Guides · reviewed 2026-09-04

Wage garnishment and the 20% limit

Legal information, not legal advice. Results depend on the facts of your case.

Legal information, not legal advice. This guide and our free tools give legal information. They do not give advice about your case. A licensed lawyer can give legal advice.

The answer

You can garnish wages to collect a judgment, up to a hard limit: 20% of net wages. The law makes 80% of wages exempt from seizure or garnishment. For a support or maintenance order, the exemption is 50%. Garnishment takes only money that a third party owes the debtor. If the debtor has no job and no bank balance, it collects nothing.

How garnishment works

  1. Learn where the debtor works or banks. A Notice of Examination (Form 20H) makes the debtor answer questions under oath about income and assets. The fee is $68.
  2. Complete an Affidavit for Enforcement Request (Form 20P). Name one debtor and one garnishee, and state the amount owed with interest and the reasons you believe the garnishee owes the debtor money.
  3. File it with the clerk in the territorial division where the debtor lives or carries on business. If the judgment came from another division, add a certificate of judgment (Form 20A).
  4. The clerk issues the Notice of Garnishment (Form 20E). The fee is $144.
  5. Serve the notice with a Garnishee's Statement (Form 20F) on the employer or the bank. For a bank, serve the branch where the account is.
  6. Serve the notice and your Form 20P on the debtor within 5 days after you serve the garnishee.
  7. The garnishee pays the money into court within 10 days after service, or after the debt becomes payable. The clerk pays the first payment out 30 days after it comes in, and later payments as they come.
  8. A garnishment lasts 6 years. Renew it before then with Form 20E.1 and a new Form 20P.
  9. When the judgment is paid, serve a Notice of Termination of Garnishment (Form 20R) on the garnishee and the clerk.

The 20% math

Net wages of $4,000 a month give at most $800 a month to a garnishment. "Wages" means pay after the deductions the law makes the employer take. A judge can lower the exemption on the creditor's motion, or raise it on the debtor's motion. The employer pays into court no more than the garnishable part of the wages. The 20% limit is for wages. Other debts owed to the debtor, such as a bank balance or a customer's account, can be garnished up to the amount in the notice. Some deposits can be exempt; get advice on a bank garnishment.

Deadlines and fees

  • Notice of Garnishment (Form 20E): $144 to issue or renew.
  • Notice of Examination (Form 20H): $68. Serve at least 30 days before the examination.
  • A garnishment lasts 6 years; renew with Form 20E.1.
  • More than 6 years after the judgment, a new garnishment needs leave of the court.
  • Postjudgment interest adds 4.0% for a 2026 judgment.

If the garnishee or the debtor disputes it

A garnishee who disputes the garnishment, or pays less than the notice says, files a Garnishee's Statement (Form 20F) within 10 days. The garnishee serves it on you and the debtor. Anyone affected can ask the clerk for a garnishment hearing (Form 20Q). The court can decide the rights of everyone involved and vary the payments. A garnishee who does not pay and does not file a statement can be ordered to pay the amount in the notice.

Common mistakes

  • Do not garnish before you know the employer or the bank. Do the examination first.
  • Do not expect more than 20% from wages.
  • Do not forget to serve the debtor within 5 days.
  • Do not let the garnishment expire. Renew before the 6 years pass.
  • A self-employed debtor has no wages. You can garnish what their clients owe them, one garnishee per notice.

When to get a lawyer

Get legal advice if the debtor hides income, or disputes the garnishment at a hearing. Legal services provided by Mithril Law — Jonathan Kleiman, licensed Ontario lawyer.

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