Wage Garnishment in Nevada: What the Law Says and What Bankruptcy Changes

How much of your pay can be garnished in Nevada?

NRS § 31.295 sets Nevada's ordinary limit. Aggregate disposable earnings subject to garnishment may not exceed, whichever is less: 18 percent of disposable earnings for the relevant workweek if gross weekly salary or wage on the date the most recent writ issued was $770 or less; 25 percent if it exceeded $770; or the amount by which disposable earnings for that week exceed 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage in effect when the earnings are payable. The percentage applies to disposable earnings, meaning pay remaining after amounts required by law to be withheld, not to the gross figure that sets the tier. Federal law leaves state laws providing more limited garnishment in force (15 U.S.C. § 1677). Nevada computes that gross figure by statute (NRS § 31.2955):

• Current-year gross earnings as of the date the most recent writ issued, divided by weeks worked in the current calendar year.
• If the writ issued at the start of the year before any current-year earnings, the previous year's gross earnings divided by weeks worked that year.
• If the employee had not been paid by that date, or neither rule applies, the employer's determination of anticipated gross weekly earnings.
• Partial weeks round down at three excess days or fewer, up at four or more.

What do Nevada statutes require of creditors and courts?

Ordinary wage garnishment in Nevada follows a judgment. A judgment creditor whose judgment remains unsatisfied, with an execution issued, delivered and uncollected, may have a writ of garnishment issued without application to the court (NRS § 31.450). Where personal property, including debts due or to become due, is not in the debtor's possession or control, the sheriff serves a writ in aid of execution on the holder, on the creditor's instructions and without a court order (NRS § 21.120). The writ is issued by the sheriff and requires each garnishee to answer interrogatories within 20 days after service (NRS § 31.260). Execution may occur only if the sheriff mails a copy of the writ and the notice of execution as NRS § 21.076 prescribes: regular mail to the last known address, or the attorney's office if the debtor is represented, by the next business day after the writ was served. Not every garnishment follows a judgment: a writ in aid of attachment requires a court order (NRS § 31.240; NRS § 31.249).

Which income is protected from garnishment under Nevada law?

Nevada's earnings definition is broad: compensation paid or payable for personal services in the regular course of business, including compensation in the debtor's possession, compensation held in a bank or other financial institution account and, for a receivable, compensation due the debtor (NRS § 31.295). Money in a personal bank account follows a separate mechanism (NRS 21.105); a creditor may also reach accounts at more than one institution (NRS § 21.107). The ordinary limits do not apply to support orders, bankruptcy court orders, or state or federal tax debts. Support garnishment has separate, higher ceilings depending on whether the debtor supports another spouse or child, with higher limits for arrearages at least 12 weeks before the workweek begins. Other provisions exempt specified payments, subject to their own conditions:

• Payments received under the federal Social Security Act, including retirement and survivors' benefits, supplemental security income and disability insurance benefits.
• Money and other benefits paid under a court order for the support, education and maintenance of a child, or for the support and maintenance of a former spouse, including arrearages.
• Each is exempt except as NRS 21.090 itself provides or federal law requires; the statutory notice warns exemptions may not apply in some cases, such as enforcing a support judgment (NRS § 21.075).

Which statutory protections may matter when contesting a Nevada garnishment?

The statute that matters most if you want to contest the amount is NRS § 21.112. To claim an exemption, the judgment debtor must, within 10 days after the notice of the writ is served by mail under NRS § 21.076 identifying the specific property levied on, serve the claim on the sheriff, the garnishee and the judgment creditor and file it with the clerk of the court that issued the writ. All four destinations matter. Where the property levied on is earnings, the statute separately requires filing the claim within 10 days after the date of each withholding — so the first notice is not the only moment that matters. The claim must be executed as NRS § 53.045 provides: signed and dated under penalty of perjury, in substantially the statutory form. The clerk supplies the form and instructions, a checklist of commonly claimed exemptions and an order for the court, with no fee for providing or filing it.

• The judgment creditor must file an objection to the claim and a notice for hearing with the court within 8 judicial days after the claim is served on the judgment creditor by mail or in person, and must serve them on the judgment debtor, the sheriff and any garnishee.
• The judgment creditor must serve notice of the hearing date on the debtor, the sheriff and any garnishee not less than 5 judicial days before the hearing.
• Unless continued for good cause, the hearing is held within 7 judicial days after the objection and notice are filed; the debtor has the burden to prove the exemption.
• Other remedies provided by law survive, and a judgment creditor may not require a judgment debtor to waive an exemption (NRS § 21.112).

How does filing bankruptcy affect a Nevada garnishment?

A voluntary petition commences the case and is an order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 301). It generally operates as a stay of prepetition actions against the debtor, judgment enforcement, and acts to collect prepetition claims (11 U.S.C. § 362(a)). Wage garnishment on a prepetition judgment usually falls within that; no separate order is needed. Section 362(b) excepts certain acts, including income withholding for a domestic support obligation; repeat filings can shorten the stay or prevent it. Under § 362(d) the court grants relief, such as terminating or conditioning the stay, on request after notice and a hearing. Nevada's list applies only if Nevada law governs under § 522(b) (see the FAQ below); it excludes the § 522(d) exemptions (NRS 21.090(3)), not other federal exemptions or qualifying retirement funds.

How long does one Nevada garnishment writ last, and can you be fired over it?

