Satisfaction of Judgment DC — How to Close the Case

Collecting Is Only Half the Job

Once the debtor has paid the full judgment — principal, accrued interest, and recoverable court costs — your legal obligation shifts from collecting to closing. Filing a Satisfaction of Judgment isn't optional courtesy; it's a duty. If you leave active writs and recorded liens in place after being paid in full, the debtor can petition the court to force the release, and you may face sanctions.

Filing the Satisfaction of Judgment

Go to the Small Claims Clerk's Office in Court Building B, Room 120, and file a formal Satisfaction of Judgment. The document must include:

• The case caption (your name vs. the debtor's name) and case number
• A statement that the judgment has been satisfied in full
• Your signature (or your attorney's, if you have one on record)

The clerk records the satisfaction on the court docket, which officially marks the case as resolved. Serve a copy on the debtor so they have documentation.

If the judgment was only partially satisfied — say the debtor paid $3,000 of a $5,000 judgment through an agreed settlement — you would file an acknowledgment of partial satisfaction instead, and the remaining balance stays enforceable.

Release Active Garnishments

If you have any active writs — a wage garnishment running through the debtor's employer, a bank account freeze, or a pending condemnation motion — you must release them at the same time you file the satisfaction.

Under Superior Court Civil Rule 69-I(f), file written notices of release with the court and send them directly to every garnishee (the employer, the bank, or any other entity holding the debtor's funds). The garnishee needs the release to stop withholding and unfreeze accounts.

Don't wait for the garnishee to figure it out on their own. If the employer keeps withholding wages after you've been paid in full, you're responsible for returning the overpayment, and the debtor may have grounds for a court claim against you.

Release the Judgment Lien

If you recorded a certified transcript with the DC Recorder of Deeds to create a real property lien, you must record a Certificate of Satisfaction with the Recorder to clear the lien from the debtor's property title. The Recorder of Deeds office is at 1101 4th Street SW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20024.

Until you file this release, the debtor can't sell or refinance their property with clean title. A title company will hold up any closing until the lien is cleared, and the debtor will rightfully point them to you.

The recording fee for the lien release matches the standard Recorder of Deeds filing fee schedule.

When the Debtor Pays Through Multiple Channels

If collection involved multiple enforcement tools — say wage garnishment brought in $2,000, a bank levy captured $1,500, and the debtor paid $1,500 directly — make sure your payment ledger accounts for all sources before filing the satisfaction. Include all partial payments, the dates received, how each was applied (interest first, then costs, then principal), and the final zero balance.

Our DC Small Claims Judgment Collection Guide includes a satisfaction-of-judgment protocol and payment tracking ledger that accounts for every dollar from multiple collection channels, so you can close the case cleanly and document everything for both the court and the debtor.

See more District of Columbia guides →