Does New Hampshire allow a continuing garnishment of future paychecks?

RSA 512:21, I exempts wages for labor performed after the trustee writ is served on the employer, so that writ does not reach pay you earn afterward. A creditor may use other mechanisms, including a periodic payment order under RSA 524:6-a directed at the debtor. Support withholding under RSA 161-C:11, III operates differently and continues at each earnings interval until the stated support debt is withheld.

Can my employer fire me over a garnishment?

15 U.S.C. § 1674(a) provides that no employer may discharge any employee by reason of the fact that his earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness, and subsection (b) sets penalties for a willful violation. That is a restriction on discharge, not a remedy for money wrongly withheld from your pay. 15 U.S.C. § 1677(2) preserves state laws prohibiting discharge where earnings have been garnished for more than one indebtedness.

Do prior bankruptcy cases change whether the stay helps me?

Yes. Under § 362(c)(3), where a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under chapter 7, 11 or 13 and a case of the debtor was pending within the preceding one-year period but was dismissed — other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after a § 707(b) dismissal — the stay as to any action regarding a debt, property securing it, or a lease terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the later filing.

Can the court extend or impose a stay despite earlier dismissals?

Under § 362(c)(3)(B), on a party in interest's motion and after notice and a hearing completed before the 30-day period expires, the court may extend the stay as to any or all creditors, subject to conditions, only if good faith is demonstrated as to the creditors to be stayed. Under § 362(c)(4), if a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual and two or more single or joint cases of that debtor were pending within the previous year but dismissed, no stay arises. The exception is a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after a § 707(b) dismissal. A party in interest may request imposition within 30 days after the later filing. After notice and a hearing, the court may impose a stay as to any or all creditors only on a showing of good faith as to the creditors to be stayed; it takes effect upon entry of the order.

Which exemption list applies if I recently moved to New Hampshire?

11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A) looks to state or local law applicable where the debtor's domicile was located for the 730 days immediately preceding the filing. If domicile was not in a single state for that 730-day period, it looks to where domicile was for the 180 days immediately preceding those 730 days, or for a longer portion of that 180-day period than in any other place. If that requirement leaves the debtor ineligible for any exemption, the debtor may elect the subsection (d) list.

Wages & debt

Wage Garnishment in New Hampshire: What the Law Says and What Bankruptcy Changes

For ordinary judgment collection, New Hampshire’s trustee process limits which wages a creditor can reach. RSA 512:21 protects wages for work performed after service of the writ and provides exemptions for wages earned before service. Bankruptcy generally creates a stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a), but support withholding, prior dismissals and court-ordered relief can change that protection.

Key points

Ordinary New Hampshire collection against wages runs through trustee process, where a creditor's writ is served on the employer as "trustee" (RSA 512:1, RSA 512:3).
Wages for labor performed after service of the trustee writ are exempt from that writ under RSA 512:21, I.
Wages earned before service are exempt under RSA 512:21, II except in actions founded upon a debt on a judgment issued by a New Hampshire court, where a weekly exemption of 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage applies.
A separate New Hampshire route is a court order directing the debtor to make periodic payments after an ability-to-pay inquiry (RSA 524:6-a).
Filing a petition under 11 U.S.C. § 301 operates as a stay under § 362(a) without a separate order, though § 362(b), (c) and (d) carry significant exceptions.

New Hampshire’s ordinary trustee process does not work like a continuing deduction from future paychecks. When the writ was served and when you earned the wages matter. Support withholding and court-ordered payments by the debtor are separate processes.

How much of your pay can be reached in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire's wage exemptions sit in RSA 512:21. Paragraph I exempts "wages for labor performed by the defendant after the service of the writ upon the trustee" — so a trustee writ does not capture pay you earn after it is served on your employer. Paragraph II exempts wages earned before service, with an important carve-out: that protection does not apply "in actions founded upon a debt on a judgment issued by a New Hampshire court of competent jurisdiction." In those cases, pre-service wages are exempt only up to 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage set by the Fair Labor Standards Act for each week, and the employer must pay the exempted amount to the employee on the usual payday unless other cause prohibits it. Paragraph II is itself subject to paragraph X. Federal law separately caps ordinary garnishment, and state law that is more protective is preserved by 15 U.S.C. § 1677.

Post-service wages: exempt from that writ (RSA 512:21, I).
Pre-service wages: exempt, except in an action on a New Hampshire court judgment (RSA 512:21, II).
In that exception: 50 times the FLSA minimum hourly wage per week is exempt.

What does the federal wage ceiling add?

Two federal statutes frame the outer limit. 15 U.S.C. § 1672 defines "earnings" to include wages, salary, commission, bonus and periodic pension or retirement payments; "disposable earnings" are what remains after amounts required by law to be withheld; and "garnishment" is any legal or equitable procedure through which earnings are withheld for a debt. 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a) then limits the maximum part of aggregate disposable earnings subject to garnishment for a workweek to the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings, or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage. Subsection (b) removes those restrictions for support orders issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or through a qualifying administrative procedure, for orders of a United States court with jurisdiction over chapter 13 cases, and for any debt due for a State or Federal tax. Support orders have their own higher percentage ceilings in § 1673(b)(2).

