Current through July 1, 2026 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceTrial Rule 64 keeps every existing civil remedy for seizing a person or property to secure a judgment — arrest, attachment, garnishment, lis pendens, ejectment, replevin, and more — while adding Indiana-specific safeguards for writs that seize a person and rules for pleading contested title.
(A)Ancillary remedies to assist in enforcement of judgment.
(1)At the commencement of and during the course of an action, all remedies providing for seizure of person or property for the purpose of securing satisfaction of the judgment ulti- mately to be entered in the action are available under the circumstances and in the manner provided by law and existing at the time the remedy is sought. The remedies thus available include, without limitation, arrest, attachment, attachment and garnishment, lis pendens notice, ejectment, replevin, sequestration, and other corresponding or equivalent legal or equitable remedies, however designated and regardless of whether by existing procedure the remedy is ancillary to an action or must be obtained by an independent action. Such rem- edies are subject to the provisions of this rule, and, except as herein otherwise provided, the action in which any of the foregoing remedies is used shall be commenced and prosecuted pursuant to these rules.
(2)The court may issue a writ of attachment, bench warrant, or body attachment if:
(a)a rule to show cause has been issued by the court and served upon the judgment debtor by delivering a copy of the same to the judgment debtor personally. Personal ser- vice under this rule includes certified mail signed by the judgment debtor;
(b)if service is not made in open court, the person making service has filed a return or affi- davit stating that personal service was made upon the judgement debtor and setting forth the time, place, and manner thereof; and
(c)the judgment debtor has failed to appear at the rule to show cause hearing as ordered. In addition to statutory requirements, the writ of attachment, bench warrant, or body attach- ment shall contain sufficient information to identify the judgment debtor.
(3)A person taken into custody in a civil action must be brought before the court that issued the writ, bench warrant or body attachment, or before a judicial officer having jurisdiction over the person within forty-eight (48) hours, excluding weekends and holidays, following the person being taken into custody. The person shall be advised of the procedures for release, including any bond, escrow amount set by the issuing court in the writ, bench warrant or body attachment.
(4)Effective September 1, 2020, a writ of attachment for a person expires one hundred eighty
(180)days after it is issued and the expiration date shall appear on the face of the writ. A sher- iff who has an expired writ of attachment for a person shall make a return on the writ stating it has expired and shall return it to the clerk of the court that issued it. The clerk shall enter the fact that the writ of attachment for a person has expired on the chronological case sum- mary and notify the judgment creditor. The judgment creditor may request the court to issue another writ of attachment for a person as a part of a subsequent proceeding supplemental action. Writs of attachment for a person that are pending on the effective date of this rule will expire on March 1, 2021.
(B)Attachment or attachment and garnishment. Attachment or attachment and garnishment shall be allowed in the following cases in addi- tion to those where such remedies prior to judgment are now permitted by law:
(1)It shall be a cause for attachment that the defendant or one of several defendants is a foreign corporation, a nonresident of this state, or a person whose residence and where- abouts are unknown and cannot be determined after reasonable investigation before the commencement of the action.
(2)Any interest in tangible or intangible property owned by the defendant shall be subject to attachment or attachment and garnishment, as the case may be, if it is subject to exe- cution, proceedings supplemental to execution or any creditor process allowed by law. Wages or salaries shall not be subject to pre-judgment attachment and garnishment, except as otherwise provided by law.
(3)Attachment or attachment and garnishment shall be allowed in favor of the plaintiff suing upon a claim for money, whether founded on contract, tort, equity or any other the- ory and whether it is liquidated, contingent or unliquidated; or upon a claim to determine the rights in the property or obligation attached or garnisheed.
(4)It shall not be objectionable that the property or obligation being attached or gar- nisheed is in the possession of the plaintiff or is owing by the plaintiff to the defendant or by the defendant to the plaintiff.
(5)A governmental organization, or a representative, including a guardian, receiver, assignee for the benefit of creditors, trustee or representative of a decedent’s estate may be named as a garnishee and bound by the duties of a garnishee.
(6)A writ of attachment against the defendant’s real estate or his interest therein is effect- ively served by recordation of notice of the action in the appropriate lis pendens record, and, unless vacant, by serving the writ of attachment or notice thereof upon a person in possession of the land.
(C)Defendant’s title raised by denial--Effect of dismissal. In action where the plaintiff is required to establish title to any fund or property, including without limitation any ejectment, replevin, quiet title, partition, equitable, legal or other action, the defendant in his answer may deny the plaintiff’s claim of title and thereby place in issue the defendant’s title or interest therein. If the defendant prevails under such an answer he shall be entitled to a judgment or decree enunciating his title or interest and any proper negative or affirmative relief against the plaintiff consistent with his proof. Unless the defendant joins in the notice of dismissal, no voluntary dismissal by the plaintiff in such cases shall be allowed without prejudice after the plaintiff has obtained possession of the property or fund or other relief with respect thereto by posting bond, or after the defend- ant by answer (whether by denial, affirmative defense, counter-claim or cross-claim) has placed title in issue.
Amendment History
This rule’s current text took effect September 1, 2020. For the full history of earlier amendments and adoption orders, see the Indiana Office of Court Services.
