Missouri garnishment: a direct-deposit benefits account is not garnishable property at all
Missouri procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Most states protect exempt funds by letting you claim them after a levy. Missouri does something cleaner for one class of account: it writes it out of the definition.
Where every deposit in an account is a recurring electronic deposit of identified exempt funds, that account is not "property subject to garnishment" in the first place. There is nothing to claim, because there is nothing the writ reaches.
What a writ can reach — and what it cannot
Mo. R. Civ. P. 90.01(d):
"Property subject to garnishment" is all goods, personal property, money, credits, bonds, bills, notes, checks, choses in action, or other effects of debtor and all debts owed to debtor. 'Property subject to garnishment' does not include funds of the debtor on deposit with a bank or other financial institution in an account in which all funds are: (1) Deposited electronically on a recurring basis, and (2) Reasonably identified as funds exempt from garnishment pursuant to section 513.430.1(10)(a), (b), or (c), RSMo, or subject to the exemptions under Title 31 C.F.R. Part 212;
| Reached | goods, money, credits, notes, checks, choses in action, and all debts owed to you |
| Excluded | an account where all funds are recurring electronic deposits of identified exempt funds |
| Exemption sources | § 513.430.1(10)(a), (b), (c) RSMo and 31 C.F.R. Part 212 |
The exclusion is strict on one point and generous on another.
Strict: it requires that all funds in the account qualify. Deposit a paper check, or a payment that is not exempt, and the account falls outside the exclusion. Keeping benefits in a dedicated account is what makes the protection work.
Generous: where it applies, the protection covers the whole balance, not a capped dollar amount, and it operates by definition rather than by claim.
The federal reference matters too. 31 C.F.R. Part 212 is the rule requiring a bank to look back over two months of direct-deposited federal benefits and protect them, and Missouri folds it into the state definition.
The garnishor's request, and the return date
Rule 90.02:
The clerk of the court that entered the judgment shall issue a writ of garnishment if the garnishor files a written request stating: (a) That a judgment has been entered against the debtor and remains unsatisfied; (b) The judgment balance, as defined in section 408.040, RSMo, and the amount remaining unpaid; (c) That the garnishor knows or has good reason to believe that the garnishee is indebted to debtor, that the garnishee is obligated to make periodic payments to debtor, or that the garnishee has control or custody of property belonging to debtor; (d) The requested return date of the writ, which shall be either 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, or 180 days after the filing of the request for the writ or, alternatively, that a continuous wage garnishment is requested; and (e) Whether payments made by the garnishee shall be made to the court or to the attorney for the garnishor.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Judgment balance | as defined in § 408.040 RSMo, with the amount unpaid |
| Belief | that the garnishee owes you money, owes periodic payments, or holds your property |
| Return date | 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 or 180 days — no other figure |
| Or | a continuous wage garnishment |
| Payments go to | the court or the garnishor's attorney |
The return date is a closed menu. A writ naming any other period does not match the rule, and the request must state which of the six was chosen — or ask for the continuous form instead.
Rule 90.01(e) defines that alternative:
"Continuous wage garnishment" is the garnishment of earnings, as defined in section 525.030, RSMo, that does not have a return date and instead remains in effect until the judgment is paid in full or until the employment relationship is terminated, whichever occurs first.
A continuous wage garnishment has no return date at all. It ends only when the judgment is satisfied or the job ends. If your employer has been served with one, expect it to run indefinitely rather than expire in six months.
The clerk's role is ministerial: on receipt, the clerk "shall process the application, issue the writ, and return the garnishment to the requesting party", who then serves it.
You must be told — twice
Rule 90.03 puts the notice duty on both the creditor and the garnishee.
(b) Within five days of notice of service upon the garnishee, the garnishor shall serve a copy of the summons and writ on the judgment debtor by delivering it to the judgment debtor as provided in Rule 43.01(c) or by mailing the documents to the debtor's last known address. Service by mail shall be complete upon mailing. At the time of mailing, a certificate of service shall be filed with the court.