Ordinary workweek ceiling under 15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)
Measure	Limit	Which applies
Percentage test	25 percent of disposable earnings for that week	Whichever of the two is less
Floor test	Amount by which disposable earnings exceed thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage	Whichever of the two is less

Which income do New Hampshire statutes protect?

RSA 512:21 lists money, rights and credits exempt from trustee process beyond wages. It covers wages for the personal services and earnings of the defendant's wife and minor children; any pension or bounty money allowed by United States law before it has come into the defendant's actual possession; funds held by the trustee as clerk, cashier or other employee of the defendant received in the ordinary course of that employment; fees due for attendance at court as a juror or witness; and damages recovered for conversion of property exempt from attachment. Paragraph XI exempts money, rights and credits "deposited in any account designated as a payroll account" — which concerns designated payroll accounts specifically, not every personal checking account. Paragraph IX addresses a weekly exemption in actions founded on a loan contract subject to RSA 399-A, and paragraph X addresses certain such contracts further. Whether a particular account or payment falls inside any of these categories is a fact question worth putting to a lawyer.

Pension or bounty money under federal law, before actual possession (RSA 512:21, IV).
Juror and witness attendance fees (RSA 512:21, VI).
Accounts designated as payroll accounts (RSA 512:21, XI).

What do the statutes require of creditors and the court?

Any personal action except replevin may be begun by trustee process (RSA 512:1), brought in the county or judicial district where it would belong if no trustee were summoned (RSA 512:2). Under RSA 512:3, the trustee writ is an attachment and summons served on both the defendant and the trustee, served together with a disclosure form, and its first page must carry a boldface notice in at least 12-point type telling the trustee to file the disclosure with the court, the plaintiff and the defendant within 30 days or risk default. RSA 512:9-d fixes the four interrogatories that form may contain. RSA 512:10 bars charging a trustee on default until it has neglected to file a properly served disclosure after such notice as the court orders, and RSA 512:11 allows a trustee who misses the 30-day deadline to be adjudged chargeable up to the judgment amount.

Trustee writ served on defendant and trustee alike, with a disclosure form (RSA 512:3).
Boldface 12-point notice on the first page of the attachment (RSA 512:3).
Disclosure due within 30 days of service (RSA 512:3, RSA 512:11).

Which provisions may matter when contesting a trustee process?

RSA 512:18-a sets the objection mechanism: if the court receives no objection to a trustee disclosure within 30 days of the date of receipt, the disclosure determines the trustee's chargeability. If the plaintiff or the defendant files a written objection within 30 days of receipt, or the trustee fails to file a disclosure within 30 days of service, the court must schedule an evidentiary hearing on the extent of chargeability. RSA 512:12 lets either party take the trustee's deposition within 30 days of the disclosure's filing, on proper notice and payment of travel and attendance fees, and RSA 512:18 permits a motion for jury trial where the depositions show the trustee denies liability. RSA 512:20 directs the court to charge the trustee only for non-exempt property held at the time of service, subject to reductions. RSA 512:40 allows a defendant to apply for release of the attachment on a sufficient bond.

Objection window: 30 days from receipt of the disclosure (RSA 512:18-a).
Chargeability limited to non-exempt property held at service (RSA 512:20).
Release of attachment on bond, after notice to the parties (RSA 512:40).

How does a periodic payment order differ, and what about support?

RSA 524:6-a is a separate route and it is directed at you, not your employer. When judgment is rendered, the court either inquires at that time into the defendant's ability to pay in full or, on the plaintiff's petition, orders the defendant to appear for that inquiry, and it may order periodic payments it deems appropriate. Payments ordered at judgment do not begin until the appeal period expires. The judgment may be enforced against any property except income and property exempt from attachment or execution. Failure to pay constitutes civil contempt unless the judge, upon inquiry, finds the failure resulted from a change in circumstances, was not intentional or in bad faith, or there was other good cause. District Division Rule 1.21 adds that the court may at any time review, revise, modify, suspend or revoke any order, and requires an allowance for the debtor's support and family support before ordering payments. Child support withholding is a different regime under RSA 161-C:11.

Ability-to-pay inquiry precedes any periodic payment order (RSA 524:6-a, I).
Retirement-plan income carries its own exemption from periodic payments (RSA 524:6-a, II).
Support withholding exemptions run from RSA 161-C:11, II, not RSA 512:21.

How does filing bankruptcy affect a New Hampshire garnishment?

A voluntary case is commenced by filing a petition, and that filing itself constitutes the order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 301). Under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a), the petition operates as a stay applicable to all entities of, among other things, the continuation of a judicial or administrative action against the debtor on pre-petition claims, the enforcement of a pre-petition judgment against the debtor or property of the estate, and any act to collect or recover a pre-petition claim. The ordinary initial stay does not require a separate order or prior creditor notice. Repeat-filing rules can change whether it arises. The stay is not universal: § 362(b)(2)(C) excepts withholding of income that is property of the estate or of the debtor for payment of a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or a statute. Prior dismissed cases can affect the stay under § 362(c)(3) and (c)(4), and a party in interest may seek relief under § 362(d).