If the garnishee's answer indicates it is the defendant's employer, the writ served on it is deemed to continue for 180 days or until the amount demanded in the writ is satisfied, whichever occurs earlier (NRS § 31.296). That limits one writ, not the debt or collection generally. The statute also requires the creditor to prepare an accounting and report every 180 days, and a later application for a writ on the same debt must not be approved without it. If employment ends before the writ is satisfied, the garnishee is liable only for earned but unpaid disposable earnings subject to garnishment. Separately, NRS § 31.298 makes it unlawful for an employer to discharge or discipline an employee exclusively because the employer is required to withhold the employee's earnings pursuant to a writ of garnishment. The word exclusively matters: the statute does not make an employee immune from unrelated discipline, and it is not itself a remedy for over-withholding.

What should you ask a lawyer about a Nevada garnishment?

This page is a statutory overview, not advice about your case. If you consult a lawyer or a legal aid organization, bring the writ, the notice of execution, recent pay stubs and the garnishee's answers, and ask:

• Was the gross weekly salary or wage used for my writ computed as NRS § 31.2955 requires, and does the withholding match the applicable limit?
• Is a claim of exemption still timely for me, and exactly what must be filed and served?
• If I file bankruptcy, which exemption list applies to me, and does any § 362(b) exception or prior filing affect the stay?

Frequently asked questions

What if nobody objects to my claim of exemption?

If an objection and notice for a hearing are not filed within 8 judicial days after your claim is served, the property must be released within 9 judicial days after service, following the claim form's instructions (NRS § 21.112). Separately, if the sheriff or garnishee receives no copy of a claim within 25 calendar days after levy, the garnishee releases the property to the sheriff, and property the sheriff holds goes to the judgment creditor. That is not extra filing time, and filing alone does not guarantee recovery; other remedies provided by law remain.

Does bankruptcy stop every garnishment?

No. Section 362(a) stays a broad range of collection acts on filing, but § 362(b) carves out exceptions — including withholding of income for a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or statute — and a court may grant relief from the stay under § 362(d) after notice and a hearing. Repeat filings can also shorten the stay or prevent it from arising. Which rule applies to a specific garnishment is a question for a lawyer.

How long does the automatic stay last?

Section 362(c) sets two durations, subject to subsections (d), (e), (f), (h) and its other paragraphs. The stay of an act against property of the estate continues until that property is no longer property of the estate. The stay of any other act continues until the earliest of case closing, dismissal, or, in a chapter 7 case concerning an individual, or a chapter 9, 11, 12 or 13 case, a discharge being granted or denied. Nothing here makes a stay permanent, and not every petition creates one.

I had a case dismissed last year. What does § 362(c)(3) do?

Section 362(c)(3) applies when a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual debtor under chapter 7, 11 or 13, and a single or joint case of that debtor was pending within the preceding 1-year period but was dismissed, other than one refiled under a chapter other than 7 after a § 707(b) dismissal. The stay then terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the later filing, as to any action taken with respect to a debt, property securing such debt, or any lease. It does not follow that every protection ends. An extension requires a party in interest's motion, notice, a hearing completed before the 30-day period expires, and a showing that the later filing is in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed.

What if two or more of my cases were dismissed in the past year?

Under § 362(c)(4), where a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under title 11 and two or more of that debtor's cases were pending within the previous year but were dismissed, other than one refiled under a chapter other than 7 after a § 707(b) dismissal, the stay does not go into effect on filing. On request, the court promptly enters an order confirming no stay is in effect. If a party in interest requests within 30 days after the later filing, the court may, after notice and a hearing, order the stay to take effect as to any or all creditors on a showing of good faith as to the creditors to be stayed, effective on entry of the order.

Which exemption list applies if I file in Nevada?

Which state's exemptions apply is set by 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A): the law applicable on the filing date at the place where your domicile was located for the 730 days immediately preceding filing; or, if your domicile was not in a single State for that period, the place where it was located for the 180 days immediately preceding those 730 days, or for the longer portion of that 180-day period than any other place. If that test points to Nevada, Nevada law governs, and Nevada has excluded the federal § 522(d) list (NRS 21.090(3)); Nevada filers may not elect it. Property exempt under other federal law, and retirement funds in accounts exempt from taxation under the listed Internal Revenue Code sections, are separate from the § 522(d) list. If the domiciliary requirement would leave a debtor ineligible for any exemption, the debtor may elect the subsection (d) list.

Sources

• NRS § 31.295 — Maximum amount of disposable earnings subject to garnishment
• NRS § 31.2955 — Determination of gross weekly salary or wage
• NRS § 31.450 — Garnishment after judgment
• NRS § 21.120 — Garnishment in aid of execution
• NRS § 31.260 — Writ of garnishment: issuance and contents
• NRS § 21.076 — Service of notice of execution
• NRS § 21.075 — Notice of execution: form and contents
• NRS § 31.240 — Writ of garnishment with attachment
• NRS § 31.249 — Writ of garnishment in aid of attachment: court order required
• NRS 21.105 — Personal bank accounts: amounts not subject to execution
• NRS § 21.107 — Accounts in more than one financial institution
• NRS § 21.112 — Claim of exemption; objection; hearing; release
• NRS § 53.045 — Unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury
• NRS § 31.296 — Continuing writ served on employer; accounting
• NRS § 31.298 — Discharge or discipline of employee unlawful
• NRS 21.090 — Property exempt from execution
• NRS 21.090(3) — Federal section 522(d) exemptions do not apply
• 11 U.S.C. § 301 — Voluntary cases
• 11 U.S.C. § 362 — Automatic stay · official source
• 11 U.S.C. § 522 — Exemptions · official source
• 15 U.S.C. § 1677 — Effect on State laws

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