After a debt judgment in Kansas: garnishment, bank levy, exemptions

How a creditor collects after a judgment, what the law protects, and how to claim it in time.

Checked against official sources: Oct 24, 2026.

Short answer

After a judgment, the creditor can ask the court to take part of your pay or freeze your bank account, but some money is exempt (protected by law). After the garnishment is served, the creditor must send you a notice explaining the exemptions and how to claim them.

How long it lasts
5 years
Interest after the judgment
12%

Claiming what the law protects in Kansas

After the garnishment is served, the creditor must send you a notice explaining the exemptions and how to claim them. To claim an exemption (or object to how your exempt earnings were figured), file a request for hearing no later than 14 days after you were served with the notice, get the hearing date from the clerk, and hand-deliver or mail a copy to the creditor or its lawyer. The hearing is held 7 to 14 days after your request. You must prove the money is exempt.

Law: K.S.A. 61-3508; K.S.A. 60-735

Count your deadline to claim an exemption

The date is counted in your browser.

Read the notice you got from the court, your bank or your employer.

An estimate from our state data, not legal advice. Court holidays and local rules can change a deadline. File early, and ask the court clerk if you are not sure.

Exemption claim cover letter

The judgment's life in Kansas

Interest after the judgment

Limited actions judgments: 12% a year. Regular civil (Chapter 60) judgments: 4 percentage points above the Federal Reserve discount rate as of the July 1 before the judgment, adjusted every July 1; the Secretary of State publishes the rate in the Kansas Register each July.

How long it lasts

A judgment becomes dormant if no renewal affidavit is filed and no execution or garnishment is issued within 5 years after it is entered (or within 5 years after the last renewal or execution). A dormant judgment can be revived by a motion filed within 2 years after it became dormant. After 2 more years of dormancy, the judge must release it when asked.

Law: K.S.A. 16-204(e)(1), (2); K.S.A. 60-2403, 60-2404; K.S.A. 61-3610

Judgment interest and how long a judgment lasts, by state

Wage garnishment in Kansas

The federal limit applies, so a creditor can take the lesser of 25% of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. One creditor can't start more than one wage garnishment in any 30-day period, and a debt buyer or collection agency that was assigned your account can't garnish wages at all.

Law: K.S.A. 60-2310(b), (d)

These garnishment limits are from our sister site, which checks them against official sources: Debt Collector Map: Kansas

For an ordinary debt, a creditor can take at most 25% of your take-home pay, or the part above 30 times the federal minimum wage if that is less. Many states protect more.

Law: 15 U.S.C. 1673(a)

When a creditor freezes your account in Kansas

The creditor gets an order of garnishment served on your bank, which holds the nonexempt money in your account. No fixed dollar amount in a bank account is protected automatically; you must claim exemptions, such as Social Security and other exempt funds.

Your bank must protect up to two months of Social Security, SSI, VA and some other federal benefits that were paid into your account by direct deposit. You don't have to ask.

Law: 31 CFR 212.5, 212.6

Protecting your pay and bank in Kansas

  1. Watch for notices

    Notices from the court, your bank or your employer can carry short deadlines.

  2. Gather proof

    Benefit letters and bank statements show which money is exempt.

  3. Claim your exemptions

    Kansas's rule: After the garnishment is served, the creditor must send you a notice explaining the exemptions and how to claim them.

  4. Attend the hearing

    If the creditor objects, the judge decides at a hearing. Bring your proof.

Free legal help in Kansas

Questions about collection after a judgment in Kansas

How much interest does a judgment add in Kansas?

Limited actions judgments: 12% a year. Regular civil (Chapter 60) judgments: 4 percentage points above the Federal Reserve discount rate as of the July 1 before the judgment, adjusted every July 1; the Secretary of State publishes the rate in the Kansas Register each July.

How long does a judgment last in Kansas?

A judgment becomes dormant if no renewal affidavit is filed and no execution or garnishment is issued within 5 years after it is entered (or within 5 years after the last renewal or execution). A dormant judgment can be revived by a motion filed within 2 years after it became dormant. After 2 more years of dormancy, the judge must release it when asked.

How much of my pay can be taken in Kansas?

The federal limit applies, so a creditor can take the lesser of 25% of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. One creditor can't start more than one wage garnishment in any 30-day period, and a debt buyer or collection agency that was assigned your account can't garnish wages at all.

Can a creditor take money from my bank account in Kansas?

The creditor gets an order of garnishment served on your bank, which holds the nonexempt money in your account. No fixed dollar amount in a bank account is protected automatically; you must claim exemptions, such as Social Security and other exempt funds.

What is the deadline to claim an exemption in Kansas?

After the garnishment is served, the creditor must send you a notice explaining the exemptions and how to claim them. To claim an exemption (or object to how your exempt earnings were figured), file a request for hearing no later than 14 days after you were served with the notice, get the hearing date from the clerk, and hand-deliver or mail a copy to the creditor or its lawyer. The hearing is held 7 to 14 days after your request. You must prove the money is exempt.

Related Kansas pages

Sources

Sources

Last checked: Oct 24, 2026.

Federal sources