Filing is itself the order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 301(b)).
The ordinary initial stay generally arises upon filing (11 U.S.C. § 362(a)).
Support income withholding is excepted (11 U.S.C. § 362(b)(2)(C)).

What should you ask a lawyer or legal aid about this?

Bring the writ, disclosure, notices and dates to a lawyer. Under 11 U.S.C. § 522(b), exemption choice depends on the federal domicile rule and applicable state law. The subsection (d) list differs from the paragraph (3) alternative, which includes other federal exemptions, applicable state or local exemptions, certain tenancy interests and qualifying retirement funds. Ask which option is available given where you have lived.

Was the underlying action founded on a debt on a New Hampshire court judgment, which changes RSA 512:21, II?
When exactly was the trustee writ served, and which of my wages were earned before that date?
Is the objection window under RSA 512:18-a still open on my disclosure?
Is any account of mine designated as a payroll account under RSA 512:21, XI?
Do I have prior dismissed bankruptcy cases that affect the stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3) or (c)(4)?
Which exemption list is available to me under 11 U.S.C. § 522(b), given where I have lived?

Frequently asked questions

Does New Hampshire allow a continuing garnishment of future paychecks?: RSA 512:21, I exempts wages for labor performed after the trustee writ is served on the employer, so that writ does not reach pay you earn afterward. A creditor may use other mechanisms, including a periodic payment order under RSA 524:6-a directed at the debtor. Support withholding under RSA 161-C:11, III operates differently and continues at each earnings interval until the stated support debt is withheld.
Can my employer fire me over a garnishment?: 15 U.S.C. § 1674(a) provides that no employer may discharge any employee by reason of the fact that his earnings have been subjected to garnishment for any one indebtedness, and subsection (b) sets penalties for a willful violation. That is a restriction on discharge, not a remedy for money wrongly withheld from your pay. 15 U.S.C. § 1677(2) preserves state laws prohibiting discharge where earnings have been garnished for more than one indebtedness.
Do prior bankruptcy cases change whether the stay helps me?: Yes. Under § 362(c)(3), where a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under chapter 7, 11 or 13 and a case of the debtor was pending within the preceding one-year period but was dismissed — other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after a § 707(b) dismissal — the stay as to any action regarding a debt, property securing it, or a lease terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the later filing.
Can the court extend or impose a stay despite earlier dismissals?: Under § 362(c)(3)(B), on a party in interest's motion and after notice and a hearing completed before the 30-day period expires, the court may extend the stay as to any or all creditors, subject to conditions, only if good faith is demonstrated as to the creditors to be stayed. Under § 362(c)(4), if a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual and two or more single or joint cases of that debtor were pending within the previous year but dismissed, no stay arises. The exception is a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after a § 707(b) dismissal. A party in interest may request imposition within 30 days after the later filing. After notice and a hearing, the court may impose a stay as to any or all creditors only on a showing of good faith as to the creditors to be stayed; it takes effect upon entry of the order.
Does the automatic stay stop support income withholding?: No. 11 U.S.C. § 362(b)(2)(C) provides that the filing does not operate as a stay with respect to the withholding of income that is property of the estate or of the debtor for payment of a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or a statute. Separately, 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b)(1)(A) exempts support orders from the ordinary workweek ceiling, and § 1673(b)(2) sets higher percentage limits for support.
Which exemption list applies if I recently moved to New Hampshire?: 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A) looks to state or local law applicable where the debtor's domicile was located for the 730 days immediately preceding the filing. If domicile was not in a single state for that 730-day period, it looks to where domicile was for the 180 days immediately preceding those 730 days, or for a longer portion of that 180-day period than in any other place. If that requirement leaves the debtor ineligible for any exemption, the debtor may elect the subsection (d) list.

Sources

RSA 512:21 — Exemptions from trustee process
RSA 512:1 — Trustee process authorized
RSA 512:2 — Venue
RSA 512:3 — Trustee writ and disclosure form
RSA 512:9-d — Contents of trustee disclosure form
RSA 512:10 — Default of trustee
RSA 512:11 — Failure to file disclosure
RSA 512:12 — Deposition of trustee
RSA 512:18 — Motion for jury trial
RSA 512:18-a — Objection to disclosure; evidentiary hearing
RSA 512:20 — Charging the trustee
RSA 512:40 — Release of attachment on bond
RSA 524:6-a — Periodic payments on judgment
N.H. Cir. Ct. Dist. Div. R. 1.21 — Motion for periodic payments
RSA 161-C:11 — Exemptions from support withholding
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. § 1672 — Definitions
15 U.S.C. § 1673 — Restriction on garnishment
15 U.S.C. § 1674 — Restriction on discharge from employment
15 U.S.C. § 1677 — Effect on State laws

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Sources verified October 9, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

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