How to Levy a Bank Account in South Carolina After a Judgment

South Carolina bans wage garnishment for ordinary civil judgments, so an unpaid paycheck is off limits. Once ordinary earnings are deposited, they lose the unpaid-earnings exemption and become a debt owed by the bank, though other statutory exemptions and federal benefit protections can still protect qualifying funds. That makes bank funds one of the most effective targets for judgment collection in South Carolina.

The Legal Mechanism

You cannot simply walk into a bank with your judgment and demand the debtor's money. Reaching bank funds requires a court order through the circuit court system.

Two statutes do the heavy lifting:

• S.C. Code § 15-39-350 allows you to file an affidavit stating that a bank or third party holds property belonging to the debtor or owes the debtor more than $10. The court then issues an order compelling the bank to appear and answer questions under oath about the debtor's account.
• S.C. Code § 15-39-430 authorizes the court to order the bank to pay non-exempt funds directly to the sheriff or court clerk to satisfy your judgment.

Step-by-Step Process

1. Transcribe your magistrate judgment to the Court of Common Pleas if you haven't already. You need circuit court jurisdiction for this process. File the certified Transcript of Judgment (Form SCCA/740) and pay the docketing fee.

2. Prepare an affidavit identifying the specific financial institution that holds the debtor's funds. You need to know which bank — a general statement that the debtor "probably has a bank account somewhere" is not sufficient. Public records, supplementary proceedings testimony, or checks the debtor has written to you can help identify the institution.

3. File a petition with the Court of Common Pleas requesting a third-party examination order under S.C. Code § 15-39-350.

4. The court issues an order compelling the bank to appear and disclose the account balance, recent transactions, and any existing liens or holds on the account.

5. After the examination, petition the court for a payment order under S.C. Code § 15-39-430 directing the bank to turn over non-exempt funds.

6. The bank complies with the court order by paying any non-exempt funds as directed to the sheriff or clerk.

What Is Protected

Not everything in the debtor's bank account is reachable:

Federal benefit deposits are protected under 31 CFR Part 212. When served with legal process, the bank must perform an automated two-month lookback and leave the protected amount from qualifying direct deposits accessible to the account holder without requiring a formal exemption hearing. Covered benefits include Social Security, SSI, Veterans Affairs, and Civil Service Retirement.

Joint accounts create complications. There is a rebuttable presumption that all funds belong to the judgment debtor, but a non-debtor co-owner can demand an evidentiary hearing to prove which funds are theirs.

The wildcard exemption under S.C. Code § 15-41-30 may protect up to $8,000 in personal property (2026–2028 cycle) if the debtor has not used their homestead exemption. This could shield some or all of the account balance.

Practical Challenges

The hardest part is usually knowing which bank the debtor uses. If you don't have this information, supplementary proceedings (the debtor examination under S.C. Code § 15-39-310) are typically the first step — you compel the debtor to testify under oath about their financial accounts, then use that information to target the bank directly.

Timing also matters. Banks process levies against whatever is in the account when the order is served. If the debtor gets wind of the order and empties the account beforehand, you collect nothing from that particular attempt.

The South Carolina Judgment Collection Guide covers the full bank levy procedure, including how to draft the affidavit, which forms to file, and how to handle exempt funds and joint account complications.

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