Wage garnishment in California

Most a card or medical judgment can take

20% of take-home pay or 40% of the part above $811.20 a week, whichever is lesssource

When money starts coming out

First pay period ending 30 or more days after your employer is servedsource

Creditor’s time to fight your claim

10 days after the sheriff mails notice of your WG-006source

Bank accounts

$2,325 per person is protected without filing anythingsource

How much can be garnished from my paycheck in California?

The rule is in Code of Civil Procedure section 706.050. It starts from disposable earnings, meaning your pay after taxes, Social Security, Medicare and required pension payments. Your employer works out two numbers and must use the smaller one:

• 20% of your disposable earnings, or
• 40% of the part above 48 hours of minimum wage.

At the state rate of $16.90, that floor is $811.20 a week. If your city or county has a higher local minimum wage, the higher rate sets your floor. The Labor Commissioner’s minimum wage page lists the state rate and points to local ones.

Weekly take-home pay at the state rate:

• $800: nothing is taken.
• $1,000: at most $75.52.
• $2,000: at most $400, the 20% cap.

On biweekly pay, the floor doubles to $1,622.40.

What an earnings withholding order is and how long it runs

In California the garnishment paper is an earnings withholding order, form WG-002. After the creditor wins in court, the sheriff or another levying officer serves it on your employer. Within 10 days, your employer must hand you a copy and the blank forms you need to fight it. The court’s guide for employers spells out those steps.

Nothing is taken right away. Withholding begins with the first pay period that ends on or after day 30 from service on your employer. Your employer may also keep $1.50 from your pay for each payment it sends the sheriff.

The order runs until the debt, costs and interest are paid. The court or sheriff can also end it in writing. If you leave the job, it dies after 180 days in a row with nothing withheld.

How to stop wage garnishment in California

Your tool is a claim of exemption. It asks to lower or end the withholding because you need the money for basic support. The right is in section 706.051. The court self-help page on wage garnishment exemptions walks through it:

1. Fill out the Claim of Exemption (WG-006) and the Financial Statement (WG-007).
2. Take or mail the original and one copy to the levying officer named in the upper right corner of your order. This is usually the sheriff.
3. Keep a copy for yourself.

File fast. If your employer hears about your claim by day 29 after it was served, withholding cannot start until day 45.

The creditor then has 10 days to oppose. If it stays silent, the sheriff tells your employer to stop or cut the withholding. If it opposes, a judge holds a hearing. Bring pay stubs, bank statements and bills. Call and a garnishment specialist goes over your order and your claim with you.

Can a creditor freeze my bank account in California?

Yes. A bank levy is a separate step from wage garnishment, but California protects a set amount on its own. Under section 704.220, money in your deposit accounts up to a yearly figure is exempt without making a claim. The Judicial Council’s table of current exemption amounts (form EJ-156) puts it at $2,325 per person, effective July 1, 2026. It applies once per debtor, not once per account.

Social Security paid by direct deposit gets its own protected amount of $4,400 for one payee. That automatic shield does not apply to a levy for child support, spousal support, wages owed or a state agency’s tax bill.

To protect more, file a claim of exemption with the levying officer. You get 15 days if the levy notice was handed to you, 20 if mailed.