Connecticut Post-Judgment Discovery: Interrogatories and Debtor Examinations

The Debtor Won't Pay and You Don't Know What They Own

You have a Connecticut small claims judgment, but the debtor isn't writing you a check. Worse, you don't know where they bank, whether they have a job, or if they own property. Before you can file a wage execution or bank levy, you need answers — and Connecticut law gives you two formal tools to get them.

Tool 1: Post-Judgment Interrogatories (CGS § 52-351b)

Written interrogatories are the starting point. Under CGS § 52-351b, Form JD-CV-23 lets you serve formal written questions on the debtor, through a State Marshal, demanding disclosure of finances under oath.

These interrogatories can ask about:

• Bank account numbers and institutions
• Employer name, address, and pay frequency
• Real property owned (and in which town)
• Vehicles and other titled assets
• Accounts receivable (if the debtor runs a business)

You can also serve interrogatories on third parties — banks, business partners, or anyone reasonably likely to hold the debtor's assets.

The debtor has 30 days from service to respond. Their answers must be under oath. If they ignore the interrogatories entirely, you can seek court sanctions and compelled compliance under CGS Chapter 906.

Interrogatories work well when the debtor is cooperative enough to respond — or when directed at a third party like a bank that has no reason to stonewall. When the debtor ignores them or gives evasive answers, you escalate to the next tool.

Tool 2: Debtor Examination Using Form JD-CV-54

A debtor examination puts the judgment debtor in a courtroom, under oath, answering your questions face-to-face about their income, bank accounts, and property. This is authorized under CGS § 52-397, and it's the most powerful discovery tool available for small claims judgment collection.

Here's the sequence:

Step 1 — File JD-CV-54. Complete the Application for Examination of Judgment Debtor and Notice of Hearing (Form JD-CV-54) and file it with the court clerk.

Step 2 — Court issues a citation. The clerk reviews the petition and issues a formal citation and subpoena setting a mandatory hearing date.

Step 3 — Marshal serves the debtor in hand. A State Marshal must serve the order and subpoena on the debtor at least 12 days before the hearing date. Service must be in-hand — not left at the door or mailed.

Step 4 — The hearing. At the hearing, the debtor testifies under oath about their finances. You can require them to bring bank statements, pay stubs, and tax returns. The court or magistrate supervises the examination.

Step 5 — If the debtor doesn't show up. When the debtor has been properly served in hand and fails to appear, the court can issue a Capias Mittimus warrant — authorizing a State Marshal to arrest the debtor and physically produce them in court.

The capias threat gives the debtor examination real teeth. Most debtors who receive the hearing notice show up.

Which Tool to Use First

Serve written interrogatories when you need asset information. The JD-CV-54 form asks you to identify either an execution returned unsatisfied or interrogatories served with no response within 30 days, or both.

An execution returned unsatisfied can support a JD-CV-54 application even when you did not serve interrogatories first. If you rely on interrogatories, the debtor must have failed to respond within 30 days of service.

What to Do With the Information

Once you know where the debtor banks, works, or owns property, you can target your enforcement:

• Employer identified → file a wage execution (Form JD-CV-3)
• Bank identified → file a financial institution execution (Form JD-CV-24 or JD-CV-24N)
• Real property found → record a judgment lien certificate at the town clerk's office under CGS § 52-380a

The Collecting a Small Claims Judgment in Connecticut guide walks through each enforcement tool with the forms, statutory deadlines, and decision tree for choosing the right approach based on what you discover.

See more Connecticut guides →