{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-1173.4","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 12-1173.4","heading":"Continuing earnings garnishment","body":"A. Any judgment creditor may obtain a continuing lien on\n\nearnings. For the purposes of this section, \"earnings\" means any\n\nform of payment to an individual including, but not limited to,\n\nsalary, wages, commission, or other compensation, but does not\n\ninclude reimbursements for travel expenses for state employees.\n\nB. A continuing earnings garnishment shall be commenced by\n\nfiling the affidavit provided for by Section 1172 of this title.\n\nC. The summons required by this section shall be on a form\n\nprescribed by the Oklahoma Bar Association. The Administrative\n\nOffice of the Courts shall provide public access to the summons by\n\nproviding a link to the form on the Oklahoma State Courts Network\n\n(OSCN) website.\n\nD. The summons required by this section shall be served upon\n\neach of the garnishees, together with a copy of the judgment\n\ncreditor's affidavit, a garnishee's answer form, notice of\n\ngarnishment and request for hearing, and claim for exemptions, in\n\nthe manner provided for in Section 2004 of this title and shall be\n\nreturned with proof of service within ten (10) days of its date.\n\nE. The garnishee's answer shall be on a form prescribed by the\n\nOklahoma Bar Association. The Administrative Office of the Courts\n\nshall provide public access to the garnishee's answer by providing a\n\nlink to the form on the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN)\n\nwebsite.\n\nF. Within seven (7) days after the end of each pay period, or,\n\nif the judgment debtor does not have regular pay periods or is not\n\npaid by the garnishee within thirty (30) days from the date of the\n\ngarnishment summons, and after any payment by the garnishee to the\n\njudgment debtor, the garnishee shall file an answer with the court\n\nclerk, and pay the amount withheld to the judgment creditor's\n\nattorney or to the judgment creditor, if there is no attorney,\n\ntogether with a copy of the answer which shall state:\n\n1. Whether the garnishee was the employer of the defendant\n\nnamed in the notice, was indebted to the defendant, or was under any\n\nliability to the defendant in any manner or upon any account for\n\nearnings, specifying the beginning and ending dates of the pay\n\nperiod, if applicable, existing at the time of the service of the\n\naffidavit and summons, the total amounts earned in the entire pay\n\nperiod, and all of the facts and circumstances necessary to a\n\ncomplete understanding of any indebtedness or liability. When the\n\ngarnishee shall be in doubt respecting the liability or\n\nindebtedness, the garnishee may set forth all of the facts and\n\ncircumstances concerning the same, and submit the question to the\n\ncourt;\n\n2. If the garnishee shall claim any setoff, defense, other\n\nindebtedness, liability, lien, or claim to the property, the facts\n\nand circumstances in the affidavit;\n\n3. At the garnishee's option, any claim of exemption from\n\nexecution on the part of the defendant or other objection known to\n\nthe garnishee against the right of the judgment creditor to apply\n\nthe indebtedness or property disclosed;\n\n4. If the garnishee shall disclose any indebtedness or the\n\npossession of any property to which the defendant or any other\n\nperson makes claim, at the garnishee's option, the names and\n\naddresses of other claimants and, so far as known, the nature of\n\ntheir claims; and\n\n5. That the garnishee has mailed or hand-delivered a copy of\n\nthe notice of garnishment and exemptions, application for hearing,\n\nand the manner and date of compliance.\n\nG. The garnishment summons served on the garnishee under this\n\nsection is a lien on the defendant's property due at the time of\n\nservice or the effective date of the summons, to the extent the\n\nproperty is not exempt from garnishment. This lien attaches to\n\nsubsequent nonexempt earnings until one of the following occurs:\n\n1. The judgment against the defendant is vacated, modified, or\n\nsatisfied in full;\ngarnishment summons served on the garnishee under this\n\nsection is a lien on the defendant's property due at the time of\n\nservice or the effective date of the summons, to the extent the\n\nproperty is not exempt from garnishment. This lien attaches to\n\nsubsequent nonexempt earnings until one of the following occurs:\n\n1. The judgment against the defendant is vacated, modified, or\n\nsatisfied in full;\n\n2. The summons is dismissed; or\n\n3. One hundred eighty (180) days from the effective date of the\n\nsummons have elapsed; provided, an affidavit and summons shall\n\ncontinue in effect and shall apply to a pay period beginning before\n\nthe end of the one-hundred-eighty-day period even if the conclusion\n\nextends beyond the end of the period.\n\nH. 1. A garnishment lien under this section has priority over\n\nany subsequent garnishment lien or garnishment summons served on the\n\ngarnishee during the period it is in effect, regardless of whether\n\nthe amounts withheld by the garnishee are reduced by the court or by\n\nagreement of the parties.\n\n2. a. When a garnishment summons is served under this\n\nsection on a garnishee while a previous garnishment\n\nlien is still in effect, the garnishee shall answer\n\nthe subsequent garnishment lien or garnishment summons\n\nby stating that the garnishee is presently holding\n\ndefendant's property under a previous garnishment lien\n\nor garnishment summons, and by giving the date when\n\nall previous garnishment liens or garnishment summons\n\nare expected to end.\n\nb. The subsequent summons is not effective if a summons\n\nor lien on the same cause of action is pending at the\n\ntime of service unless the subsequent summons in the\n\nsame cause of action is served after the one-hundred-\n\nfiftieth day of the previous garnishment lien.\n\nI. 1. When a postjudgment wage garnishment under Section 1173\n\nof this title or a continuing earnings garnishment under this\n\nsection is issued against a defendant already subject to an income\n\nassignment for child support, the garnishee shall determine the\n\nmaximum percentage of the defendant's disposable earnings according\n\nto the provisions of Section 1171.2 of this title and then deduct\n\nfrom that percentage the actual percentage of the defendant's\n\ndisposable earnings actually withheld under the income assignment.\n\nThe resulting percentage shall be the amount to be withheld by the\n\ngarnishee, not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%).\n\n2. For any involuntary legal or equitable procedures through\n\nwhich the earnings of any individual are required to be withheld for\n\nthe payment of any debt which has statutory priority over this\n\nsection, the amount withheld pursuant to a garnishment under this\n\nsection shall be reduced by the actual sums withheld pursuant to\n\nsuch other involuntary process.\n\nJ. A continuing earnings garnishment may be suspended or\n\nmodified for a specific period of time within the effective period\n\nof the garnishment by the judgment creditor upon agreement with the\n\njudgment debtor, which agreement shall be in writing and filed by\n\nthe judgment creditor with the clerk of the court in which the\n\njudgment was entered, and a copy of which shall be mailed by first-\n\nclass mail, postage prepaid by the judgment creditor to the\n\ngarnishee.\n\nK. Any garnishment issued against a debtor already subject to a\n\ncontinuing or noncontinuing earnings garnishment shall take effect\n\nimmediately upon the conclusion of the prior garnishment, and shall\n\nbe effective for its full one-hundred-eighty-day period of time or\n\nas otherwise provided in subsection G of this section.","path":["OK Code","Title 12"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os12.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"b996b18a06f5f0494608a6ca2b9e428a1f2270f835a6e97a6a7ca68e6488647d","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-1173.3","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-1174"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}