DC Wage Garnishment After Small Claims Judgment

How Wage Garnishment Works in DC

Wage garnishment is the most common enforcement tool for collecting a small claims judgment in the District of Columbia. When the debtor has a regular job, you can redirect a portion of every paycheck to yourself until the judgment is paid in full — including post-judgment interest and court costs.

The process runs through the Small Claims Clerk's Office in Court Building B, Room 120, and the legal framework sits in DC Code § 16-571 through § 16-577 and Superior Court Civil Rule 69-II.

Filing the Writ of Attachment on Wages

Before you file, confirm two things: the 14-day automatic stay (for contested judgments) has passed, and the debtor is actually employed in the District. If you don't know where they work, you may need to run a debtor examination first.

Here's the filing sequence:

1. Complete the application — File an Application for Writ of Attachment on Wages with the Small Claims Clerk. The form references the case number, judgment date, and total amount owed.
2. Pay the fee — The filing fee is $10 per writ.
3. Receive the writ packet — The clerk issues the formal Writ of Attachment on Wages, which includes interrogatories the employer must answer and a notice of exemption rights for the debtor.
4. Serve the employer — Have a special process server, certified mail, or the U.S. Marshals Service deliver the writ packet to the employer's registered agent or payroll department within DC. If the employer is a corporation based outside DC, serve their designated DC registered agent.
5. Employer files answers — Under DC Code § 16-573, the employer has 10 calendar days after service to file answers with the court and serve copies on both you and the debtor.

Once served, the writ operates as a continuing lien on the debtor's wages. The employer withholds the garnishable amount from each paycheck until the full judgment plus interest and costs is satisfied, or until you release the writ.

How Much Can Be Garnished

DC law caps the amount that can be taken from each paycheck. Under DC Code § 16-572, for weekly wages the attachment is limited to 25% of the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 40 times the DC minimum wage.

"Disposable earnings" means gross pay minus mandatory deductions (federal and DC income tax, FICA, Medicare, mandatory retirement contributions). Voluntary deductions like health insurance premiums or 401(k) contributions don't reduce the disposable earnings figure.

With DC's minimum wage at $18.40/hour effective July 1, 2026, the 40× threshold works out to $736 per week. If the debtor's weekly disposable earnings are $736 or less, their entire paycheck is exempt — you get nothing from that week. Above $736, up to 25% of the amount over $736 may be withheld.

Example: A debtor earning $1,000 per week in disposable earnings. The amount over $736 is $264; 25% of that is $66, so the employer may withhold up to $66.

Example: A debtor earning $800 per week in disposable earnings. The amount over $736 is $64; 25% of that is $16, so the employer may withhold up to $16.

Only One Writ at a Time

DC law allows only one active wage garnishment against a debtor's earnings at any given time. If another creditor already has a writ in place, yours goes into a queue and activates only after the prior one is fully satisfied. Child support withholding orders take priority over all commercial judgment garnishments regardless of when they were filed.

What Happens If the Debtor Claims Exemptions

After the writ is served, the clerk sends the debtor a Notice of Exemption Rights. The debtor can file a Motion Claiming Exemptions with the Small Claims Clerk, and the court must schedule a hearing within 10 calendar days. Until the judge rules, the contested funds stay frozen.

Common exemption claims include income below the statutory floor, Social Security and VA benefits that are fully exempt under federal law, and misidentification of the earnings being garnished.

The Complete Garnishment Walkthrough

Getting the math right and the paperwork filed in the correct sequence saves you from rejected writs and wasted filing fees. Our DC Small Claims Judgment Collection Guide includes the full wage garnishment procedure with exemption calculation worksheets, employer service instructions, and a tracking ledger for partial payments received through payroll.

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