If a garnishment has frozen your Bank of America account, the fastest way to reach the right people is to call the main customer line at 800-432-1000 and ask to be transferred to Legal Order Processing.1Bank of America. Helpful Phone Numbers and Links That is the Bank of America garnishment department. Representatives there can tell you the amount being held, confirm the creditor who served the order, and explain what documentation they need. They cannot advise you on the underlying debt or negotiate with the creditor on your behalf.
The Right Number to Call
Searches for Bank of America garnishment contacts often surface the number 213-580-0702. That line connects to the bank’s third-party subpoena portal, which is built for attorneys, courts, and creditors serving legal orders on the bank. Bank of America’s own site states that this portal “is not intended for customer account servicing.”2Bank of America. Bank of America Legal Order Processing If you are the account holder, you will be redirected. Use 800-432-1000 and ask for Legal Order Processing.
What Happens the Moment a Garnishment Order Arrives
When Bank of America receives a valid garnishment, it freezes funds in your account up to the amount the court order specifies. There is no advance warning. The freeze typically takes effect the same day or the next business day after the bank receives the order. Checks may bounce, automatic payments may fail, and your debit card and ATM access will not work on the frozen balance until the hold is resolved.
The bank is required to mail you written notice of the garnishment and the hold. That notice goes to the last address on file, so a current mailing address matters. It should list the amount frozen, the creditor, and how to claim an exemption.
Frozen funds are held for a period set by state law before the bank releases anything to the creditor. The waiting period exists so you have time to file an exemption claim or challenge the garnishment in court. It usually lasts a few weeks, though the length varies by jurisdiction.
The $125 Legal Processing Fee
Bank of America charges a $125 legal processing fee for each garnishment, levy, or attachment order it receives. The fee schedule describes it as applying to “each legal order or process that directs us to freeze, attach or withhold funds or other property.”3Bank of America. Personal Schedule of Fees The fee comes out of your account, not the creditor’s.
Two things can lower or eliminate it. If you hold a Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking, Advantage with Tiered Interest Checking, or Advantage Regular Checking account and are enrolled in Preferred Rewards, the bank waives the fee.3Bank of America. Personal Schedule of Fees Some states also cap what banks can charge for garnishment processing, so the actual amount may be lower depending on where your account is held. The fee schedule itself notes this with the phrase “or such other rate as may be set by law.” If a court later grants your exemption, the bank may reverse the fee along with releasing the funds.
Federal Benefits Are Protected Automatically
If you receive Social Security, SSI, veterans benefits, or other federal payments by direct deposit, the bank must protect those funds automatically. You do not have to file anything first. Federal regulation 31 CFR Part 212 requires the bank, as soon as it receives a garnishment order, to look back at two months of deposits and calculate a “protected amount” based on federal benefit payments received during that window.4eCFR. 31 CFR Part 212 – Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments
The protected amount is the lesser of two figures: the total federal benefit deposits during the two-month lookback, or your current balance when the bank reviews the order. The bank must give you “full and customary access” to that amount and cannot freeze it, regardless of what the garnishment order says. The regulation explicitly provides that “an account holder shall have no requirement to assert any right of garnishment exemption prior to accessing the protected amount.”4eCFR. 31 CFR Part 212 – Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments
The bank performs this review once per garnishment order. It does not matter whether non-exempt funds are mixed into the same account, whether there is a co-owner, or whether the order instructs the bank to freeze everything. The federal benefit amount still comes off the top. The automatic protection applies only to electronically deposited federal benefits the bank can identify in its records. If you receive exempt income by paper check, or you have more exempt funds than the two-month lookback captures, you will need to file a separate exemption claim.
Claiming Other Exempt Funds
Several categories of income are protected from garnishment under federal law even when a creditor has a valid judgment. Social Security retirement, disability, and survivor payments are shielded by statute, which provides that these funds “shall not be subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process.”5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 407 – Assignment of Benefits Veterans benefits are “exempt from the claim of creditors” and “shall not be liable to attachment, levy, or seizure by or under any legal or equitable process.”6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 5301 – Nonassignability and Exempt Status of Benefits SSI, certain federal employee retirement benefits, and some unemployment compensation carry additional protections.
