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Training For California Garnishment Law Requirements

What Is A Garnishment?

A wage garnishment is any legal or equitable procedure through which some portion of a person's earnings is required to be withheld by an employer for the payment of a debt. The six basic types of garnishments are child support, federal, state, or local levies, creditor garnishments, and student loans, with the largest amount of garnishments being for child support.

California Garnishment Law Requirements

California employers that receive an Earnings Withholding Order must comply with California wage-garnishment requirements as well as applicable federal law. California's current rules generally limit ordinary judgment-creditor wage garnishments to the lesser of 20% of an employee's disposable earnings for the week or 40% of the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 48 TIMES the applicable minimum hourly wage. Special rules apply to child support, taxes, bankruptcy, and other priority obligations.

California Wage Garnishment Overview

California wage garnishment is generally initiated after a creditor obtains a money judgment and obtains a Writ of Execution. The levying officer, usually the sheriff, then serves an Earnings Withholding Order on the employer. The employer becomes responsible for withholding the nonexempt portion of the employee's earnings and sending the withheld funds to the levying officer.

California's wage-garnishment provisions are primarily found in Code of Civil Procedure sections 706.010 through 706.154. The California Courts also provide specific forms and instructions for employers processing Earnings Withholding Orders.

California Wage Garnishment Limits

For an ordinary Earnings Withholding Order, California law limits the maximum amount that may be withheld from an employee's disposable earnings to the lesser of:

• 20% of the employee's disposable earnings for the applicable week; or
• 40% of the amount by which the employee's disposable earnings for that week exceed the applicable minimum wage multiplied by the number of hours worked during the week.

The applicable minimum wage is generally the state minimum wage or a higher local minimum wage that applies where the employee works. Because minimum wage rates can change, employers should use the rate applicable to the employee and the pay period being processed.

Disposable Earnings

For California wage-garnishment purposes, disposable earnings generally consist of compensation remaining after deductions required by law. Required deductions can include federal and state income taxes, Social Security, Medicare, other state or local taxes, and mandatory contributions to public employee retirement systems.

California's definition of disposable earnings is important because the garnishment percentage is not simply calculated against gross wages. Employers should calculate disposable earnings for the applicable week before determining the maximum amount that can be withheld.

Earnings can include wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, sick pay, and vacation pay. Tips generally are not considered earnings paid by the employer for purposes of an ordinary Earnings Withholding Order.

California Garnishment Process and Employer Response

After a sheriff, marshal, or other levying officer serves an Earnings Withholding Order on an employer, the employer must promptly review the order and begin complying with its requirements.

California employers receive an Earnings Withholding Order, Employer's Return, employee instructions, and exemption-related forms. The California Courts require the employer to provide specified documents to the employee within 10 days of receiving the order and to complete and return the Employer's Return to the sheriff within 15 days.

Employers should therefore:

• Record the date the Earnings Withholding Order was received.
• Review the order and accompanying documents immediately.
• Determine whether the named individual is currently employed.
• Provide the employee with the required garnishment documents within 10 days when applicable.
• Calculate the employee's disposable earnings for each applicable week.
• Calculate the maximum withholding under California law.
• Complete and return the Employer's Return within 15 days.
• Begin withholding the required amount from the employee's earnings.
• Remit withheld funds to the sheriff according to the required schedule.
• Continue withholding until the order is terminated or the amount specified in the order has been satisfied.
• Maintain records of the order, calculations, payments, and related correspondence.

When to Begin Withholding

An employer generally must begin withholding from earnings payable after the Earnings Withholding Order takes effect. The employer should carefully review the effective date and instructions on the order because the timing of the first withholding can depend on when the order is received and the employee's pay schedule.

Employers should not change, accelerate, or postpone an employee's regular pay period to avoid or delay an Earnings Withholding Order.

Remitting Garnished Wages

California requires employers to send withheld funds to the levying officer. The California Courts instruct employers to pay the money withheld from an employee's earnings to the sheriff by the 15th day of the month following each payday.

An employer that chooses to make payments more frequently than once a month must generally make each payment within 10 days after the end of the applicable pay period.

Employers should include the case number, sheriff's file number when different, and employee's name with payments so that the funds can be properly credited.

Employer Administrative Fee

California permits an employer to deduct $1.50 from an employee's earnings for each payment made under an Earnings Withholding Order. The administrative fee is separate from the amount withheld for the judgment and should be recorded separately in payroll records.

Multiple Garnishments and Priority Orders

An employee may have more than one garnishment or withholding order at the same time. California law establishes priority rules for certain orders, and some obligations take precedence over ordinary judgment-creditor garnishments.

