Ohio Garnishment Hearing and Motion to Vacate: What Creditors Should Expect

You filed the garnishment paperwork, the order went out to the employer or bank — and now the debtor requests a hearing. Or worse, they file a motion to vacate the garnishment entirely. Neither of these means your collection effort is dead, but you need to know what is coming and how to respond.

When the Debtor Requests a Garnishment Hearing

Ohio law gives judgment debtors the right to challenge garnishments. Under ORC 2716.13, when the clerk serves a garnishment order, the debtor receives a notice of their right to request a hearing. For bank account attachments, the debtor has 5 business days from receipt to request an exemption hearing.

A hearing request does not automatically cancel the garnishment. The court decides whether claimed funds can be released; ask the clerk how it handles withheld amounts while the hearing is pending.

Common reasons debtors request hearings:

• Exemption claims: The debtor argues that the garnished funds come from a protected source — Social Security, SSI, VA benefits, workers' compensation, unemployment, or child support. Under federal law (31 CFR Part 212), banks must automatically protect federally deposited benefits, but debtors sometimes need to prove the source at a hearing.
• Incorrect calculations: The debtor argues the employer is withholding more than the statutory limit — 25% of disposable earnings or the amount exceeding 30 times the federal minimum wage ($217.50 per week), whichever is less.
• Hardship claims: While Ohio does not have a general hardship exemption for garnishment, the debtor may argue that garnishment combined with other deductions leaves them below subsistence levels.

What Happens at the Hearing

The hearing is typically brief and conducted by a magistrate. You should appear — if you do not, the court may vacate the garnishment based solely on the debtor's claims.

Bring:

• Your certified copy of the judgment entry
• Proof that the 15-day demand was properly served (the USPS Form 3817)
• A copy of the filed garnishment affidavit
• Any employer answer forms already received showing the amounts withheld

The magistrate will review whether the garnishment was properly filed and whether the debtor's claimed exemptions are valid. If the debtor proves that garnished funds come from an exempt source, those specific funds are released back to the debtor. The garnishment may continue on non-exempt income.

Motions to Vacate a Garnishment

A motion to vacate is more aggressive than an exemption hearing. The debtor asks the court to throw out the garnishment order entirely. Grounds for vacating include:

• Procedural defects: The 15-day demand was not properly served, the Certificate of Mailing is missing, or the creditor filed outside the 15-to-45-day window
• Satisfaction: The judgment has already been paid in full
• Stay in effect: A court-ordered stay pending appeal or an automatic bankruptcy stay was in effect when the garnishment was filed
• Trusteeship: The debtor had an active court trusteeship under ORC 2329.70 when the garnishment was served

If a motion to vacate is granted because of a procedural defect — say you used certified mail instead of the required Certificate of Mailing — the garnishment is cancelled but you can start the process over. You will lose the filing fee you already paid (typically $85 in Franklin County), but you can serve a new 15-day demand and refile correctly.

If the motion is granted because the judgment is satisfied, it cannot be refiled for that paid judgment. If a valid stay applies, wait until it ends or is lifted before resuming collection.

How to Protect Your Garnishment

The best defense against a successful motion to vacate is getting the paperwork right the first time:

1. Use the correct proof of mailing. Send the 15-day demand by regular mail and obtain a USPS Form 3817 Certificate of Mailing; certified mail is not required. This is the single most common procedural mistake.

2. File within the window. Your garnishment must be filed no earlier than 15 days and no later than 45 days after mailing the demand. Courts strictly enforce this.

3. Check for existing stays. Before filing, search the court docket for a stay order or supersedeas bond, trusteeship, or bankruptcy filing. An appeal by itself does not automatically stay execution.

4. Keep your records organized. If the debtor challenges the garnishment, you need to produce your 15-day demand, Form 3817, filing receipt, and judgment entry quickly.

5. Show up for the hearing. Be prepared to respond to the debtor's claims and present your records.

After the Hearing

If the garnishment survives the hearing, it continues for the remainder of its 182-day period under ORC 2716.041. If it is vacated on procedural grounds, fix the deficiency and start fresh with a new 15-day demand. If the debtor successfully claims an exemption on specific funds, look at other enforcement tools — a judgment lien on real property, a debtor examination to identify other assets, or property execution.

The Ohio judgment collection guide covers every enforcement tool, the exact procedural requirements to avoid motions to vacate, and what to do when a debtor fights back at each stage.

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