To find out who garnished your bank account, call your bank and ask for a copy of the garnishment order or writ it received. That document names the creditor, the court that issued the order, and the case number. With those details, you can pull the full court file and see exactly which debt triggered the seizure. Move quickly, because the window to contest a garnishment or claim exempt funds is often short.
Start With Your Bank Statement and Any Notice
The first clue is usually on your statement: an unexpected hold or deduction labeled “garnishment,” “levy,” or “legal order.” Check your mail from around the same date for anything from your bank.
Your bank is not always required to tell you. Under federal law, written notice is mandatory only when your account received federal benefit payments by direct deposit in the prior two months and holds funds beyond the protected amount. Outside that situation, no federal rule forces the bank to notify you at all.1HelpWithMyBank.gov. Is My Bank Required to Tell Me When It Receives a Garnishment Order
If a notice did arrive, read it carefully. It may already name the creditor, the court, and a case number. Write those details down before you call anyone.
Ask Your Bank for the Garnishment Order
Your bank received the legal paperwork, so it has the most direct information. Call and ask for a copy of the garnishment order or writ that was served on them. That document identifies the creditor who sought the garnishment, the court that issued it, and the case number. If an attorney filed on the creditor’s behalf, the attorney’s name and contact information will typically appear on the paperwork too.1HelpWithMyBank.gov. Is My Bank Required to Tell Me When It Receives a Garnishment Order
Banks must comply with valid garnishment orders, so they will have this paperwork on file. What they won’t do is explain the underlying debt, advise you on your options, or negotiate for you. Treat the bank as a messenger. It carried out the court’s instructions and can hand you the documents; your next conversation needs to be with the court or the creditor.
Pull the Court File
Once you have the court name and case number, you can see the full record. If the bank gave you only partial information, start with the county or district court where you live. Creditors usually file garnishment actions in the same court that entered the original judgment against you, which is often where you reside.
Searching Online
Most courts offer online portals where you can search by case number, your name, or the creditor’s name. These systems typically show filing dates, the parties, and a summary of court actions. Some courts charge a small fee for full document access, and certain case types may be sealed. If a search by name turns up nothing, try the attorney’s name, since cases are sometimes indexed under the filing attorney rather than the creditor.
Visiting the Clerk’s Office
For the complete picture, go to the clerk of court in person. Give the clerk the case number or party names and ask for two documents. The first is the writ of garnishment, the court order served on your bank directing it to freeze and turn over your funds. The second is the underlying judgment, the earlier court decision that established you owe the debt. Together, these documents show who you owe, how much, when the court ruled, and when the garnishment was authorized.2U.S. Marshals Service. Writ of Garnishment
If the balance on the garnishment looks higher than what you originally owed, that is common. Court costs, attorney fees, and post-judgment interest often get added. The judgment or later filings will usually break down those additions. A default judgment entered because you never appeared in court is worth noting, since it can sometimes be reopened if you can show you were never properly served with the original lawsuit.
When Your Bank Has No Garnishment Order
Not every account seizure traces back to a creditor with a court judgment. Some government agencies can reach your money without going to court first. If your bank cannot find a garnishment order on file, one of these is probably what happened.
An IRS Tax Levy
The IRS can levy your bank account to collect unpaid taxes without a court judgment. When the IRS serves a levy on your bank using Form 668-A, the bank freezes the funds as of the date and time it receives the notice. Federal law then provides a 21-day waiting period before the bank must send the money to the IRS. That window exists so you can contact the IRS, pay the balance, set up a payment plan, or point out errors in the levy.3Internal Revenue Service. What if I Get a Levy Against One of My Employees, Vendors, Customers or Other Third Parties
Call the number on your most recent IRS notice or contact the IRS directly. Your bank can confirm it received a levy rather than a court-ordered garnishment, but the IRS is the agency you have to work with to resolve it.
The Treasury Offset Program
The Treasury Offset Program collects delinquent federal debts by reducing federal payments owed to you, including tax refunds, Social Security payments, and certain other disbursements. Agencies must send a letter at least 60 days before referring a debt, and debts are required by law to be sent to the program once they are 120 days overdue. If a payment gets intercepted, you receive a separate letter explaining the reduction.4Bureau of the Fiscal Service. What Is the Treasury Offset Program
The offset program is not a bank garnishment. It intercepts the payment before it reaches you rather than freezing funds already in your account. If you are missing an expected federal deposit, that is a common explanation. Contact the agency named in the offset notice to dispute the debt or arrange repayment.
Federal Benefits Are Partially Protected Automatically
If your account receives Social Security, Veterans Affairs payments, SSI, federal employee retirement, or similar federal benefit deposits, part of that money is shielded from garnishment without any action on your part. When your bank receives a garnishment order, federal regulation requires it to calculate a “protected amount” equal to the total federal benefit payments deposited during the prior two months, or your current balance, whichever is lower. The bank cannot freeze the protected amount, and you keep full access to it without filing anything.5eCFR. Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments
This protection is automatic and conclusive. No creditor can challenge the protected amount once your bank calculates it, and your bank cannot charge a garnishment processing fee against those funds.5eCFR. Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments
Money above the protected amount is still subject to the garnishment. If other funds in the account are also exempt under state or federal law, you have to file a claim of exemption with the court to protect them.
What to Do Once You Know Who Garnished You
Identifying the creditor is only useful if you also know your options. You generally have the right to challenge a garnishment, but the deadlines are tight.
Common grounds for contesting include exempt funds in the account (federal benefits beyond what the bank automatically shielded, protected wages, disability payments, or child support you received); improper service of the original lawsuit or the garnishment itself; a debt that was already paid; mistaken identity; or an underlying judgment that has passed the time limit for enforcement under your state’s law.2U.S. Marshals Service. Writ of Garnishment
To contest, you typically file a “claim of exemption” or a “motion to vacate” with the court that issued the garnishment order. The clerk can provide the correct form. Attach documentation that supports your claim: bank statements showing the source of deposits, pay stubs, benefit award letters, or proof of earlier payments on the debt. The court then schedules a hearing where both sides present their positions, and if the judge agrees that funds are exempt, the court orders them released.
Act fast. Many states give you only 10 to 30 days from the date you receive notice of the garnishment to file your challenge. Miss that window and you can lose the right to contest the seizure even when your funds were genuinely exempt.