Ohio debt collection laws give creditors real tools — court judgments, wage garnishment, bank levies, property liens — but also set firm limits on each of them. The Ohio Revised Code caps how much of your paycheck a creditor can take, requires written notice before garnishment begins, shields a list of property from seizure, and puts a deadline on how long old debts and judgments stay enforceable. Federal law layers on additional protections when a third-party collector is involved.
How Long a Creditor Has to Sue You
Every debt in Ohio has an expiration date for lawsuits. Once it passes, the claim is time-barred and a court should dismiss it. The clock starts when you missed a payment or the debt became overdue.
- Written contracts and credit card debt: six years.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2305.06 – Actions on Written Contracts
- Oral contracts: four years.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2305.07 – Actions on Oral Contracts
Acknowledging the debt can restart the clock. Signing a new payment agreement, making a voluntary payment, or verbally admitting on the phone that you owe a specific amount may all reset the countdown. The Ohio Supreme Court has taken a narrower view specifically for credit card debt, holding that a partial payment may not restart the limitations period that began when you first missed a monthly payment. Even so, be careful before paying anything or admitting to anything on a debt that is close to its deadline. A collector’s “good faith” payment request is often designed to buy them another six years.
The 15-Day Notice Before Wage Garnishment
A creditor cannot start taking money out of your paycheck without first winning a lawsuit and then warning you. Ohio Revised Code § 2716.02 requires the creditor to deliver a document titled “Notice of Court Proceeding to Collect Debt” at least 15 days before asking the court for a garnishment order.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2716.02 – Form for Notice of Court Proceeding to Collect Debt The notice can come by certified mail, regular mail with a certificate of mailing, or personal service through the court, and it must be sent no more than 45 days before the garnishment request.
During that 15-day window you have three ways to stop the garnishment: pay the judgment balance in full, submit a partial payment using the attached “Payment to Avoid Garnishment” form, or ask your local municipal or county court to appoint a trustee who collects the non-exempt portion of your earnings and distributes it among your creditors.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2716.02 – Form for Notice of Court Proceeding to Collect Debt The trustee route has a side benefit: while you are in a trustee arrangement, individual creditors cannot garnish your wages.
If a creditor skips the notice or files for garnishment before the 15 days run, the court can dismiss the garnishment proceeding.
How Much of Your Paycheck Can Be Taken
Once a creditor clears the notice step and obtains an order, federal law sets the ceiling on how much they can take, and Ohio incorporates those limits.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment The limits work off your disposable earnings, which is what remains after legally required deductions like federal and state taxes, Social Security, and Medicare. Voluntary deductions such as health insurance premiums or 401(k) contributions do not reduce that number.
A creditor can take the lesser of:
- 25% of your weekly disposable earnings, or
- the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour — $217.50 per week.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
An example: if your weekly disposable earnings are $500, 25% is $125, and the amount over $217.50 is $282.50. The creditor gets the smaller number, $125. If you earn $217.50 or less per week in disposable income, none of your paycheck can be garnished.
Bank Account Levies
Wages are not the only target. After winning a judgment, a creditor can also freeze and take money in your bank account through a non-wage garnishment, and the rules are different in ways that catch people off guard.
The 15-day notice does not apply to bank levies. The creditor files with the court, and the bank receives an order to freeze and turn over funds. It is a one-time seizure rather than an ongoing deduction, so the creditor grabs whatever is in the account at that moment above the exempt amount. There is no cap on how many times a creditor can try, so they can file again if the first attempt comes up short.
Ohio protects a baseline. As of April 2025, $625 in cash and bank deposits is automatically exempt under Ohio Revised Code § 2329.66.5United States Bankruptcy Court. April 1, 2025, Ohio Exemption Increases Beyond that, certain federal benefits deposited into the account are also exempt: Social Security, Veterans Affairs benefits, disability payments, unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, and child or spousal support. To keep those funds, you generally need to request a hearing and prove the source. If your account mixes exempt benefits with other money, moving quickly to assert the exemption matters.
Property Creditors Cannot Take
Ohio Revised Code § 2329.66 lists property that is off-limits to creditors even after they win a judgment. The dollar figures adjust every few years for inflation, and the current numbers took effect April 1, 2025, running through March 31, 2028.5United States Bankruptcy Court. April 1, 2025, Ohio Exemption Increases
- Home equity in your primary residence: up to $182,625.
- One motor vehicle: equity up to $5,025.
- Household goods (furniture, appliances, clothing, similar personal items): up to $16,850 total, with no single item over $800.
- Cash and bank deposits: up to $625.
- Jewelry held for personal or family use: up to $2,125 total.
- Professional books, tools, and implements used in your trade or business.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2329.66 – Exempted Interests and Rights
The exemption applies to equity, not the item’s market value. A car worth $15,000 with $12,000 still owed on the loan has $3,000 in equity, which fits inside the $5,025 vehicle exemption. Home equity is fair market value minus the mortgage balance. When equity exceeds the exemption, a creditor can in theory force a sale, but small overages rarely justify the cost of the sale itself.
When a Judgment Goes Dormant
A judgment does not last forever on its own. Under Ohio Revised Code § 2329.07, a private judgment goes dormant after five years unless the creditor takes an enforcement step to keep it alive.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2329.07 – Judgment May Become Dormant Once dormant, the judgment cannot be used to garnish wages, levy a bank account, or enforce a lien.
Any of these actions inside the five-year window renews the judgment for another five years: issuing an execution on the judgment, filing a certificate of judgment to create a real-estate lien, obtaining or continuing a garnishment order, or starting a proceeding in aid of execution.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2329.07 – Judgment May Become Dormant A determined creditor can keep renewing indefinitely.
The certificate of judgment matters if you own real estate. Filing one in the county where your property sits creates a lien that has to be satisfied before you can sell or refinance with a clear title. If the creditor lets five years pass without renewing, the lien expires. Judgments in favor of the state of Ohio last ten years before going dormant.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2329.07 – Judgment May Become Dormant
Illegal Collection Tactics and What You Can Recover
Two statutes cover collector conduct in Ohio, and they cover different actors.
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies to third-party collectors, meaning entities collecting on behalf of someone else or collecting debt they purchased. It bars harassment, false statements, calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., contact at work after you have said your employer forbids it, and discussion of your debt with third parties. If a third-party collector violates the FDCPA, you can sue in state or federal court for actual damages, statutory damages up to $1,000 per lawsuit, and reasonable attorney’s fees.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692k – Civil Liability The $1,000 statutory cap is per case, not per violation, but the attorney’s fees provision often makes these cases worth pursuing even when actual damages are modest.
The Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act reaches further. Ohio Revised Code § 1345.02 prohibits unfair or deceptive acts by any supplier in a consumer transaction, and Ohio courts have applied this to original creditors collecting their own debts — the group the FDCPA does not reach.9Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 1345.02 – Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices Common violations in collections include misrepresenting the amount owed, falsely claiming to be an attorney, threatening legal action the collector will not take, and telling you that non-payment will lead to arrest. Consumer debt is a civil matter, not criminal.
Under Ohio Revised Code § 1345.09, you can rescind the transaction or recover your actual economic damages plus up to $5,000 in noneconomic damages. If the practice had already been declared deceptive by a prior rule or court decision, you can recover three times your actual economic damages or $200 (whichever is greater), plus up to $5,000 in noneconomic damages.10Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 1345.09 – Private Causes of Action The Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section also accepts complaints and can investigate.
When a third-party collector’s conduct violates both statutes, you can bring FDCPA and CSPA claims in the same lawsuit, and damages under each are calculated separately.