Nothing contained in §§ 8.01-501 and 8.01-502 shall have the effect of requiring any employer paying wages or salary to an employee to withhold any part of such wages or salary unless and until such employer is duly served with process in garnishment.
§ 8.01-503.Withholding of wages or salary not required by preceding sections unless garnishment process served.
Chapter 18. Executions and Other Means of Recovery · Article 5. Lien on Property Not Capable of Being Levied On · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceClarifies that neither the intangible-property lien under § 8.01-501 nor the third-party notice mechanism under § 8.01-502 requires an employer to withhold any wages or salary owed an employee, because that obligation arises only once the employer is properly served with garnishment process.
Full Text of § 8.01-503
Plain-English Summary
Sections 8.01-501 and 8.01-502 let a creditor put third parties on notice that a lien reaches money they owe the debtor. Wages are money an employer owes an employee, so it might look like an employer could get swept into that same lien-notice regime. Section 8.01-503 says no.
An employer does not have to hold back a dollar of an employee’s pay based on a lien notice alone. Withholding wages requires the real thing — a garnishment summons, served the way garnishment law requires, under Article 7 of this chapter.
The distinction matters because wage garnishment carries its own protections: statutory caps on how much can be withheld, notice-and-hearing rights for the debtor, and specific procedures an employer must follow. Letting a bare lien notice trigger withholding would sidestep all of that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a notice of lien served on an employer require the employer to withhold wages?
No, nothing in §§ 8.01-501 and 8.01-502 requires an employer to withhold wages based on a notice of lien alone.
What does trigger an employer’s duty to withhold wages?
Being duly served with process in garnishment.
Which sections does this provision limit?
It limits the effect of §§ 8.01-501 and 8.01-502.
Can a creditor use § 8.01-502’s notice mechanism instead of garnishment to freeze a paycheck?
No. This section forecloses that shortcut, so wages remain untouched until formal garnishment process is served.
Why does the statute treat wages differently from other debts a third party owes the debtor?
It preserves the separate garnishment procedure, with its own protections and hearing rights, instead of letting a bare lien notice reach a paycheck.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-432.1; 1954, c. 379; 1977, c. 617.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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