To collect on a judgment in NJ, you docket it with the Superior Court Clerk, use an Information Subpoena to locate the debtor’s assets, and then obtain a Writ of Execution to levy a bank account, garnish wages, or seize property. The court will not do any of this for you. You are the one driving the process, paying the fees, and choosing the tool that fits what the debtor actually has.
Docket the Judgment First
If your judgment came out of the Special Civil Part, it only reaches locally until you docket it with the Clerk of the Superior Court. Docketing makes the judgment enforceable statewide and creates a lien that attaches to any real estate the debtor owns anywhere in New Jersey.1Justia. New Jersey Code 2A:18-32 – Docketing Judgments of the Special Civil Part
You docket by filing a certification with the Superior Court Clerk. Once it’s recorded, any title search on the debtor’s property turns up the lien. That alone can push a debtor who wants to sell or refinance. If the debtor owns no real estate, or simply ignores the lien, you’ll need to go further.
Find Out What the Debtor Owns
You can’t levy on what you can’t locate. New Jersey gives you a formal discovery tool called an Information Subpoena (Form CN 11840) that forces the debtor to answer written questions about employment, bank accounts, vehicles, and other property.2New Jersey Courts. Information Subpoena and Written Questions In the Special Civil Part, it’s governed by Rule 6:7-2(g).
Fill it out with the debtor’s known information and serve it, typically by certified mail with return receipt requested or through a process server. The debtor has 14 days to respond.2New Jersey Courts. Information Subpoena and Written Questions If they ignore it, file a motion to enforce litigant’s rights. The court can then order the debtor to appear and answer, or face sanctions.
Levy a Bank Account
Once you know where the debtor banks, a levy is usually the fastest way to get paid. Start by obtaining a Writ of Execution from the court clerk. The writ is an order directing a sheriff or court officer to seize the debtor’s assets to satisfy the judgment.
Deliver the writ to the sheriff’s office in the county where the bank branch sits, along with the service fee. The sheriff serves the writ on the bank, which freezes the account up to the amount owed and must notify the debtor.
Then the clock starts. No turnover of funds can happen until at least 20 days after the levy date. In that window, the debtor can claim some or all of the funds are exempt. If they file a claim, the court must hold a hearing within seven days, and the money stays frozen until the court rules. If no valid claim is made, or the court denies it, the bank sends the funds to the sheriff for distribution to you.
What You Can’t Touch
Not every dollar in the account is collectible. Federal benefits like Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, veterans’ benefits, and federal disability payments are generally protected from garnishment. When those benefits are direct-deposited, the bank must review the prior two months of deposits and automatically protect an amount equal to the federal benefit payments received during that period.3Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. 31 CFR Appendix C to Part 212 – Examples of the Lookback Period and Protected Amount That protection kicks in even without a claim from the debtor, and the debtor can still argue other funds in the account are traceable to exempt sources.
New Jersey adds its own shields on personal property. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:17-19, the debtor can designate up to $1,000 of personal property (not counting clothing) as exempt. All essential household goods and all clothing are automatically exempt regardless of value. That matters most when you’re thinking about levying on belongings rather than cash.
Garnish the Debtor’s Wages
If the debtor has a steady paycheck and little else, wage garnishment is often the most reliable route. File an application with the court for a wage execution order. The debtor must be earning at least $48 per week for wage execution to be available at all.4Justia. New Jersey Code 2A:17-50 – Order to Issue Wage Execution; Application; Jurisdiction
Once the court schedules a hearing, serve the debtor and the employer with the motion papers. If the judge grants the order, it directs the employer to withhold a portion of each paycheck and send it to the county sheriff, who disburses it to you.
New Jersey caps the withholding at 10% of gross income. The court can order more if the debtor’s income exceeds 250% of the federal poverty level for the household size. When the state is the creditor, it can seek up to 25% of gross earnings, provided the debtor’s remaining income stays above 250% of poverty.5Justia. New Jersey Code 2A:17-56 – Limitation on Amount of Wage Execution
Federal law puts a separate ceiling on top: no more than 25% of disposable earnings after taxes and mandatory deductions, or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed $217.50, whichever is less. In practice, the debtor gets whichever limit leaves more money in the paycheck.
Child support and alimony orders follow a different set of federal rules that allow much larger withholdings, up to 65% in some cases.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment Those rules don’t apply to an ordinary money judgment.
Seize Personal Property
Beyond cash and wages, you can levy on tangible property: vehicles, boats, equipment, stock certificates, and other valuables. The mechanism is the same Writ of Execution used for bank levies. The sheriff inventories and appraises the property.
For an individual debtor, the appraised value must exceed the $1,000 personal property exemption before the sheriff can schedule a sale. Business assets can go directly to sheriff’s sale without an appraisal. Honestly, personal property levies tend to be labor-intensive and underwhelming. Household furniture and used cars appraise for less than people expect, and sheriff’s sale fees eat into whatever’s left. This tool pays off mainly when the debtor owns high-value equipment, a boat, or a vehicle with real equity.
Use the Real Estate Lien, or Force a Sale
Because docketing automatically creates a lien on any real estate the debtor owns in New Jersey, including property acquired after the judgment, you often already have more leverage than you realize.7Justia. New Jersey Code 2A:26-11 – Lien of Judgment on Defendant’s Real Estate No additional filing is required beyond the docketing itself.
The practical power of the lien is that it blocks a clean sale or refinance. Any buyer’s attorney or title company running a search will find it. To close, the debtor usually has to pay off the judgment from the proceeds. For debtors who don’t plan to sell, the lien alone may not produce quick payment, but it protects your position long-term and creates room for negotiation.
If the debtor has real equity and you don’t want to wait, you can pursue a sheriff’s sale of the real estate through a Writ of Execution. It’s more aggressive, more expensive, and courts may examine whether the forced sale is equitable given the circumstances.
Add Interest to What You’re Owed
The judgment accrues interest from the date it is entered. New Jersey ties the post-judgment rate to the average rate of return on the State of New Jersey Cash Management Fund under Court Rule 4:42-11(a)(ii). The rate changes periodically and is published by the courts. Interest accrues automatically; no separate order is needed. When you calculate the amount for a writ of execution or wage garnishment, add the accumulated interest to the original judgment amount.
Keep the Judgment Alive
A New Jersey judgment remains enforceable for 20 years from its entry date.8Justia. New Jersey Code 2A:14-5 – 20 Years; Judgments If you haven’t collected in full by then, you can renew it for another 20 years by filing a motion in the Superior Court before the original period runs out.9New Jersey Courts. How to Collect on a Judgment in New Jersey Miss the window and the judgment is no longer enforceable. You lose your collection rights permanently.
File a Satisfaction Once You’re Paid
When the debtor pays in full, you’re legally required to acknowledge it. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:16-46, you must either enter an acknowledgment of satisfaction on the court record or deliver a warrant of satisfaction to the clerk of the court where the judgment was entered or docketed.10Justia. New Jersey Code 2A:16-46 – Satisfaction of Judgments Skipping this step leaves the lien hanging on the debtor’s property and can expose you to liability if the debtor is harmed by the lingering record.