An earnings withholding order may not be issued against the earnings of the spouse of the judgment debtor except by court order upon noticed motion.
§ 706.109.Issuance of Order Against Earnings of Debtor's Spouse
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 5. Wage Garnishment · Article 5. Procedure for Earnings Withholding Orders and Exemption Claims · Enacted 1671 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 706.109 bars an earnings withholding order from reaching the wages of the judgment debtor's spouse unless a court specifically authorizes it on a noticed motion.
Full Text of § 706.109
Plain-English Summary
Ordinary wage garnishment procedure targets the debtor's own earnings. This section closes off the obvious workaround of going after a spouse's paycheck instead: no earnings withholding order may issue against a debtor's spouse's wages without a court order obtained on noticed motion.
That requirement puts the decision in front of a judge, with notice to the affected spouse, rather than letting a creditor route garnishment through the routine levying-officer or process-server channels used against the debtor's own wages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a creditor garnish the wages of the judgment debtor's spouse directly?
Only with a court order obtained on noticed motion. Section 706.109 bars issuing an earnings withholding order against a spouse's earnings any other way.
Why does a spouse's paycheck get special protection here?
Because the spouse isn't the judgment debtor, reaching those earnings requires a judge's specific authorization rather than the routine application process used against the debtor's own wages.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1671, Sec. 20.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: garnish spouse's wages californiaearnings withholding order against spouse