How to File a Motion to Dismiss Garnishment in Maryland

To stop a garnishment in Maryland, you file a Motion for Release of Property from Levy/Garnishment with the same court that entered the judgment against you, and you have to do it within 30 days of the date the writ was served on your bank or employer.¹ Maryland does not use a “motion to dismiss garnishment” as a formal title; the motion to release property is the vehicle for challenging a writ, claiming an exemption, or pointing out a procedural defect. Miss the 30 days and the court can order your money turned over to the creditor even if you had a valid defense.

The 30-Day Clock Starts With the Garnishee

The deadline runs from the date the writ was served on the garnishee, meaning your bank or your employer, not the date you found out about the frozen account or the paycheck deduction.¹ Before you do anything else, get that service date. Call the bank, ask your payroll department, or check the court docket. Every other step is timed against it.

Even a bulletproof exemption does you no good if you file late. The court will not apply protections on your behalf. You have to raise them, in writing, inside the window.

Pick the Right Form

Which form you use depends on what has been garnished and which court entered the judgment.

For a bank account or other property garnishment in District Court, use Form DC-CV-036, “Motion for Release of Property from Levy/Garnishment or to Exempt Property from Execution.”²
For a wage garnishment in District Court, use the general motion form DC-002 to state your objection or defense.
Do not use Form DC-CV-065. That is the creditor’s form for requesting a writ of garnishment, and people mix them up.

Forms are available from the Maryland Courts website or the clerk’s office at the courthouse. Circuit Court cases follow the parallel rules (2-643 and 2-645), and the clerk’s office can point you to the equivalent motion.¹

What to Put on the Motion

The form asks for identifying information and the legal reason you want the property released. Have this ready before you sit down to write:

The case number from the writ or judgment paperwork.
Names and addresses for the judgment creditor (the plaintiff), the garnishee (your bank or employer), and yourself.
A description of the garnished property. For a bank account, list the bank name, account type, and the last four digits of the account number.
The specific ground you are relying on. If you are claiming the $6,000 wildcard exemption, check the box electing to exempt property to the value allowed by law. If you are claiming a federal benefit protection, select “other” and write in the source, for example, “the funds are Social Security disability benefits exempt under 42 U.S.C. § 407.”²

File With the Clerk and Serve the Other Parties

File the completed motion with the Clerk of the Court that entered the judgment. Then serve a copy on every other party in the case, meaning the judgment creditor and the garnishee, by mail or personal delivery.³ If the creditor is represented, send the copy to the attorney rather than the creditor directly. Fill in the certificate of service section on the form to document what you did and when. Motions get denied on service failures no matter how strong the underlying exemption claim is.

Grounds That Can Support the Motion

Maryland Rules 3-643 and 3-645 (and their Circuit Court counterparts 2-643 and 2-645) set out the framework for asking the court to release garnished property.¹ Common grounds include:

The judgment has already been satisfied. If you paid the debt, bring cancelled checks, wire confirmations, or a satisfaction of judgment on file.
The writ has a procedural defect, such as improper service on the garnishee, an incorrect amount, or missing notice.
The property belongs to someone else, such as a spouse or business partner whose funds share the account.
The property is exempt under state or federal law.

Exemptions Worth Claiming

Exemptions are the most common basis for a successful motion, and the one you pick determines what you write on the form.

The $6,000 Wildcard

Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Section 11-504 lets you protect up to $6,000 in cash or property of any kind, but only if you affirmatively elect it within 30 days of the garnishment or levy.⁴ The court will not apply it automatically. This is the exemption most bank account defendants rely on: if the frozen balance is $6,000 or less, electing the wildcard can release the whole amount.

Other Section 11-504 Categories

The same statute protects up to $5,000 in tools, books, and equipment for your profession; up to $1,000 in household goods, clothing, books, and pets; professionally prescribed health aids with no dollar cap; and money payable due to sickness, accident, injury, or death, including compensation for lost future earnings.⁴ These categories do not apply to wage garnishments. Wage limits come from a different set of statutes.

Wage Garnishment Limits

If your paycheck is being garnished, federal law caps the take at the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage.⁵ For garnishments filed on or after October 1, 2020, Maryland measures the floor against the state minimum wage instead, which produces a larger protected amount.⁶ If your employer is withholding more than the law allows, that overage is itself a basis for release.

Federal Benefits

Some deposits are protected by federal law regardless of what Maryland’s exemption statute says. Social Security retirement, disability (SSDI), and survivor benefits are exempt from garnishment, levy, and attachment, and courts have held the protection follows the money into a bank account as long as the funds are traceable.⁷ SSI carries the same protection.⁸ VA disability, pension, and education benefits are exempt from creditor claims before and after receipt, with narrow exceptions for federal debts.⁹ ERISA-covered pensions and 401(k) balances cannot be garnished while the money remains in the plan; once distributed to a regular bank account, ERISA protection ends.¹⁰

Banks are also required to review accounts for direct deposits of Social Security, VA, Railroad Retirement, and federal employee pension payments received in the previous two months, and to make an amount equal to those deposits available to you without a court order.¹¹ Anything older than two months, or benefits deposited by paper check, still requires your motion to protect.

After You File

The creditor has 30 days to file a written objection to your motion.¹ If none arrives, the court may grant your motion without a hearing. During this period the bank or employer must keep holding the property; nothing gets released to either side until the court says so.

If the creditor objects, the court will set a hearing. Bring documentation that matches the ground you claimed: bank statements tracing the source of deposited funds, a Social Security or VA award letter, pay stubs showing disposable earnings, or proof that the judgment was paid.² A signed order granting the motion directs the garnishee to release the funds or stop the wage deductions; a denial lets the creditor keep collecting.

When the Motion Isn’t Enough

If your exemptions won’t cover what has been taken, or you have several creditors coming after you at once, filing a bankruptcy petition triggers an automatic stay that halts garnishments, levies, and other collection activity the moment the case is filed.¹² It is a heavier step with lasting credit consequences and does not discharge every debt, so it belongs in the conversation only after you have looked at whether Maryland’s exemptions can do the job.

1
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Rules Rule 3-645 – Garnishment of Property Generally
2
Maryland Courts. Judgments and Debt Collection
3
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Rules Rule 1-321 – Service of Pleadings and Papers Other Than Original Pleadings
4
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 11-504 – Exemptions from Execution
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 30 – Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 407 – Assignment of Benefits
8
Administration for Children and Families. Garnishment of Supplemental Security Income Benefits
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 5301 – Nonassignability and Exempt Status of Benefits
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 1056 – Form of Distribution
11
eCFR. 31 CFR Part 212 – Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay