How to Get a Writ of Execution and Collect Your Judgment

To get a writ of execution, you apply to the court that entered your money judgment, show the clerk that the judgment is final and unpaid, and then hand the issued writ to a sheriff or marshal with specific instructions on what property to seize. Under federal procedure, a money judgment is enforced by a writ of execution unless the court directs otherwise.¹ Winning the lawsuit was half the job. The writ is what turns the judgment into money, and each step has to be done in order.

Confirm the Judgment Is Ready to Enforce

The court will not issue a writ on a judgment that is still open to appeal or currently stayed. In federal court, the deadline to appeal a civil judgment is 30 days after entry, or 60 days when a federal, state, or local government entity is a party.² State deadlines vary but tend to fall in a similar range. Once that window closes with no appeal filed, the judgment is final.

Two situations freeze enforcement even after a final judgment. A court may stay collection while an appeal is pending, usually on the condition that the debtor posts a bond. A bankruptcy filing by the debtor triggers an automatic stay that halts every collection activity, including any writ already in motion.³ Attempting a levy after a bankruptcy petition can void the levy and expose you to sanctions. Check the court docket and federal bankruptcy records before you file anything.

Find the Debtor’s Assets Before You File

A writ is only useful if you can point the levying officer at specific property. The court will not investigate assets for you, and neither will the officer. Do the asset work first.

Post-Judgment Discovery

Federal rules let a judgment creditor obtain discovery from any person, including the debtor, to locate assets.¹ You can serve written interrogatories and document requests aimed at bank accounts, employer information, real property, vehicles, and investment accounts. Most state courts offer equivalent tools. The debtor must respond under oath, and false answers carry perjury exposure.

Debtor Examination

If paper discovery falls short, ask the court to order the debtor to appear in person and answer questions about finances under oath. This is often called a debtor examination or supplementary proceeding. You file a motion, the judge sets a hearing, and the debtor shows up with the documents you’ve listed. A debtor who ignores the order can be held in contempt, and in some jurisdictions that leads to a bench warrant.

Public Records

Before formal discovery, work the free sources. County recorder offices show real property ownership. Secretary of state databases list business filings. DMV records reveal vehicle registrations. Filings from other lawsuits sometimes disclose bank accounts or employment. None of this requires the debtor’s cooperation, and it can be enough to target a bank levy or a seizure without alerting the debtor first.

File the Application With the Clerk

Once you know where the assets are, file an application for a writ of execution with the clerk of the court that entered the judgment. Most courts have a standardized form. You will need the debtor’s full legal name and last known address, the court case number, the date the judgment was entered, the principal amount, and a calculation of post-judgment interest that has accumulated since the judgment date.

Get the interest math right. In federal court, post-judgment interest accrues at a rate equal to the weekly average one-year constant maturity Treasury yield for the calendar week before the judgment was entered, compounded annually.⁴ As of mid-March 2026, that rate is approximately 3.56%.⁵ State courts set their own rates, and some are higher. A miscalculated total is a common reason for rejection or delay.

The clerk compares your application against the court’s record of the judgment. If the case number, names, and amounts match, the clerk signs the writ, applies the court seal, and issues it back to you. Filing fees typically run from about $5 to $55 depending on the jurisdiction. Every field on the application must match the original judgment exactly. A misspelled name or a transposed digit can bounce the filing.

Deliver the Writ to a Levying Officer

An issued writ sitting on your desk collects nothing. Deliver it to a levying officer with jurisdiction over the location of the property. In most places, that is the county sheriff or a court-appointed marshal. In the federal system, it is the U.S. Marshal.⁶

Along with the writ, give the officer written instructions telling them exactly what to seize and where. Specificity is everything here. For a bank levy, provide the name and address of the bank branch and, ideally, the account number. For a wage garnishment, provide the employer’s full legal name and payroll address. For a vehicle or equipment, provide a physical description and the exact location. Vague instructions get set aside.

Officers charge service fees, typically $50 to $100 per levy, with higher costs for physical property removal. You pay these as an upfront deposit. The costs are recoverable from the debtor and added to the amount collected.

