12-805.Summons; Issuance.

Article XII. Judgments - Enforcement · Part 8. Wage Deductions · Last amended 2006 · Last verified July 20, 2026

In one sentenceSets out what a judgment creditor must file to start a wage deduction summons -- an affidavit and interrogatories -- what the required wage deduction notice must tell the debtor, and how service can proceed by mail in smaller counties.

Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-805

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(a) Upon the filing by a judgment creditor, its attorney or other designee of (1) an affidavit that the affiant believes any person is indebted to the judgment debtor for wages due or to become due, as provided in Part 8 of Article XII of this Act, and includes the last address of the judgment debtor known to the affiant as well as the name of the judgment debtor, and a certification by the judgment creditor or his attorney that, before filing the affidavit, the wage deduction notice has been mailed to the judgment debtor by first class mail at the judgment debtor's last known address, and (2) written interrogatories to be answered by the employer with respect to the indebtedness, the clerk of the court in which the judgment was entered shall issue summons against the person named in the affidavit as employer commanding the employer to appear in the court and answer the interrogatories in writing under oath. The interrogatories shall elicit all the information necessary to determine the proper amount of non-exempt wages. The interrogatories shall require that the employer certify that a copy of the completed interrogatories as specified in subsection (c) of Section 12-808 has been mailed or hand delivered to the judgment debtor and shall be in a form consistent with local court rules. The summons shall further command federal agency employers, upon effective service of summons pursuant to 5 USC 5520a, to commence to pay over deducted wages in accordance with Section 12-808. The summons shall be in a form consistent with local court rules. The summons shall be accompanied by a copy of the underlying judgment or a certification by the clerk of the court that entered the judgment, or by the attorney for the judgment creditor, setting forth the date and amount of the judgment, allowable costs expended, interest accumulated, credits paid by or on behalf of the judgment debtor and the balance due the judgment creditor, and one copy of a wage deduction notice in substantially the following form:

"WAGE DEDUCTION NOTICE (Name and address of Court) Name of Case: (Name of Judgment Creditor),

Judgment Creditor v. (Name of Judgment Debtor), Judgment Debtor. Address of Judgment Debtor: (Insert last known address) Name and Address of Attorney for Judgment Creditor or of Judgment Creditor (if no attorney is listed): (Insert name and address) Amount of Judgment: $.......... Employer: (Name of Employer) Return Date: (Insert return date specified in summons) NOTICE: The court shall be asked to issue a wage deduction summons against the employer named above for wages due or about to become due to you. The wage deduction summons may be issued on the basis of a judgment against you in favor of the judgment creditor in the amount stated above. The amount of wages that may be deducted is limited by federal and Illinois law. (1) Under Illinois law, the amount of wages that may be deducted is limited to the lesser of (i) 15% of gross weekly wages or (ii) the amount by which disposable earnings for a week exceed the total of 45 times the federal minimum hourly wage or, under a wage deduction summons served on or after January 1, 2006, the minimum hourly wage prescribed by Section 4 of the Minimum Wage Law, whichever is greater.

(2) Under federal law, the amount of wages that may be deducted is limited to the lesser of (i) 25% of disposable earnings for a week or (ii) the amount by which disposable earnings for a week exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage.

(3) Pension and retirement benefits and refunds may be claimed as exempt from wage deduction under Illinois law. You have the right to request a hearing before the court to dispute the wage deduction because the wages are exempt. To obtain a hearing in counties with a population of 1,000,000 or more, you must notify the Clerk of the Court in person and in writing at (insert address of Clerk) before the Return Date specified above or appear in court on the date and time on that Return Date. To obtain a hearing in counties with a population of less than 1,000,000, you must notify the Clerk of the Court in writing at (insert address of clerk) on or before the Return Date specified above. The Clerk of the Court will provide a hearing date and the necessary forms that must be prepared by you or your attorney and sent to the judgment creditor and the employer, or their attorney, regarding the time and location of the hearing. This notice may be sent by regular first class mail." (b) In a county with a population of less than 1,000,000, unless otherwise provided by circuit court rule, at the request of the judgment creditor or his or her attorney and instead of personal service, service of a summons for a wage deduction may be made as follows:

(1) For each employer to be served, the judgment creditor or his or her attorney shall pay to the clerk of the court a fee of $2, plus the cost of mailing, and furnish to the clerk an original and one copy of a summons, an original and one copy of the interrogatories and an affidavit setting forth the employer's mailing address, an original and one copy of the wage deduction notice required by subsection (a) of this Section, and a copy of the judgment or certification described in subsection (a) of this Section. The original judgment shall be retained by the clerk.