Plain-English Summary
Trial Rule 64 does not invent new remedies. It keeps in place the tools Indiana law already recognized for seizing a person or property so a plaintiff can eventually collect on a judgment — arrest, attachment, attachment and garnishment, lis pendens notice, ejectment, replevin, sequestration, and other remedies that work the same way even under a different name. Section (A)(1) says these tools stay available on whatever terms the underlying law sets, and once a party uses one, the case built around it has to follow these trial rules like any other civil action.
Sections (A)(2) through (A)(4) zero in on one especially serious tool: seizing a person rather than property. A court can issue a writ of attachment, a bench warrant, or a body attachment only after the judgment debtor has been personally served with a rule to show cause — service that can be made by certified mail the debtor signs for — and only after the debtor has skipped the hearing on that rule. Someone taken into custody this way cannot be held indefinitely: within forty-eight hours, not counting weekends and holidays, the person must be brought before the court that issued the writ, or another judge with jurisdiction, and told how to secure release, including any bond or escrow amount the court set. A writ that seizes a person also has a shelf life. Since September 1, 2020, it expires 180 days after issuance, and the sheriff has to note the expiration and return the writ to the clerk, who records the expiration on the case summary and tells the judgment creditor. Nothing stops the creditor from asking for a new writ later, as part of a proceedings-supplemental action.
Section (B) expands attachment and attachment and garnishment beyond whatever older statutes already allowed. A plaintiff can attach a defendant's property when the defendant, or one of several defendants, is a foreign corporation, a nonresident, or someone whose whereabouts cannot be pinned down after a reasonable search. Any property interest that could be reached by execution or a proceedings-supplemental action can be attached or garnished, with one exception: wages and salaries are off-limits before judgment except where some other law allows it. The remedy covers any claim for money, however that claim is framed — contract, tort, equity, liquidated, unliquidated, or contingent — and it is not disqualified just because the property sits in the plaintiff's own hands or the plaintiff owes the money to the defendant. Governmental bodies and representatives such as guardians, receivers, and estate administrators can all be named as garnishees. Attaching real estate takes two steps: recording notice in the lis pendens record and, unless the land is vacant, serving the writ or notice on whoever is in possession.
Section (C) deals with a narrower problem: what happens when a lawsuit turns on who owns property or a fund. If the plaintiff has to prove title — in ejectment, replevin, quiet title, partition, or a similar action — the defendant does not need a separate counterclaim just to put the plaintiff's ownership in doubt. A denial in the answer is enough to raise the defendant's own claim of title, and if the defendant wins on that basis, the judgment can spell out the defendant's interest and grant whatever relief the proof supports. The rule also closes a loophole: once the plaintiff has taken possession of the property or fund by posting bond, or once the defendant's answer has put title in issue, the plaintiff cannot dismiss the case without prejudice and walk away unless the defendant agrees to the dismissal too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What remedies does Trial Rule 64 preserve for seizing a person or property?
Section (A)(1) lists arrest, attachment, attachment and garnishment, lis pendens notice, ejectment, replevin, sequestration, and any other legal or equitable remedy that does the same job under a different name. These stay available under whatever terms the law governing that remedy already sets.
How long can Indiana hold someone in custody under a body attachment before a hearing?
Forty-eight hours, not counting weekends and holidays. Section (A)(3) requires the person to be brought before the court that issued the writ, bench warrant, or body attachment, or before another judge with jurisdiction, within that window, and to be told how to secure release, including any bond or escrow amount the court set.
Does a writ of attachment for a person expire in Indiana?
Yes. Since September 1, 2020, a writ of attachment for a person expires 180 days after it is issued, and the expiration date has to appear on the writ itself. A sheriff holding an expired writ must return it to the clerk, who records the expiration and notifies the judgment creditor. The creditor can request a new writ later as part of a proceedings-supplemental action.
Can a judgment creditor attach a defendant's wages before judgment in Indiana?
Generally no. Section (B)(2) exempts wages and salaries from pre-judgment attachment and garnishment except where some other law specifically allows it.
What has to happen before an Indiana court issues a bench warrant or body attachment against a judgment debtor?
The court must have issued a rule to show cause and had it personally served on the debtor — certified mail the debtor signs for counts as personal service — and the debtor must have failed to appear at the hearing on that rule. If service was not made in open court, someone has to file a return or affidavit describing when, where, and how service happened.
Can a defendant put the plaintiff's claim of title in dispute just by denying it in the answer?
Yes, in actions where the plaintiff has to establish title to property or a fund — such as ejectment, replevin, quiet title, or partition. Section (C) lets a simple denial raise the defendant's own claim of title, and if the defendant prevails, the judgment can recognize that title and grant appropriate relief.
If a plaintiff obtains possession of property by posting bond, can the plaintiff later dismiss the case without prejudice?
Not without the defendant's agreement. Once the plaintiff has obtained possession of the property or fund by posting bond, or once the defendant's answer has placed title in issue, Section (C) blocks a voluntary dismissal without prejudice unless the defendant joins in it.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure (T.R. 64). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Indiana, under its inherent constitutional rulemaking power (reaffirmed by Ind. Code 34-8-1-1 and 34-8-2-1); originally enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in 1969. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
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