Missouri Garnishment by County: Jackson, St. Louis, Greene and Rural Circuit Differences

Every Missouri county uses the same OSCA garnishment forms — CV92 for the application, CV110 for interrogatories, CV96 for head-of-family exemption claims. But the process of getting those forms filed, served, and enforced varies more than most judgment creditors expect. The serving officer, fees, and filing method differ between circuits, and getting any of those wrong delays your collection by weeks.

Jackson County (16th Judicial Circuit)

Jackson County is the biggest exception to the normal Missouri garnishment process. The county sheriff does not serve garnishments or executions. Instead, the 16th Circuit operates its own Department of Civil Process, which handles all civil service including writs of garnishment and execution.

Key differences for Jackson County:

• Service deposit: $46 per defendant, paid to the Department of Civil Process
• Clerk surcharge: $10 (same statewide)
• eCheck fee: $0.60 per electronic payment transaction
• Filing: Pro se litigants can file paper forms at the clerk's window or mail them in. Attorneys must e-file through the Missouri eFiling System.

The Department of Civil Process is located in the Jackson County Courthouse. Don't mail your garnishment application to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office — it won't be processed.

St. Louis County (21st Judicial Circuit)

St. Louis County follows the standard model where the St. Louis County Sheriff's Department handles civil process service.

Key details:

• Service deposit: $46 per defendant ($40 if served at the Government Center)
• Clerk surcharge: $10
• Certified mail option: $10 per defendant for service by mail (an alternative to sheriff service)
• Transcript of Judgment: Confirm the current form and fee with the 21st Circuit before filing a real-estate lien

St. Louis County's Associate Civil Division provides local supplementary forms beyond the standard OSCA set. Check the 21st Circuit's website for any county-specific cover sheets or payment instructions.

City of St. Louis (22nd Judicial Circuit)

The City of St. Louis is an independent city — not part of St. Louis County — with its own circuit court and its own sheriff. Civil process is served by the Sheriff of the City of St. Louis under RSMo § 57.450.

• Clerk surcharge: $10
• Service fees: Vary by type, payable directly to the City Sheriff's office
• Additional fee: Some filings carry a $30 Family Services and Justice Fund surcharge where statutorily required

Don't confuse the City of St. Louis circuit with St. Louis County. They're separate courts with separate clerks, separate sheriffs, and separate fee schedules. A garnishment filed in the wrong one won't be processed.

Greene County (31st Judicial Circuit)

Greene County (Springfield) follows the standard sheriff-service model with a few local nuances:

• Service deposit: $55 per defendant (higher than the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas)
• Clerk surcharge: $10
• Continuous garnishment: Pro se creditors' remittances from continuous wage garnishments are routed through the Circuit Clerk, not directly to the creditor

The higher service fee reflects rural fee schedules that some out-of-metro courts apply.

Rural and Smaller Counties

Outside the major metro circuits, most Missouri counties follow a straightforward process:

1. File your OSCA Form CV92 and pay the $10 clerk surcharge at the circuit clerk's window (or by mail with a check).
2. Pay the sheriff's service deposit — typically $30 to $60, depending on the county.
3. The county sheriff serves the garnishment on the employer or bank.

Practical complications in rural counties include:

• Limited clerk hours — some smaller county courthouses are open only on certain days or have abbreviated hours
• Mail-only filing — a few circuits don't accept walk-in filings for garnishments
• Postal disbursements — clerks in rural counties often mail garnishment proceeds by check rather than offering electronic disbursement
• Multi-county debtors — if the debtor's employer is in a different county than the court that entered your judgment, request a certified transcript from the issuing clerk and file it with the circuit clerk in the target county under Chapter 511; confirm which serving officer handles the writ there

One Process, Many Offices

The underlying law is the same everywhere in Missouri — RSMo Chapter 525 and Supreme Court Rule 90 govern all garnishments statewide. What changes is who serves the writ and how much it costs. Before you file, call the circuit clerk's office in the relevant county to confirm the current service deposit amount and whether they require any local cover sheets.

The Missouri Small Claims Judgment Collection Guide includes the fee tables and serving-officer details for the major circuits, plus the universal OSCA forms with step-by-step filing instructions that work in any county.

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