DC Debtor Examination After Judgment — Oral Exam Procedure

You Can't Garnish What You Can't Find

The biggest obstacle to collecting a small claims judgment in DC is often the simplest one: you don't know where the debtor works, which bank they use, or what assets they own. Without that information, wage garnishment and bank levies are blind shots.

DC Superior Court gives you a direct solution — the oral examination (sometimes called supplementary proceedings). Under Superior Court Civil Rule 69-I(b), you can compel the judgment debtor to appear in court and answer questions about their finances under oath.

How to Schedule the Examination

1. File an application — Submit a motion or application for an oral examination to the Small Claims Clerk in Court Building B, Room 120.
2. Clerk issues a summons — Once processed, the clerk issues a summons ordering the debtor to appear on a specific date.
3. Serve the debtor — The summons must be personally served on the debtor by a special process server or the U.S. Marshals Service at least 10 calendar days before the hearing. Mail or substitute service won't work here — personal service is required.
4. Report to Room 120 — On the hearing date, both parties check in at the Small Claims Clerk's Office. The clerk pulls the case file and transfers everyone to the assigned judge or magistrate in Courtroom 119.
5. Examine under oath — You question the debtor about their finances in front of the judge. The debtor answers under oath.

The first subpoena to the debtor doesn't need court approval. But if you want to issue additional subpoenas (for repeat examinations) or subpoena third parties like banks or employers to produce documents, you'll need a court order.

What to Ask

The point of the examination is to discover assets you can target with enforcement tools. Focus on:

• Employment — Current employer name and address, position, pay frequency, gross and net pay
• Bank accounts — Names of banks or credit unions, branch locations, account types (checking, savings), approximate balances
• Real estate — Any property owned in DC or elsewhere, mortgage details
• Vehicles — Make, model, year, loan balance, where it's parked
• Other income — Freelance work, rental income, business revenue, government benefits
• Accounts receivable — Money owed to the debtor by third parties
• Recent transfers — Whether the debtor has moved money or transferred property recently (which could indicate fraudulent conveyance)

Keep your questions specific and factual. The judge will cut off anything argumentative or repetitive.

When the Debtor Doesn't Show Up

If the debtor was personally served but fails to appear, you can ask the judge to issue a bench warrant. The U.S. Marshals Service executes bench warrants in DC — there's no county sheriff.

A bench warrant is issued only when all four conditions are met: a valid summons was issued by the court, personal service was completed and an affidavit of service filed, the debtor didn't report to the clerk's office on the scheduled date, and you made an oral or written request for the warrant.

When the Marshals locate the debtor, they bring them before the court to answer questions under oath. The bench warrant is about enforcing the court's order to appear — not about imprisoning someone for an unpaid debt, which is not a crime. Sanctions are triggered solely by the debtor's refusal to obey a lawful court order.

Written Interrogatories as an Alternative

If scheduling an in-person examination feels like overkill (or if the debtor is difficult to serve in person), you can also send written interrogatories under Rule 69-I(a). These are formal written questions the debtor must answer under oath and return within the time allowed by the rules.

Written interrogatories don't require court approval for the initial set, and they don't need personal service — they can be mailed. The tradeoff is that debtors can be evasive in written answers in ways that are harder to get away with when a judge is watching.

Use What You Learn

Once you have the debtor's employment and banking information, you can immediately file writs: a Writ of Attachment on Wages for garnishment, a Writ of Attachment on Other Than Wages for bank levies, or both. You can also record a judgment lien if you discover real property.

Our DC Small Claims Judgment Collection Guide includes a ready-to-use oral examination worksheet with the key questions organized by asset category, plus the full filing procedure for every enforcement tool you might use with what you discover.

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