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

What can be taken from your pay and bank account, and how to claim exempt money.

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). File and serve a reply to the garnishee's answers with a request for hearing, using the reply form you received, within 14 days after the answers were served on you (the court may still accept a later reply if it is filed before the property is sold or handed over to the creditor).

How long it lasts
8 years
Interest after the judgment
See the rule

Claiming what the law protects in Utah

File and serve a reply to the garnishee's answers with a request for hearing, using the reply form you received, within 14 days after the answers were served on you (the court may still accept a later reply if it is filed before the property is sold or handed over to the creditor). In it you can claim the money or property is exempt. The court must hold an evidentiary hearing within 14 days. If you do not reply, the property is treated as not exempt (except as the bank's answers show).

Law: Utah R. Civ. P. 64D(g)-(i); Utah Code § 78B-5-501 et seq.

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

How long a judgment lasts in Utah

Interest after the judgment

A judgment on a lawful contract carries the contract rate, which must be stated in the judgment. Other judgments: the federal post-judgment interest rate as of January 1 each year plus 2%, fixed for the life of the judgment. A judgment under $10,000 in an action about the purchase of goods and services: 10% plus the federal post-judgment rate in effect on January 1 of that year.

How long it lasts

8 years. The creditor can renew it by filing a motion to renew, with an affidavit accounting for all payments and notice to you, before the 8 years (or any renewal) run out.

Law: Utah Code § 15-1-4; § 78B-2-311; § 78B-6-1802

Judgment interest and how long a judgment lasts, by state

Your bank account after a judgment in Utah

The creditor gets a writ of garnishment served on your bank. The bank must serve you with the writ, its answers, a notice of exemptions and two copies of a reply form, and must hold the money for 21 days. Exempt property is listed in the Utah Exemptions Act.

Law: Utah Code § 78B-5-501 et seq.

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

Your paycheck after a judgment in Utah

For consumer credit judgments, no more than 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage per week, whichever is less; 15% for a private education loan.

Law: Utah Code § 70C-7-103

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

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)

Protecting your pay and bank in Utah

  1. Open every letter

    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

    Utah's rule: File and serve a reply to the garnishee's answers with a request for hearing, using the reply form you received, within 14 days after the answers were served on you (the court may still accept a later reply if it is filed before the property is sold or handed over to the creditor).

  4. Attend the hearing

    A judge decides disputed claims; bring every paper.

Where to get free help in Utah

Questions about collection after a judgment in Utah

What is the judgment interest rate in Utah?

A judgment on a lawful contract carries the contract rate, which must be stated in the judgment. Other judgments: the federal post-judgment interest rate as of January 1 each year plus 2%, fixed for the life of the judgment. A judgment under $10,000 in an action about the purchase of goods and services: 10% plus the federal post-judgment rate in effect on January 1 of that year.

When does a judgment expire in Utah?

8 years. The creditor can renew it by filing a motion to renew, with an affidavit accounting for all payments and notice to you, before the 8 years (or any renewal) run out.

Can my wages be garnished in Utah?

For consumer credit judgments, no more than 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage per week, whichever is less; 15% for a private education loan.

What is a bank levy in Utah?

The creditor gets a writ of garnishment served on your bank. The bank must serve you with the writ, its answers, a notice of exemptions and two copies of a reply form, and must hold the money for 21 days. Exempt property is listed in the Utah Exemptions Act.

What is the deadline to claim an exemption in Utah?

File and serve a reply to the garnishee's answers with a request for hearing, using the reply form you received, within 14 days after the answers were served on you (the court may still accept a later reply if it is filed before the property is sold or handed over to the creditor). In it you can claim the money or property is exempt. The court must hold an evidentiary hearing within 14 days. If you do not reply, the property is treated as not exempt (except as the bank's answers show).

Keep reading about Utah

Sources

Sources

Last checked: Oct 24, 2026.

Federal sources