A continuing writ of garnishment in Florida is a court order that directs your employer to withhold part of every paycheck and send it to a creditor who has already won a money judgment against you. The withholding keeps going, pay period after pay period, until the judgment is paid in full or the court dissolves the writ. That ongoing reach into future wages is what separates it from a one-time garnishment.
How It Differs From a Regular Garnishment
A standard writ of garnishment freezes whatever a third party holds for you at a single moment, such as the balance in a bank account on the day the writ is served. A continuing writ works differently. It creates a lien that extends forward in time, latching onto wages that have not yet been earned when the writ reaches your employer.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 77.0305 – Continuing Writ of Garnishment Against Salary or Wages
That is why this type of writ is used against employers rather than banks. It targets recurring compensation for personal services: hourly wages, salary, commissions, and bonuses. A creditor can only obtain one after winning a judgment against you, by filing a motion with the court that states the judgment amount.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 77.03 – Issuance of Writ After Judgment Government employees get no pass. The statute waives sovereign immunity, so state agencies and local governments must honor the writ the same way a private employer does.
How Much of Your Paycheck Can Be Taken
Federal law caps garnishment for an ordinary consumer debt at the smaller of two numbers each week:
- 25% of your disposable earnings, or
- the amount by which your disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. At $7.25 per hour, that protected floor is $217.50 per week.
Say your disposable earnings are $300 for the week. Twenty-five percent is $75. The amount above the $217.50 floor is $82.50. Your employer withholds the smaller figure, $75.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment If your disposable earnings for the week fall at or below $217.50, nothing can be taken at all.
Disposable earnings are not your gross pay. They are what remains after your employer subtracts amounts the law requires it to withhold: federal and state income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1672 – Definitions Voluntary deductions like health insurance premiums or 401(k) contributions do not reduce the figure the garnishment is calculated against.
Your employer may also take a small administrative fee from your wages: up to $5 for the first deduction and up to $2 for each one after that.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 77.0305 – Continuing Writ of Garnishment Against Salary or Wages
Child Support and Alimony Are Different
The 25% cap applies only to ordinary debts. Child support and alimony orders allow much deeper garnishment: 50% of disposable earnings if you are supporting another spouse or child not covered by the order, and 60% if you are not. Each limit rises by 5 percentage points when you are more than 12 weeks behind.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment Support obligations usually run through income deduction orders rather than the Chapter 77 continuing writ, but the percentages still apply.
Florida’s Head of Family Exemption
Florida layers a stronger protection on top of the federal floor. If you qualify as “head of family,” meaning you provide more than half the financial support for a child or other dependent, your wages receive extra shielding from garnishment for ordinary debts.5FindLaw. Florida Code 222.11 – Exemption of Wages from Garnishment
The protection runs in two tiers based on your weekly disposable earnings:
- $750 or less per week: your wages are fully exempt and nothing can be garnished.
- More than $750 per week: only the amount over $750 can be reached, and even that part is protected unless you previously waived the exemption in writing.
A waiver is not something a creditor can slip into fine print. Florida law requires it to appear as a separate document attached to the original contract, written in the same language as the contract, and printed in at least 14-point type with specific warning language. Even with a valid waiver, the garnishment still cannot exceed the federal cap.
One detail that often surprises people: once exempt wages are deposited into a bank account, they stay protected from garnishment for six months after deposit, as long as the funds can be traced to your earnings. Mixing them with other money in the same account does not automatically destroy the exemption.5FindLaw. Florida Code 222.11 – Exemption of Wages from Garnishment
If you are not a head of family, the federal limits still apply: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above $217.50 per week.
How to Claim an Exemption
Exemptions do not kick in on their own. You have to file a Claim of Exemption and Request for Hearing with the court clerk, with notarization, and send a copy to the creditor (or their attorney) and the garnishee (or their attorney).6Florida Senate. Florida Code 77.041 – Notice to Individual Defendant for Claim of Exemption from Garnishment; Procedure for Hearing
The deadline is 20 days from the date you receive the Notice to Defendant. Treat it as a hard cutoff. The notice itself lists the common exemptions, including head of family, Social Security, retirement, and disability benefits.
After you file, the creditor has 8 business days to object if you hand-delivered the claim, or 14 business days if you mailed it. No objection means the writ dissolves and your wages are released without a hearing. If the creditor does object, the court sets a hearing promptly. You carry the burden of proving the exemption, so bring documentation of your dependents, your income, and any support you provide.
When the Writ Ends
A continuing writ stays in force until one of the following happens:
- The employer has withheld enough to cover the principal, accrued interest, and court costs listed in the writ.
- You leave the job, so there are no wages for the writ to attach to.
- You file a valid exemption claim and either prove the exemption at a hearing or the creditor fails to object in time.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 77.07 – Dissolution of Writ
- The creditor sits on the case. If the creditor fails to file either a dismissal or a motion for final judgment within six months of filing the writ, it automatically dissolves and the employer is released. The creditor can extend this by serving the employer and debtor with a notice of extension, buying another six months.
You can also challenge the writ itself by filing a motion to dissolve, arguing that the creditor’s motion for garnishment contained false statements. That motion must be filed within 20 days after you receive notice. Miss the window and the court will strike the motion and treat you as being in default on the issue.
Your Employer Cannot Fire You Over One Garnishment
Federal law prohibits an employer from firing you because your wages were garnished for a single debt. An employer that violates this faces a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in prison, or both.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1674 – Restriction on Discharge from Employment by Reason of Garnishment The protection covers one debt. If garnishments for two or more separate debts hit your paycheck, federal law no longer stops termination on that basis alone.