Money & Debt · Wage Garnishment
Wage Garnishment Laws in Georgia
How much of your paycheck a creditor can take in Georgia, the pay that is fully protected, and what to do right now if a garnishment has started, cited to the statute.
The limit and what is protected in Georgia
How much a creditor can take, the pay that is exempt, and where it comes from in the code.
| Most a creditor can take | 25% of disposable earnings |
| How the limit works | The federal ceiling: 25% of disposable pay, or 30× the minimum wage protected |
| Fully protected pay | Weekly disposable pay up to $217.50 (30 times the $7.25 federal minimum wage) is fully protected. A creditor can reach only the lesser of 25% of your disposable pay or the amount above $217.50 a week. |
| Other exemptions |
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| Federal backstop | The federal 25% / 30× minimum-wage floor also applies; a creditor can never take more than federal law allows. |
| Statute | O.C.G.A. §18-4-5 |
Georgia rewrote its entire garnishment law in 2016 after a federal court, in Strickland v. Alexander (N.D. Ga. 2015), held the old statute unconstitutional for failing to tell debtors about their exemptions and how to claim them. The limit that used to sit in former O.C.G.A. §18-4-20 now lives in O.C.G.A. §18-4-5. A continuing wage garnishment now runs for 1,095 days (about three years), extended from the old 179-day period by Senate Bill 443, effective January 1, 2021. To fight a garnishment you file a traverse or a claim of exemption with the court.
The garnishment period was lengthened from 179 days to 1,095 days effective January 1, 2021 (Senate Bill 443), so a single continuing garnishment can keep pulling from your paycheck for roughly three years unless the debt is paid off first.
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if your wages are being garnished in Georgia. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Confirm the protected floor first
Under O.C.G.A. §18-4-5 the first $217.50 of your weekly disposable pay cannot be touched, and a creditor can take only the lesser of 25% of disposable pay or the amount above that floor. If your take-home is at or below $217.50 a week, none of it should be garnished.
- File a traverse or claim of exemption fast
If the amount is wrong or your earnings are exempt, file a traverse or claim of exemption with the court that issued the garnishment. There is a short deadline on your papers. Georgia rebuilt this process in 2016 specifically so debtors could raise exemptions, so use it.
- Watch your bank account for a levy
A creditor can also try to garnish money already in your bank account. Wages and other exempt funds (such as Social Security) can still be protected there, but you usually have to claim the exemption in writing, so check your account and act if it is frozen.
- Get free Georgia legal help
GeorgiaLegalAid.org and your county magistrate or state court clerk can point you to the traverse and claim-of-exemption forms and the filing deadline. This is legal information, not legal advice, so confirm your own situation with a lawyer.
You do not have to face a garnishment alone. This resource can help you check whether an exemption applies and how to file the paperwork.
→ GeorgiaLegalAid.org (statewide legal aid self-help)This is general legal information, not legal advice. Deadlines to claim an exemption are short and vary by court, so act quickly and confirm the specifics for your case.
What Georgia workers get wrong
Georgia follows the federal garnishment ceiling, so on an ordinary consumer judgment a creditor can take the lesser of 25% of your disposable pay or the amount by which your weekly disposable pay exceeds $217.50. That $217.50 is 30 times the $7.25 federal minimum wage, and it is always protected. The bigger Georgia story is procedural. In 2015 a federal court in Strickland v. Alexander struck down the state's old garnishment statute because it never told debtors they had exemptions or how to claim them. The General Assembly rewrote the whole chapter in 2016, and the wage cap that used to sit in former O.C.G.A. §18-4-20 now lives in O.C.G.A. §18-4-5. If a garnishment is wrong or your pay is exempt, you file a traverse or a claim of exemption with the court. One recent change matters: since January 1, 2021, a continuing wage garnishment runs for 1,095 days, roughly three years, instead of the old 179.
Common questions
How much of my paycheck can a creditor garnish in Georgia?
For an ordinary consumer judgment, O.C.G.A. §18-4-5 lets a creditor take the lesser of 25% of your disposable pay or the amount by which your weekly disposable pay exceeds $217.50. Disposable pay is what is left after taxes and other mandatory deductions. If the judgment came from a private student loan, the cap drops to 15%.
What is the $217.50 protected amount in Georgia?
It is a floor of pay that cannot be garnished at all. Georgia uses the federal formula: 30 times the $7.25 federal minimum wage equals $217.50 a week. A creditor can reach only the portion of your weekly disposable pay above that figure, and never more than 25%, whichever leaves you more.
How do I stop or object to a wage garnishment in Georgia?
You file a traverse or a claim of exemption with the court that issued the garnishment. A traverse challenges whether the garnishment is correct; a claim of exemption protects earnings the law shields. Georgia added a clear exemption procedure when it rewrote the statute in 2016, but there is a short deadline on your papers, so file quickly.
How long does a wage garnishment last in Georgia?
Since January 1, 2021, a continuing wage garnishment lasts up to 1,095 days, about three years, from the day the employer is served. That is a big jump from the old 179-day period, changed by Senate Bill 443. It can end sooner if the debt is paid off or you leave the job.
Why did Georgia change its garnishment law?
In Strickland v. Alexander (2015), a federal court found Georgia's old garnishment statute unconstitutional because it did not notify debtors of their exemptions or give them a fair way to claim them. The General Assembly rewrote the whole garnishment chapter in 2016, moving the wage cap from former O.C.G.A. §18-4-20 to O.C.G.A. §18-4-5 and adding the exemption process now in use.
Can I be fired for a wage garnishment in Georgia?
No, not for a single debt. O.C.G.A. §18-4-5 bars an employer from firing you because your earnings were garnished for any one obligation, even if the employer receives more than one summons for that same obligation. Protection can weaken once garnishments involve separate debts, so know where your situation stands.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.