Utah Bank Account Garnishment: How to Freeze a Debtor's Account After a Judgment

If the debtor who owes you money has a bank account but no steady paycheck — or if you want to hit liquid assets fast — a property garnishment on a bank account can capture whatever balance is sitting there at the moment the writ is served. Unlike wage garnishment, which drips in over months, a bank garnishment is a one-time snapshot: the bank freezes the funds on service day and holds them.

Here is how it works in Utah under URCP 64D.

Filing the Writ

After the 28-day post-judgment stay expires, file an Application for Writ of Garnishment (Form 1503DC) with the court that entered the judgment. The court fee is $75. Once the clerk signs the Writ of Garnishment — Property (Form 1504DC), you assemble two service packets, the same structure as a wage garnishment but with different interrogatory forms.

The garnishee packet served on the bank includes the signed writ, Garnishee's Answers to Interrogatories — Property Other Than Earnings (Form 1506DC), the Notice of Garnishment and Exemptions (1508DC), and two copies of the Reply and Request for Hearing (1509DC). The statutory garnishee fee for a single/property garnishment is $10.

The debtor packet — copies of everything plus the application — goes out by first-class mail or hand delivery immediately after the bank is served.

What the Bank Does

On receiving the writ, the bank freezes every non-exempt dollar in the account that belongs to the judgment debtor. This captures only the balance present at the moment of service. Deposits made after that point are not caught — a bank garnishment is not continuing.

The bank then holds the frozen funds for 21 calendar days. During that window, the debtor can file a Reply and Request for Hearing (1509DC) to claim that some or all of the funds are exempt. If nobody challenges the hold within 21 days, the bank sends the money to you, minus the $10 garnishee fee (which the bank deducts directly from the frozen amount under the May 2026 rule change, unless you paid it upfront).

If the non-exempt account balance is $10 or less, the bank returns the writ unpaid and you owe the $10 fee separately.

Protected Federal Deposits

Under federal regulation 31 C.F.R. Part 212, banks must automatically protect direct deposits of federal benefits — Social Security, SSI, VA benefits, and Civil Service Retirement — that arrived in the prior two months. The bank reviews the account's recent deposit history and shields those amounts before freezing anything. You cannot garnish protected benefit funds regardless of the judgment size.

Joint Accounts

If the bank account is held jointly with someone who is not the judgment debtor, the non-debtor co-owner can file a Reply and Request for Hearing within 21 days to prove which funds are theirs. The court will hold a hearing and release any funds proven to belong to the non-debtor.

When to Use a Bank Garnishment

Bank garnishment works best when:

• You know which bank the debtor uses (from a canceled check, a supplemental proceeding, or their own court filings)
• The debtor is self-employed or unemployed, making wage garnishment impossible
• You want a lump-sum capture rather than monthly installments

The main risk is timing. If the debtor's balance is low on the day the writ is served, you capture very little. And because it's a one-shot freeze, you'd need to file and pay another $75 writ to try again later.

For the full packet assembly checklist — which forms go to the bank, which go to the debtor, and how to handle the garnishee fee — see our Utah judgment collection guide.

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