What the Officer Can Do With the Writ

The writ can be used to reach several kinds of property, and the mechanics differ.

Bank Account Levy

When the officer serves a levy on a bank, the bank freezes the account up to the judgment amount. The debtor gets notice and a short window to claim any exemption. If no valid exemption applies, the bank turns the frozen funds over to the officer after the waiting period, and the officer pays you.

Wage Garnishment

A garnishment directs the debtor’s employer to withhold part of each paycheck. Federal law caps the withholding at 25% of the debtor’s disposable earnings for the pay period, or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour as of 2026), whichever produces the smaller garnishment.⁷ At the current minimum wage, a debtor earning $217.50 or less per week in disposable income cannot be garnished at all.⁸ Many states impose tighter limits.

Personal Property Seizure

For tangible assets like vehicles, equipment, or inventory, the officer takes possession and schedules a public sale, usually after advertising the sale in a local newspaper for several weeks. The officer deducts service costs and fees from the proceeds first, pays you up to the balance owed, and returns any surplus to the debtor. If the sale doesn’t cover the full judgment, the unpaid balance remains enforceable, and you can pursue further levies.

Property the Officer Cannot Touch

Some property and income is off-limits. Attempting to levy on exempt assets burns your fees and the officer’s time.

Social Security benefits are shielded from execution, levy, attachment, and garnishment under federal law.⁹ Veterans’ benefits, federal disability payments, unemployment compensation, civil service retirement benefits, and Railroad Retirement Act payments receive similar federal protection.¹⁰ If the debtor’s account holds only direct-deposited Social Security funds, the levy will fail once the exemption is claimed.

Every state also has its own exemption list. Homestead exemptions protect equity in the debtor’s primary residence, and the protected amount ranges from modest sums to several hundred thousand dollars depending on the state. Most states also exempt some vehicle equity, basic household goods, clothing, tools of the debtor’s trade, and retirement accounts. Some states let the debtor choose between the state list and the federal bankruptcy exemptions; others require the state list. Research your state’s exemptions before paying for a levy.

If the Assets Are in a Different State

A writ works only in the jurisdiction of the court that issued it. If the debtor or the property is in another state, you first have to domesticate the judgment there. Nearly every state has adopted a version of a uniform act that streamlines this. You file a certified copy of the judgment with a court in the state where the assets sit, give the debtor notice, and once the court recognizes it, you can request a writ of execution in that state. Expect an added filing fee and a few extra weeks, but it beats refiling the lawsuit.

How Long the Writ and the Judgment Last

Writs expire. In the federal system, a writ must be returned to the court within 90 days if no levy has been made.⁶ State return periods commonly run from 60 to 180 days. If the writ expires before the officer can act, apply for a new one. Successive writs are allowed, so an expired writ delays collection rather than ending it.

The underlying judgment has its own lifespan. In most states, a money judgment stays enforceable for somewhere between 5 and 20 years. Many states allow renewal before expiration, which extends the enforcement period for another full term. Some states permit indefinite renewals, others cap the number. Missing a renewal deadline can extinguish an otherwise valid judgment, so put the date on your calendar well in advance. In the federal system, multiple writs may be issued simultaneously or in succession, and the judgment stays enforceable as long as the underlying statute of limitations has not run.⁶

If the Debtor Files Bankruptcy

A bankruptcy petition stops collection immediately. The automatic stay bars any act to enforce a judgment, seize property, or garnish wages the moment the case is filed.³ If a levy is in progress, the officer must stop. Violating the stay can bring sanctions and damages. Your judgment becomes part of the bankruptcy case, and you’ll need to file a proof of claim to preserve any right to a distribution. If the debt is discharged, the judgment becomes unenforceable and no further writs can issue on it.

1
Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 69 – Execution
2
Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 362 – Automatic Stay
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1961 – Interest
5
United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of California. Post-Judgment Interest Rates
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 3203 – Execution
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
8
U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 407 – Assignment of Benefits
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 522 – Exemptions