(2) The clerk shall mail to the employer, at the address appearing in the affidavit, the copy of the judgment or certification described in subsection (a) of this Section, the summons, the interrogatories, and the wage deduction notice required by subsection (a) of this Section, by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, showing to whom delivered and the date and address of delivery. This Mailing shall be mailed on a "restricted delivery" basis when service is directed to a natural person. The envelope and return receipt shall bear the return address of the clerk, and the return receipt shall be stamped with the docket number of the case. The receipt for certified or registered mail shall state the name and address of the addressee, the date of the mailing, shall identify the documents mailed, and shall be attached to the original summons.

(3) The return receipt must be attached to the original summons and, if it shows delivery at least 3 days before the return date, shall constitute proof of service of any documents identified on the return receipt as having been mailed.

(4) The clerk shall note the fact of service in a permanent record.

(c) Instead of personal service, a summons for a wage deduction may be served and returned in the manner provided by Supreme Court rule for service, otherwise than by publication, of a notice for additional relief upon a party in default.

Plain-English Summary

Section 12-805 is the entry point for a wage deduction case. To get a summons issued, the judgment creditor (or an attorney or designee) must file an affidavit stating a belief that some person owes the debtor wages, giving the debtor's name and last known address, and certifying that a wage deduction notice was already mailed to the debtor by first-class mail. Alongside the affidavit, the creditor files written interrogatories for the employer to answer under oath -- questions detailed enough to let the court determine the correct amount of non-exempt wages. The clerk then issues summons commanding the named employer to appear and answer, and the summons must be accompanied by a copy of the underlying judgment (or a clerk's or attorney's certification of the judgment amount, costs, interest, and balance due) plus the wage deduction notice itself.

The statute prescribes the notice's substance in detail. It tells the debtor the case name, the employer named, the return date, and the judgment amount, and it walks through both the Illinois cap under Section 12-803 (the lesser of 15% of gross weekly wages or the amount disposable earnings exceed 45 times the applicable minimum hourly wage) and, for the debtor's information, the federal formula (the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage). It also tells the debtor that pension and retirement benefits may be exempt and explains how to request a hearing to dispute the deduction -- with different steps depending on whether the county has 1,000,000 or more people (notify the clerk in person and in writing, or appear in court, by the return date) or fewer (notify the clerk in writing by the return date).

In counties with fewer than 1,000,000 people, the statute also allows service by mail instead of personal service, at the creditor's request. The creditor pays the clerk a $2 fee per employer plus mailing costs and furnishes originals and copies of the summons, interrogatories, affidavit, notice, and judgment documentation; the clerk then mails everything to the employer by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, using restricted delivery when the employer is a natural person. A return receipt showing delivery at least 3 days before the return date proves service. Where mail service under that procedure is not used, Section 12-805(c) allows service and return in the manner Supreme Court rule prescribes for serving a notice of additional relief on a defaulted party.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must a judgment creditor file to start a wage deduction case in Illinois?

An affidavit stating a belief that a person owes the debtor wages, the debtor's name and last known address, and a certification that the wage deduction notice was already mailed to the debtor -- plus written interrogatories for the employer to answer under oath.

What does the wage deduction notice tell the debtor?

It gives the case name, employer, return date, and judgment amount, explains the Illinois 15%-or-45-times-minimum-wage cap from Section 12-803 and the federal 25%-or-30-times-minimum-wage comparison, notes that pension and retirement benefits may be exempt, and explains how to request a hearing.

How does a debtor request a hearing to dispute the wage deduction as exempt?

In counties of 1,000,000 or more people, the debtor must notify the clerk in person and in writing before the return date, or appear in court on that date. In smaller counties, the debtor must notify the clerk in writing on or before the return date.

Can a wage deduction summons be served on the employer by mail instead of in person?

Yes, in counties with fewer than 1,000,000 people, at the creditor's request. The clerk mails the documents by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, for a $2 fee per employer plus mailing costs.

What proves service was completed under this mail procedure?

A return receipt showing delivery at least 3 days before the return date, attached to the original summons, constitutes proof of service of the documents identified on the receipt.

Amendment History

(Source: P.A. 94-306, eff. 1-1-06.)

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026. · Official source

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