Judgments may be enforced only as authorized by these rules or by statute.
Rule 3-631.Enforcement procedures available
District Court · Last amended July 1, 1988 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceA District Court judgment can be enforced only by a method these rules or a statute authorizes.
Full Text of Rule 3-631
Amendment History
Amended June 3, 1988, effective July 1, 1988.
Committee Note & Source
Source. This Rule is new.
Plain-English Summary
This rule is short because its job is small: it draws the outer boundary around every enforcement tool a judgment creditor can use. Enforcement has to come from somewhere — either a specific rule in this chapter (writ of execution, garnishment, discovery in aid of enforcement, and the like) or a statute that grants the remedy. A creditor cannot ask a court to invent a collection method that neither the rules nor the legislature has approved.
For anyone chasing payment on a District Court judgment, the practical effect is to point you toward the rest of Chapter 600. The tools are there — you just have to use the ones on the list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as an authorized enforcement method?
Anything spelled out in the District Court rules governing judgments — for example a writ of execution, discovery in aid of enforcement, or a garnishment procedure — or anything a Maryland statute independently authorizes.
Can a judgment creditor use a collection tactic that isn't in the rules or a statute?
No. If the method isn't authorized by rule or statute, a court won't enforce it under this chapter.
Does this rule create any new remedy on its own?
No. It doesn't grant any enforcement power by itself — it just confirms that every enforcement step has to trace back to an authorized rule or statute.
Source & verification. Rule text, Committee Note, Source note, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Maryland Rules, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Maryland. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
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