Child support and spousal support obligations, tax levies, and certain other priority orders may affect the amount available for an ordinary Earnings Withholding Order. Employers should review all active withholding orders before calculating the amount available for a new garnishment.

California's standard 20% limit is a maximum for an ordinary withholding order and does not mean that an employer can withhold 20% when a higher-priority order or another legal limitation reduces the amount available.

Employee Claims of Exemption

California employees may be able to claim an exemption when a wage garnishment prevents them from meeting basic living expenses. The employee may file a Claim of Exemption using California Judicial Council form WG-006 along with a Financial Statement using form WG-007/EJ-165.

The levying officer provides the claim to the judgment creditor, who generally has 10 days to oppose the claim. If the claim is opposed, a court hearing may be scheduled to determine whether the garnishment should be reduced or stopped.

Employers should not independently decide whether an employee qualifies for an exemption. Payroll should continue following the existing withholding order unless the sheriff or court provides instructions changing the withholding requirement.

Address Verification Requirement

California has an address-verification requirement for certain personal-debt judgments. Effective July 1, 2026, a judgment creditor enforcing a judgment for personal debt must verify the judgment debtor's address no later than 12 months before providing the levying officer with papers to serve on the debtor.

The creditor uses California Judicial Council form WG-015/EJ-135, Declaration of Address Verification, to document compliance with this requirement. This requirement generally affects the creditor's collection process rather than the employer's payroll calculation, but employers should use the current Earnings Withholding Order and related forms served by the levying officer.

Child Support and Spousal Support Garnishments

Child support and spousal support withholding orders are subject to special federal and California requirements and generally take priority over ordinary judgment-creditor garnishments.

Federal law generally permits withholding for support obligations of up to 50% of disposable earnings when the employee is supporting a spouse or dependent child other than the person covered by the support order, or up to 60% when the employee is not supporting such a spouse or dependent child. An additional 5 percentage points may apply when the support obligation is more than 12 weeks in arrears.

Employers processing child support or spousal support withholding orders should follow the specific order and apply all applicable federal and California requirements rather than using the standard 20% ordinary-debt calculation.

Tax Levies and Bankruptcy

Federal and state tax levies and bankruptcy-related withholding are governed by specialized rules. They should not automatically be processed under the ordinary California Earnings Withholding Order calculation.

Employers should carefully review the instructions accompanying federal tax levies, California tax withholding orders, bankruptcy orders, and other specialized collection documents and follow the requirements of the issuing authority.

Federal Garnishment Limits Still Apply

California employers must comply with applicable federal garnishment protections in addition to California law. The federal Consumer Credit Protection Act generally limits ordinary consumer-debt garnishments to the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage.

California's ordinary wage-garnishment formula generally provides greater protection to employees than the federal 25% limit because California limits ordinary withholding to the lesser of 20% of disposable earnings or 40% of the amount above the applicable minimum-wage threshold.

Different federal limits apply to child support, certain tax obligations, bankruptcy, and other specified debts. Employers should identify the type of obligation before determining the amount that may legally be withheld.

Protection Against Discharge

California law prohibits an employer from discharging an employee because the employee's earnings have been subject to an Earnings Withholding Order for a single judgment. This protection also applies in circumstances involving multiple orders related to the same judgment.

Employers should not retaliate against an employee or alter the employee's pay schedule to avoid complying with a garnishment order.

When to Stop Withholding

An employer should stop withholding when the court or sheriff provides written instructions to stop, or when the total amount required under the order, including applicable costs and interest, has been withheld.

When an Earnings Withholding Order ends, the employer should return the order to the levying officer and provide a written explanation for the reason the order is being returned.

Important Employer Compliance Point

A California wage garnishment should not be treated as a simple instruction to withhold a fixed percentage of gross wages. Payroll must determine the employee's disposable earnings, identify the type and priority of the obligation, apply California's withholding formula and any applicable federal limits, meet the required employee-notification and Employer's Return deadlines, and remit funds according to the order.

For an ordinary California Earnings Withholding Order, employers should generally use the lesser of 20% of disposable earnings or 40% of the amount by which disposable earnings exceed the applicable minimum-wage threshold. Because California's minimum wage can vary by location, payroll should use the applicable state or local rate for the employee's work location.

California Garnishment Forms

California employers processing ordinary wage garnishments may receive several forms, including the Earnings Withholding Order (WG-002), Employer's Return (WG-005), Employee Instructions (WG-003), Claim of Exemption (WG-006), and Financial Statement (WG-007/EJ-165).

Employers should use the current versions of the applicable California Judicial Council forms and follow the instructions provided with the garnishment documents. California Judicial Council form WG-002 is effective January 1, 2026, and form WG-005 is effective July 1, 2026.

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