Wage Garnishment in California: Limits, Claims, and Exemptions

Wage garnishment in California begins when a creditor who has won a money judgment against you gets a court order telling your employer to withhold part of your paycheck. In most consumer cases the employer can take no more than 20% of your disposable earnings, and you have the right to challenge the withholding by filing a Claim of Exemption if it leaves you unable to cover basic living costs.¹

How Much a Creditor Can Take From Your Paycheck

California uses a two-part test and withholds the smaller of the two amounts. The first is 20% of your disposable earnings, meaning what’s left after legally required deductions like taxes and Social Security. The second is 40% of the amount by which your disposable earnings exceed a minimum-wage floor for the pay period.¹

To find the floor, multiply the applicable minimum hourly wage by 48 for a weekly period, 96 biweekly, 104 semimonthly, or 208 monthly. With California’s 2026 minimum wage at $16.90 per hour,² the weekly floor is $811.20. If your disposable pay falls below the floor for the period, the 40% calculation can shield most or all of your wages from garnishment. Where a city or county sets a higher local minimum wage, your employer uses that higher figure.

California’s 20% cap is more protective than the federal ceiling of 25%,³ so California workers keep more of their pay than federal law alone would require. One practical exception: if a higher-priority order such as child support is already being deducted from your wages, a regular consumer-debt garnishment sits at the bottom of the priority list and may not take effect until the higher order is satisfied.⁴

How the Garnishment Reaches Your Employer

A creditor cannot go straight to your employer even after winning a judgment. Three documents have to move through the system first.

The creditor obtains a Writ of Execution (form EJ-130) from the court that entered the judgment. The writ authorizes the levying officer, usually the county sheriff, to enforce the judgment and states the total owed with interest and costs.⁵

Next comes the Application for Earnings Withholding Order (form WG-001), which the creditor submits to the levying officer along with the writ, asking the officer to issue the garnishment order.⁶

The levying officer then issues the Earnings Withholding Order (form WG-002) and serves it on your employer. This is the document that actually starts the withholding, and you should receive a copy.⁷ Keep it. The levying officer’s name and address are printed in the upper right corner, and you’ll need them if you decide to fight the garnishment.

Filing a Claim of Exemption to Reduce or Stop the Garnishment

If the withholding leaves you short on necessities, you can ask a judge to reduce it or stop it entirely by filing a Claim of Exemption. California law does not set a hard deadline, but the deductions continue every payday until you act, so filing quickly matters.⁸ You can file as long as no prior hearing has been held on this order, or if your financial circumstances have materially changed since the last hearing.

Two forms make up the packet:⁹

Claim of Exemption (form WG-006) explains why the garnishment should be reduced or stopped. The common ground is that you need the wages to pay for housing, food, medical care, and other necessities for yourself and your dependents.¹⁰
Financial Statement (form WG-007/EJ-165) is a detailed breakdown of your income, monthly expenses, assets, and debts. Be accurate. The judge decides your case largely on these numbers.

Take or mail the original and one copy of both forms to the levying officer named in the upper right corner of your WG-002, usually the county sheriff’s office. These forms go to the levying officer, not the court.⁹

Income That May Be Protected

Some income is exempt from garnishment under federal and California law. If any of these make up part of what you earn or receive, note them on your Claim of Exemption.

Social Security benefits are generally exempt from garnishment and bank levies, with exceptions for federal tax debts and child or spousal support.¹¹
Unemployment and disability insurance benefits are exempt, though disability benefits can be reached by a health care provider who provided the treatment, and both can be partially garnished for child or spousal support.
Workers’ compensation is exempt, with a narrow exception for family support orders collected through a child support enforcement agency.
Public assistance is generally exempt while you’re receiving benefits.
Public and private retirement benefits are generally exempt, though family support orders can reach retirement income.

If protected funds like Social Security were direct-deposited into your bank account and then levied, that’s a separate situation. You’d use a bank levy claim of exemption (form EJ-160) rather than the wage garnishment forms, which only address money withheld from your paycheck.

What Happens After You File

The levying officer promptly mails your claim to the creditor with a notice. The creditor has 10 days to oppose. If nothing is filed in that window, the levying officer terminates the garnishment or reduces it to the amount you did not claim as exempt.⁸ This outcome happens more often than you might expect, particularly with debt buyers who don’t actively monitor their cases.

A creditor who wants to fight the claim must file a notice of opposition with the levying officer within those 10 days and a notice of motion with the court in the same window. The hearing has to be set no later than 30 days after the motion is filed, though the court can extend that timeline for good cause.⁸ If a delay pushes the hearing past 30 days and the underlying judgment is for personal debt, you can ask for an emergency order staying the garnishment until the hearing.

You’ll receive a Notice of Opposition (form WG-009) and a Notice of Hearing (form WG-010/EJ-175) by mail. Gather documents that back up the numbers on your Financial Statement: recent pay stubs, bank statements, rent or mortgage receipts, utility bills, and medical expenses. You can also submit a written declaration on form MC-030 if you want to put your explanation in front of the judge in writing.¹²

At the hearing the judge reviews your financial picture and reaches one of three outcomes: the garnishment ends completely, the withholding amount is reduced, or the garnishment continues as originally ordered. If the underlying judgment was entered by default because you never responded to the lawsuit, that’s a separate issue worth exploring; you may have grounds to file a motion to set aside the default judgment.

When Different Rules Apply

The WG-002 process described above is the standard consumer-debt garnishment. Several other types of withholding orders use different forms and different limits, and if you receive one of them, follow the instructions on that form rather than this process.

Child or spousal support uses form WG-004. Support takes priority over all other garnishments and can reach a larger share of your earnings: federal law allows up to 50% of disposable earnings if you’re supporting another spouse or child, and up to 60% if you’re not, with an additional 5% for arrears older than 12 weeks.³
State tax debts use form WG-022, issued by the Franchise Tax Board, and rank above regular consumer-debt garnishments.⁴
Elder or dependent adult financial abuse judgments use form WG-030, which also takes priority over standard garnishments.
Defaulted federal student loans can be garnished up to 15% of disposable pay through an administrative process that does not require a court order.

The exemption limits and response procedures differ across these categories, and using the wrong response form can cost you time while the withholding keeps coming out of every paycheck.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 706.050
2
California Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
4
California Courts. Guide to Earnings Withholding Orders for Employers
5
California Courts. Writ of Execution (EJ-130)
6
California Courts. Application for Earnings Withholding Order (WG-001)
7
California Courts. Earnings Withholding Order (WG-002)
8
California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 706.105
9
California Courts. Make a Claim of Exemption for Wage Garnishment
10
California Courts. Claim of Exemption (WG-006)
11
Social Security Administration. Levy and Garnishment of Benefits (SSR 79-4)
12
California Courts. Wage Garnishment