Missouri Judgment Debtor Examination: How to Find the Debtor's Assets

When You Don't Know What the Debtor Has

You won your small claims case in Missouri. You know the debtor owes you money. But you don't know where they work, where they bank, whether they own a car, or if they have any assets worth pursuing. Without this information, every enforcement tool — garnishment or execution — is a shot in the dark.

The debtor examination exists to solve this problem. Under RSMo 513.380, you can ask the court to order the judgment debtor to appear in person and testify under oath about everything they own and earn.

How to Request One

The process has five stages:

1. File a Motion and Affidavit. You submit a Motion and Affidavit for Order of Examination of Judgment Debtor in the court that entered your judgment. The affidavit must state either that an execution was returned unsatisfied (you tried to collect and it didn't work) or that you have reason to believe the debtor has property subject to execution.

2. The judge signs an order commanding the debtor to appear at a specific date, time, and courtroom.

3. Serve the debtor formally. The order — along with a subpoena duces tecum instructing the debtor to bring tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, and vehicle titles — must be served by the county sheriff or a licensed process server. You can't just mail it.

4. The examination hearing. The debtor appears in the courtroom or an adjacent conference room and answers questions under oath. You get to ask about:

• Current employer, job title, and pay rate
• Bank account locations and approximate balances
• Vehicles owned (make, model, year, whether there's a loan)
• Real estate holdings
• Any other accounts receivable — money owed to the debtor by third parties
• Monthly expenses and obligations

5. Use what you learn. The examination gives you the targeting data for your next enforcement move. If the debtor earns steady wages, file a wage garnishment. If they have a checking account with regular deposits, pursue a bank garnishment. Missouri small claims judgments cannot become real-estate liens, so use garnishment or execution against eligible personal property instead.

What Happens If the Debtor Doesn't Show Up

Missouri courts don't issue arrest warrants for unpaid civil debts. But they do enforce their own orders. If a properly served debtor fails to appear for the examination, the court issues an Order to Show Cause for contempt — the debtor is in trouble not for owing money, but for disobeying a court order.

If the debtor ignores the show-cause order too, the court can issue a civil body attachment executed by the sheriff. This is rare in small claims practice, but the escalation path exists and usually motivates compliance.

Public Record Searches You Can Do First

Before spending money on a debtor examination, try these free or low-cost sources:

• Missouri Case.net — check for other judgments, pending cases, or property filings that reveal the debtor's address or business affiliations
• Missouri Secretary of State business search — if the debtor has corporate filings or LLC registrations, those records list registered agents and business addresses
• County Recorder of Deeds — search for real property owned by the debtor in the county
• Municipal tax assessment rolls — property tax records are public and show ownership
• Your own records — canceled checks from your dealings with the debtor may show their bank and account number

These sources won't give you everything, but they can narrow the field before you file for a formal examination.

What You Can't Do

You cannot use pretexting, false pretenses, or fraudulent inquiries to get the debtor's financial information. Calling the debtor's bank and pretending to be the debtor, or running an unauthorized credit report, violates both federal and state law. The examination hearing and public records are the lawful paths.

You also can't turn the examination into a collection call. The hearing is about discovering assets, not pressuring the debtor to pay on the spot. Any settlement discussions should happen separately and voluntarily.

How It Fits Into the Collection Process

The debtor examination is most useful early — before you've spent money on garnishment filings that come back empty. Filing a blind bank garnishment at a bank where the debtor doesn't have an account wastes the $10 clerk surcharge plus $30–$60 in sheriff fees. An examination up front can save that.

It's also useful when other methods have stalled. If a wage garnishment terminated because the debtor changed jobs, an examination can reveal the new employer.

For the full enforcement sequence — examination, garnishment, execution, and satisfaction — the Missouri Small Claims Judgment Collection Guide walks through each tool with the forms and procedures.

See more Missouri guides →