Oregon Garnishment Laws: Rules for Wage and Bank Garnishment

You've got a judgment from an Oregon court. The debtor owes you money and isn't paying voluntarily. Oregon's garnishment laws give you a legal mechanism to reach the debtor's wages or bank accounts through a third party — their employer or their bank — without needing the debtor to lift a finger.

Here's how the system actually works under ORS Chapter 18.

Two Types of Garnishment

Oregon law treats wage garnishment and bank garnishment as fundamentally different tools, even though both start with the same document: a Writ of Garnishment.

Wage garnishment creates a continuing lien. Once the writ is delivered to the debtor's employer, the employer must withhold a portion of each paycheck and send it to you for 90 days. Only one civil wage garnishment can run against a single debtor's employer at a time. If a child support order exists, it takes priority regardless of when your writ was delivered.

Bank garnishment is a one-time snapshot. The writ captures whatever funds are in the debtor's account at the exact moment the bank receives it. Deposits made even hours later aren't touched. If you want to reach later deposits, you need to issue and deliver a new writ.

Who Issues the Writ

Under ORS 18.635, writs of garnishment can be issued by court clerks or by Oregon-licensed attorneys. Self-represented judgment creditors get their writs from the court administrator of the court that entered the judgment.

The circuit court clerk fee is $47 (ORS 21.235(2)). Justice court clerk fees are $20, but you may need to transcribe the judgment to circuit court first if you want to reach real property or use circuit court enforcement tools.

The Required Garnishment Documents

Under ORS 18.650(1), the person delivering a writ must give the garnishee the writ, a Garnishee Response form, instructions to the garnishee, and a Wage Exemption Calculation form. For a bank garnishment, the $15 search fee must also be paid to the financial institution under ORS 18.790.

The Debt Calculation Form (ORS 18.832), a notice of exemptions, and a challenge form are sent to the debtor by the person who delivered the writ under ORS 18.658; they are not part of the garnishee packet.

The court does not compile these documents for you. You're responsible for delivering each item required for the type of garnishment.

Delivery Methods

Oregon garnishments are delivered — not formally served under ORCP 7. Valid delivery methods:

• County sheriff ($25 delivery fee)
• A competent person who is at least 18, an Oregon resident, and not a party or attorney in the case; a non-sheriff server must carry the required $100,000 errors-and-omissions insurance
• Certified mail with return receipt requested

For bank garnishments, the $15 search fee must be paid to the financial institution (ORS 18.790). If it is not paid, the garnishment is ineffective and the bank need not respond.

Wage Exemption Floors

Oregon protects a portion of the debtor's wages from garnishment. Under ORS 18.385, the exempt amount is whichever is greater: 75% of disposable earnings, or a statutory weekly floor.

The Family Financial Protection Act (SB 1595, effective January 1, 2025) raised these floors significantly and indexes them going forward:

• July 2026 – June 2027: $400/week, $832/biweekly, $912/semi-monthly, $1,792/monthly
• After July 2027: the floor recalculates annually based on Oregon minimum wage (minimum wage × 30 for weekly pay periods)

These higher floors apply only to general civil debts. Child support, spousal support, and criminal restitution garnishments stay at the pre-2025 baseline ($254/week).

Bank Account Protections

Since January 1, 2025, ORS 18.785 requires banks to automatically shield the base protected amount in a debtor's accounts from civil garnishment. The amount is $2,600 from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The bank performs this review on its own — the debtor doesn't need to file a challenge to protect that baseline amount.

Federal regulations under 31 CFR Part 212 add another layer: if federal benefits like Social Security, SSI, or VA payments were direct-deposited in the prior two months, those funds also stay protected regardless of the account balance.

Debtor's Right to Challenge

The person who delivered the writ must promptly mail or deliver the debtor a copy of the writ, the original Debt Calculation Form, a notice of exemptions, and a challenge form. Under ORS 18.700, the debtor generally has 30 days after delivery of the writ copy to challenge, or 120 days to challenge the exemption calculation for wages. A challenge may also claim that the amount garnished exceeds the amount owed or that the property is not subject to garnishment. The court must set the hearing immediately and hold it as soon as possible; it does not relitigate the underlying judgment.

What If the Garnishment Comes Back Empty

An employer might respond that the debtor doesn't work there anymore. A bank might hold nothing above the $2,600 protected balance. When garnishment fails, you have other options:

• Judgment debtor examination (ORS 18.265) — compel the debtor to answer questions about their assets under oath
• Writ of execution — seize tangible personal property through the county sheriff
• Judgment lien — attach to real property the debtor owns or later acquires in the county

Oregon judgment remedies generally last 10 years under ORS 18.180 (circuit court) or ORS 18.194 (justice or municipal court) and may be extended once for another 10 years. Interest generally accrues at 9% annually under ORS 82.010; a judgment may specify another accrual date, and a contract rate above 9% applies to a judgment on that contract. A debtor who's uncollectable today might have reachable assets next year.

For the complete enforcement sequence — from the initial demand letter through garnishment, execution, liens, and satisfaction filing — the Oregon Judgment Collection Guide covers every step with the exact forms, fees, and deadlines for each tool.

See more Oregon guides →