020, c. 47, § 5, emerg. eff. 4/9/1979.

Plain-English Summary

Service depends on who owes the debt. For a state department or institution, the garnishment summons goes to the officer in control of it; if a board or commission runs it, service goes to the chairman or secretary; for a school, college, university, or reformatory, it goes to the president, superintendent, or warden, even though those officials may not be technically "officers." A state officer not tied to any department or institution is served through the State Treasurer instead. For a county, the county clerk is served; for a city, the city clerk; for a town, the town clerk; for a township, the township clerk (or the county clerk, where township government has been abolished and a board of county commissioners has taken over); and for school boards or boards of education, the clerk of the board.

The section also puts the State Treasurer in the middle of payment. On request from the agency served, the Treasurer draws or reissues warrants so the agency can comply with the garnishment, but he never delivers a warrant straight to the garnishee-creditor -- he delivers it to the agency that owes the debt, which then pays it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who do you serve to garnish a state agency?

The officer in control of the department or institution that owes the debt -- the chairman or secretary if a board or commission runs it, or the president, superintendent, or warden for a school, college, university, or reformatory.

Who do you serve to garnish a county, city, or town?

The county clerk, city clerk, or town clerk, respectively (the township clerk for a township, or the county clerk where township government has been abolished).

Does the State Treasurer pay the garnishee-creditor directly?

No -- he draws or reissues warrants and delivers them to the state agency that owes the debt, which then pays the warrant.

What if a state officer isn't attached to any department or institution?

Then service is made on the State Treasurer instead.

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: how to garnish a state agency oklahomaserving garnishment summons on county clerkstate treasurer garnishment warrants12 O.S. § 1193