Exit Bans for Judgment Debtors: Ne Exeat Writs and Federal Limits

Exit bans for judgment debtors are rare, but real. A creditor who already holds a judgment can ask a court for a writ of ne exeat, an order that functions as a form of civil arrest and keeps the debtor within the court’s reach, usually by requiring passport surrender. Separately, federal law automatically blocks passports for people who owe more than $66,000 in federal taxes or more than $2,500 in child support, though those programs run through government agencies and are not available to private creditors. Courts set a high bar for ne exeat writs, and most collection disputes never come near one.

What a Ne Exeat Writ Does

A ne exeat writ is a court order preventing someone from leaving the jurisdiction. The Tenth Circuit has described it as “a form of civil arrest” that can confine a person to the country, to a particular jurisdiction, or even to their home.¹ In federal court, judges draw the authority to issue one from the All Writs Act, which authorizes writs “necessary or appropriate in aid of” the court’s jurisdiction. The statute’s historical notes specifically reference ne exeat, and the writ cannot issue unless a suit in equity has been commenced and the court has satisfactory proof that the defendant “designs quickly to depart from the United States.”² State courts have their own equitable authority to issue these orders, with requirements that vary by jurisdiction.

Courts treat ne exeat as an extraordinary remedy. Judges do not issue them because a debtor missed payments or stopped answering emails. The remedy exists for the narrow case where a debtor is genuinely about to leave with assets the creditor cannot otherwise reach.

What a Private Creditor Has to Prove

The Tenth Circuit has set out three requirements a creditor must satisfy to get a ne exeat writ:

The debtor is about to leave the court’s jurisdiction.
That departure would defeat the court’s ability to grant the relief sought or enforce the judgment.
The debtor has no other property within the jurisdiction that could satisfy the judgment.¹

Each piece has teeth. Imminent departure means concrete evidence, not suspicion: airline tickets, a lease on foreign property, the sale of a primary residence, an overseas job offer, or testimony from someone with direct knowledge of the debtor’s plans to relocate. A debtor who has missed payments but lives and works locally, owns a house, or keeps a domestic bank account is not a flight risk under this test.

The “no alternative assets” element is often what sinks a motion. If wage garnishment or a bank levy can satisfy the judgment, a judge will deny the writ as overkill. The creditor needs to show the debtor is hiding assets or moving them beyond the reach of domestic enforcement. Evidence of liquidating holdings, transfers to relatives, or wires to foreign accounts strengthens the application considerably.

Procedurally, the creditor files a motion or petition supported by a detailed affidavit covering the unsatisfied judgment amount with accrued interest and costs, the specific evidence of flight risk, and the debtor’s identifying information. Because the premise is emergency, creditors typically ask for an expedited hearing.

How the Order Is Enforced

When a judge signs a ne exeat order, enforcement runs through the court itself. The debtor is typically required to surrender their passport to the court or to the U.S. Marshals Service, which handles physical collection if the order so provides. Attempting to leave in defiance of the order exposes the debtor to civil contempt.

Civil contempt sanctions are coercive. A debtor who refuses to surrender a passport, appear for discovery, or turn over assets can be jailed until they comply. The imprisonment has no fixed term because the debtor “carries the keys to their own cell” by doing what the order requires. The creditor’s attorney is responsible for keeping the order active and alerting the court to any violation.

Automatic Federal Programs That Private Creditors Cannot Use

Two statutes block passports without any court order and without any input from private creditors. They are easy to confuse with ne exeat writs, but they are separate systems.

Federal Tax Debt

Under 26 U.S.C. § 7345, the IRS certifies “seriously delinquent tax debt” to the State Department, which then denies or revokes the taxpayer’s passport.³ A companion statute, 22 U.S.C. § 2714a, directs the State Department to carry out the denial.⁴ The threshold is $66,000 for 2026 (up from $64,000 in 2025) and includes assessed penalties and interest. It applies only after the IRS has filed a lien and appeal rights have expired, or after a levy has started. Debts under an installment agreement, an offer in compromise, or a pending collection due process hearing are excluded.⁵

The taxpayer receives a CP508C notice by mail. If they then apply for or renew a passport, the State Department holds the application open for 90 days, allowing time to pay in full, arrange a payment plan, or dispute an error. If nothing is resolved, the application is denied and closed.⁵ For tax enforcement, the government also has explicit authority under 26 U.S.C. § 7402 to seek a court-issued ne exeat writ against a tax debtor.⁶

Child Support Arrears

The federal Office of Child Support Services submits records of parents with arrears over $2,500 to the State Department, which denies passport applications. A detail that catches parents off guard: paying arrears back below $2,500 does not automatically remove them from the denial list. The parent generally has to work with the state child support agency to get decertified, and passport applications continue to be denied in the meantime.⁷

Neither of these programs is open to an ordinary judgment creditor. A business owed money on a breach of contract judgment, a landlord with an unpaid rent judgment, or a plaintiff holding a tort verdict cannot pick up the phone and have the State Department flag the debtor. Their route is the ne exeat writ described above.

Lifting an Exit Ban

Paying the debt in full is the cleanest path. A satisfaction of judgment removes the legal basis for a ne exeat writ, and the court vacates the order. For tax debt, paying in full or entering an acceptable payment arrangement causes the IRS to reverse the certification, and the State Department processes the passport normally.⁵ The IRS also applies tax refunds to the balance, which may bring the debt below the threshold.

Short of full payment, a debtor subject to a ne exeat writ has a few options:

A signed settlement that the creditor accepts, filed with the court, can serve as grounds for lifting the writ.
A court-approved payment plan the judge finds adequate may support vacating the order.
A ne exeat bond posted by the debtor, usually set at an amount covering the judgment plus expected interest, guarantees payment regardless of where the debtor goes. Surety premiums generally run around 1% of the bond amount and are not refundable.

None of these happen instantly. Court-issued writs require the judge to sign a vacating order and any surrendered passport to be returned. Tax decertification goes through the IRS. Child support removal goes through the state agency. A debtor who needs to travel on short notice should assume processing time, not same-day relief.

What It Costs on Each Side

For creditors, pursuing a ne exeat writ means attorney fees for the motion and affidavit, filing fees that vary by court, and the cost of an expedited hearing. The evidentiary preparation is significant, and some jurisdictions require the creditor to post their own bond protecting the debtor against wrongful restriction before the clerk will issue a certified copy of the order.

For debtors, the costs of fighting back are similar: counsel to contest the motion, evidence to rebut the flight risk claim, and possibly a ne exeat bond. The bond premium alone, at roughly 1% of a large judgment, can be a meaningful sum, and the debtor does not get it back even if they prevail or pay the debt in full.

Tax debt passport denial is cheaper to resolve. Calling the IRS at the numbers on the CP508C notice, entering an installment agreement, or submitting an offer in compromise can reverse the certification without any court proceeding.⁵ For a private creditor-driven ne exeat matter, there is no administrative shortcut: the court that issued the order is the one that has to lift it.

1
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Maehr v. United States Department of State
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1651 – Writs
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7345 – Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Tax Delinquencies
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 2714a – Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Unpaid Taxes
5
Internal Revenue Service. Revocation or Denial of Passport in Cases of Certain Unpaid Taxes
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7402 – Jurisdiction of District Courts
7
Administration for Children and Families. Overview of the Passport Denial Program