Garnishee-employers may charge and collect a fee of up to ten dollars from a judgment-debtor employee on account of such employers' expense in processing each garnishment summons served on such employers on account of the judgment-debtor employee.
§ 8.01-512.2.Fee for garnishee-employers.
Chapter 18. Executions and Other Means of Recovery · Article 7. Garnishment · Last amended 1994 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceAllows an employer served with a garnishment summons against an employee to charge and collect up to ten dollars from that employee to cover the cost of processing each garnishment summons the employer receives.
Full Text of § 8.01-512.2
Plain-English Summary
Processing a garnishment is not free for the employer — someone has to calculate the exempt and non-exempt wage amounts, send a separate payment to the court, and keep the paperwork straight. Section 8.01-512.2 lets the employer pass a modest slice of that cost back to the employee whose wages triggered it.
The fee is capped at ten dollars per garnishment summons, charged to the debtor-employee rather than the creditor. It is a one-time administrative charge tied to each summons the employer processes, not an ongoing fee for every paycheck affected by an active garnishment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can an employer charge an employee for processing a garnishment?
Up to ten dollars.
Who pays the garnishment processing fee?
The judgment-debtor employee, not the judgment creditor.
Is the fee charged per paycheck or per summons?
It is charged on account of the employer’s expense in processing each garnishment summons served.
Is charging this fee mandatory?
No, the statute says employers may charge and collect it.
Does this fee go to the court or the creditor?
Neither — it is retained by the employer to cover its own processing expense.
Amendment History
1980, c. 537; 1994, c. 664.
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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