To claim these exemptions beyond the automatic lookback, you generally file a claim or affidavit with the court that issued the order. Procedures vary by state, but the basic steps are the same:
- Get the right form. Your garnishment notice should include or reference an exemption claim form, sometimes called a Claim of Exemption or Affidavit of Exemption. If you did not receive one, contact the clerk of the court that issued the order.
- Gather proof of the income source. Bank statements showing direct deposits, Social Security award letters, VA benefit letters, or similar documents that trace the frozen funds to a protected source.
- File promptly. Exemption deadlines are tight, often 10 to 14 days from the date on the garnishment notice. Miss the window and you can lose funds you were entitled to keep.
Bank of America applies the exemption laws of the state where the account is held. The CFPB has found that the bank previously applied the wrong state’s laws in some cases and ordered it to reform its garnishment processing.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Bank of America, N.A. – Enforcement Action If the court grants your exemption, the protected funds are released back to your account.
Joint Accounts
If only one joint account holder is named on the garnishment, the entire account can still be frozen. Joint account holders generally have equal legal rights to the full balance, so creditors in many states can reach the whole amount rather than only the debtor’s “share.” How much the creditor can actually seize varies by state. Some permit the full balance; others limit the seizure to the debtor’s proportional share.
Married couples may have added protection in states that recognize tenancy by the entirety for bank accounts. Where it applies, the account is treated as belonging to the marriage rather than to either spouse individually, and a creditor of only one spouse generally cannot reach the funds. Roughly half of states recognize this form of ownership for real estate; a smaller number extend it to bank accounts.
The automatic federal benefit protection still applies on joint accounts. The regulation requires the bank to perform its two-month lookback without regard to “the existence of a co-owner on the account.”4eCFR. 31 CFR Part 212 – Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments If one holder receives Social Security by direct deposit, those funds remain protected.
After the Freeze Lifts
Once the holding period expires and any exemption claims are resolved, Bank of America releases non-exempt funds to the creditor and lifts the hold. You regain access to whatever remains, including protected amounts. Your account typically stays open. Check your statement to confirm the exact amounts deducted for the debt and the fee; if anything looks wrong, call Legal Order Processing through 800-432-1000.
A single garnishment does not necessarily end the matter. If the judgment is not fully satisfied by the first freeze, the creditor can return to court and obtain a new garnishment order against the same account. Each new order requires separate court approval, and the bank must perform a fresh two-month lookback for federal benefits each time.4eCFR. 31 CFR Part 212 – Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments The cycle continues until the judgment is paid or legally resolved.
Ways to Stop a Garnishment
By the time a creditor garnishes your account, they already hold a court judgment. Your options are narrower than before the lawsuit, but several remain:
- Negotiate with the creditor. Many will accept a payment plan or a lump-sum settlement for less than the full judgment, especially when repeat garnishments are yielding little. Get any agreement in writing before paying.
- File for bankruptcy. A bankruptcy petition triggers an automatic stay that immediately halts most collection activity, including garnishments. Bankruptcy has serious long-term consequences, but for someone facing repeated garnishments on an unsatisfied judgment, it can stop the cycle.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
- Challenge the underlying judgment. If you were never properly served with the original lawsuit, you may be able to ask the court to vacate a default judgment.
- Separate your exempt funds. If you receive federal benefits and also have non-exempt income, keeping them in separate accounts makes it easier for the bank to identify and protect the exempt deposits during its automatic review.
Bank of America’s Garnishment Enforcement History
The CFPB ordered Bank of America to pay a $10 million civil penalty and refund at least $592,000 in unlawful garnishment fees to affected customers.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CFPB Orders Bank of America to Pay $10 Million Penalty for Illegal Garnishments The bureau found that Bank of America froze out-of-state accounts and sent funds to creditors even when state law prohibited it, applied the wrong state’s exemption laws in some cases, and used deposit agreement language requiring customers to waive their garnishment-related protections.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Bank of America, N.A. – Enforcement Action The CFPB also found that the bank misrepresented to customers that they could not go to court to challenge wrongful garnishments. Under the settlement, Bank of America was required to reform its garnishment processing and stop using contract language that limited customers’ legal rights.
If you believe the bank has applied the wrong state’s laws to your garnishment or failed to protect funds that should be exempt, you can file a complaint with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov to escalate the issue.