(c) Within five days of service of the summons and writ upon the garnishee, the garnishee shall hand deliver or mail a copy of the summons and writ on the judgment debtor at debtor's last known address according to the garnishee's records.
| Who | When | How |
|---|---|---|
| Garnishor | within 5 days of notice of service on the garnishee | Rule 43.01(c) delivery, or mail to last known address |
| Garnishee | within 5 days of service on it | hand delivery or mail to the address in its own records |
Two independent notices, on two slightly different clocks, and the garnishee's uses the address its records carry — often more current than the one the creditor has.
The garnishor must also file a certificate of service showing the caption, the party served, the date and manner, the documents and a signature. Service by mail is "complete upon mailing", so the certificate is the record that it happened.
If you were garnished and received nothing from either source, that is the provision to check.
The writ itself is served on the garnishee by the sheriff under 90.03(a). Where the sheriff fails, the garnishor may ask the court to appoint a special process server, and service may also be made on an employee designated to receive it or on the garnishee's "paying, disbursing, or auditing officer."
Where the garnishee must hand property over
Rule 90.06 applies when the court has ordered immediate delivery of property. The garnishee has three options.
File a delivery bond — before or after delivery — approved by the court, with the garnishee as principal and "one or more sufficient sureties", conditioned that the property "shall be forthcoming as the court may direct."
Furnish a new bond if the court finds the first insufficient. Failure to do so within the time fixed means the court "shall order that the property subject to garnishment be delivered to the sheriff."
Request a hearing instead:
As an alternative to filing a delivery bond, the garnishee may file a written request for a hearing to determine whether the property should be immediately delivered to the sheriff. The hearing shall be held within ten days after the filing of the request.
Ten days is a firm outer limit, which makes this the fast route where a garnishee disputes that it holds your property at all.
The execution itself
Rule 76.01 is brief:
An execution may be issued on application signed by the party or his attorney and stating the address of the person making the application.
Two requirements only — a signature and the applicant's address.
And Rule 90.13 closes the loop where the garnishee itself is held liable: "When judgment is rendered against any garnishee, the execution shall be such as is allowed by law on a general judgment." A garnishee that ignores a writ ends up as an ordinary judgment debtor.
Where this connects
If the underlying judgment came by default, Missouri's rule is unusually favorable — it defines good cause to include conduct that was not intentionally or recklessly designed to impede the case. See setting aside a Missouri default judgment.
Missouri has no motion to compel step in discovery; a party goes straight to sanctions. See Missouri discovery sanctions.
For the case itself, see the Missouri motion to dismiss and Missouri summary judgment, where a non-compliant response admits the fact.
How Missouri compares
| Missouri | New Jersey | Maryland | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exempt direct-deposit account | outside the definition | excluded by the writ | $500 automatic | — |
| Whole-balance protection | yes, if all deposits qualify | yes, if all 90 days qualify | no | — |
| Return date | 30/60/90/120/150/180 days | 24 months | — | — |
| Continuous wage garnishment | yes, until paid or employment ends | — | until satisfied | — |
| Debtor notified by the garnishee | yes, within 5 days | — | — | — |
| Debtor notified by the creditor | yes, within 5 days | 10 days before turnover | — | — |
| Garnishee's hearing | within 10 days | — | — | — |
A short checklist
- Check what is in the account. A single non-qualifying deposit takes it out of the 90.01(d) exclusion.
- Keep exempt benefits in a dedicated direct-deposit account if you want the whole-balance protection.
- Look for both notices — one from the creditor, one from your bank or employer, each within five days.
- Check the return date against the menu. It must be 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 or 180 days, or continuous.
- A continuous wage garnishment does not expire. It runs until the judgment is paid or the job ends.
- Check the judgment balance stated in the request against what you have actually paid.
- If a garnishee disputes holding your property, it can force a hearing within ten days.
Where these rules live
- Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 76.01 — Application for Execution
- Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 90.01 — Definitions
- Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 90.02 — Request for Issuance of Writ of Garnishment
- Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 90.03 — Service on Garnishee
- Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 90.06 — Delivery Bond of Garnishee
- Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 90.13 — Execution Against Garnishee
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and which earnings and funds are exempt is governed by statutes this site doesn't cover in full.