Wage garnishment in Vermont

Most a card or loan judgment can take

15% of take-home paysource

Pay you always keep on a consumer credit debt

$290 a week (40 x $7.25)source

If you got state aid recently

No wage order if you had DCF or DVHA assistance in the 2 months before the hearingsource

Bank accounts

$700 is exempt automaticallysource

How much can be garnished in Vermont?

Vermont calls wage garnishment trustee process and your employer is the trustee. Two limits apply under 12 V.S.A. 3170:

• For a judgment from a consumer credit transaction, such as a credit card or a loan, you keep 85% of weekly disposable earnings (pay after required withholding) or 40 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is more.
• For other judgments, you keep 75% or 30 times the federal minimum wage.

The statute uses the federal $7.25 rate, not Vermont’s $14.42 minimum listed on the Department of Labor state table. So on a card debt, the first $290 a week is safe. On $600 of take-home pay, the most is $90. On $320, it is $30. Any agreement where you gave up these limits is void.

A hearing comes before any wages are taken

A creditor cannot simply send papers to your employer. It must file a Motion for Trustee Process (form 100-00506) with the court that gave the judgment and only after the judgment has gone unpaid for 30 days without an appeal. The court then schedules a hearing.

According to the Vermont Judiciary page on collecting a judgment, a sheriff or constable must serve you and your employer at least 14 days before the hearing with the trustee summons, the motion, the hearing notice, an Employer Disclosure (form 100-00508) and a List of Exemptions (form 100-00511). Your employer must come or file its disclosure at least 3 days before the hearing. If the judge grants the motion, the order tells your employer how much to withhold and how often.

How to stop or shrink a Vermont garnishment at the hearing

The hearing is your chance. Under 12 V.S.A. 3169, the judge first decides whether you neglected or refused to pay or to make reasonable arrangements to pay. Bringing a realistic payment offer speaks directly to that question.

The judge also looks at:

• how much of the judgment is unpaid,
• your weekly disposable earnings,
• whether you received help from the Department for Children and Families or the Department of Vermont Health Access in the last two months, which blocks a wage order if you prove it at the hearing,
• your reasonable weekly expenses for yourself and your dependents.

If those expenses are more than the standard exemption, the court can protect a larger amount. The order can also be changed later by motion if your situation shifts. Call and a garnishment specialist goes through your hearing notice and your budget with you.

Can my bank account be frozen in Vermont?

Yes. With a judgment, a creditor can serve a Summons to Trustee on your bank and the bank must freeze the funds. Vermont Legal Aid’s frozen bank account guide lists what stays free automatically:

• the last two direct deposits from Social Security or the VA,
• $700 of the balance, matching the deposit exemption in 12 V.S.A. 2740.

To free more, file a Motion to Adjudicate with an affidavit. You can claim up to $7,400 more if you have not used that exemption before. The guide says a hearing takes weeks, so explain in the affidavit why the money is exempt and why you need it sooner.