Tennessee Judgment Collection Forms: Garnishment, Execution, and Satisfaction

Which Forms You Actually Need

Winning a General Sessions judgment in Tennessee gets you a piece of paper saying someone owes you money. Collecting that money requires a different stack of paperwork entirely — and the forms are not standardized across Tennessee's 95 counties.

Here is what you need for each enforcement step, where to find it, and what the clerk expects when you walk in.

Garnishment Application

The core document is an Application for Order of Garnishment (sometimes called an Execution Garnishment form). This tells the court you want to garnish the debtor's wages or bank account. You'll need:

• The case number and judgment date
• The current balance owed (principal plus accrued interest under T.C.A. § 47-14-121)
• The garnishee's name and address — that's the employer (wage garnishment) or bank (non-wage garnishment)

Shelby County publishes form CV6124 for garnishment on their General Sessions Civil Forms page. Davidson County has garnishment intake forms available through their Circuit Court Clerk's digital portal. Montgomery County and Wilson County post PDF execution and garnishment writs with statutory notice language already printed on the form.

Filing fee: $25 to the court clerk, plus $50 for sheriff service (T.C.A. § 8-21-901(a)(1)). Both are recoverable as costs against the debtor.

Many rural counties don't post forms online. If your county's clerk website has nothing, call the General Sessions Civil Division and ask whether they have a local garnishment application form or accept a free-form written application referencing the judgment.

Writ of Execution

A Writ of Execution (also called a Fieri Facias or Fi Fa) authorizes the county sheriff to seize the debtor's non-exempt personal property. You request this through the General Sessions Clerk after the 10-day appeal window has passed without an appeal or a timely motion to set aside or for a new trial.

The writ itself is typically prepared by the clerk's office once you pay the levy fee ($50 to the sheriff, plus an advance deposit for towing, storage, or auction costs). In Davidson County, you fill out a specific levy request form. Shelby County uses form CV1901 for levy requests.

The sheriff handles the physical seizure — do not conduct self-help repossession or accompany the officer to carry out an unauthorized seizure.

Subpoena for Debtor Examination

If you don't know where the debtor works or banks, you can compel them to answer questions under oath through a Subpoena for Examination of Judgment Debtor under T.C.A. § 26-2-115.

Request the subpoena from the General Sessions Clerk. The subpoena must be served by the sheriff at least five days before the hearing date. You can also request a Subpoena Duces Tecum requiring the debtor to bring bank statements, pay stubs, and tax returns to the examination.

If the debtor ignores the subpoena, the court can issue a show cause order and ultimately an Attachment Pro Corpore — a civil arrest warrant to bring them before the judge. This is for disobeying the court's subpoena, not for owing money (Tennessee's constitution prohibits imprisonment for civil debt).

Satisfaction of Judgment

Once you've collected everything owed, you must file a Satisfaction of Judgment with the General Sessions Clerk. Shelby County uses form CV7224 for this purpose. If you recorded a real property lien with the Register of Deeds, you'll also need to file a Release of Judgment Lien in every county where the lien was recorded.

Failing to release a recorded judgment lien after full payment can expose you to civil liability, including potential slander-of-title or statutory-damages claims.

County-Specific Form Sources

Here is where the major metropolitan counties post their General Sessions enforcement forms:

• Shelby County (Memphis): Forms CV6124 (garnishment), CV1901 (levy), CV7224 (satisfaction) on the General Sessions Civil Forms page, plus an online garnishment answer portal
• Davidson County (Nashville): Digital form library through the Circuit Court Clerk's General Sessions forms section
• Knox County (Knoxville): Contact the General Sessions Civil Division directly; limited online availability
• Hamilton County (Chattanooga): Check with the General Sessions Clerk's office for current form availability
• Montgomery County (Clarksville): Downloadable execution and garnishment PDFs with statutory notice language

For counties not listed here, the court clerk's office is your starting point. Deputy clerks cannot give you legal advice or tell you which form to file, but they can provide the forms their office uses and tell you the filing requirements.

Putting It Together

The typical enforcement sequence produces paperwork in this order: garnishment application (or writ of execution) → officer service return → garnishee answer → clerk disbursement → satisfaction of judgment. Fees can apply at different steps; confirm current charges with the clerk and sheriff.

Our Tennessee judgment collection guide walks through every enforcement tool in order, including which forms you need at each step, what to write on them, and what the clerk and sheriff expect when you show up.

See more Tennessee guides →