Any garnishment issued pursuant to § 8.01-511 shall be in the following form:
§ 8.01-512.3.(Effective until July 1, 2027) Form of garnishment summons.
Chapter 18. Executions and Other Means of Recovery · Article 7. Garnishment · Last amended 2026 · Last verified July 16, 2026
This section prints two full, separately-dated versions in the official Code (a pending-amendment straddle); both are shown below.
In one sentencePrescribes the exact statutory form every garnishment summons must follow, combining a front side that identifies the parties, marks whether the garnishment targets wages or other property, and states the total balance due, with a plain-language back side explaining the § 34-29 wage-exemption formula for garnishees and debtors.
Full Text of § 8.01-512.3
Va. Code § 8.01-512.3. (Effective until July 1, 2027) Form of garnishment summons.
(a) Front side of summons:
GARNISHMENT SUMMONS (Court Name) (Name, address, and telephone number of judgment creditor except that when the judgment creditor's attorney's name, address, and telephone number appear on the summons, only the creditor's name shall be used.) (Name, address, and telephone number of judgment creditor's attorney) (Name, street address, and social security number of judgment debtor) (Name and street address of garnishee) ________________________ Hearing Date and Time This is a garnishment against (check only one of the designations below):
a [ ] wages, salary, or other compensation. [ ] some other debt due or property of the judgment debtor
a MAXIMUM PORTION OF DISPOSABLE STATEMENT
EARNINGS SUBJECT TO GARNISHMENT
b [ ] Support Judgment Principal $ _____
c [ ] 50% [ ] 55% [ ] 60% [ ] 65% Credits $ _____
d (if not specified, then 50%) Interest $ _____
e [ ] state taxes, 100% Judgment Costs $ _____
f If none of the above is checked, Attorney's Fees $ _____
g then section § 34-29 (a) applies. Garnishment Costs $ _____
h TOTAL BALANCE DUE $ _____
i The garnishee shall rely
on this amount
___________________________________________ Date of Judgment
TO ANY AUTHORIZED OFFICER: You are hereby commanded to serve this summons on the judgment debtor and the garnishee.
TO THE GARNISHEE: You are hereby commanded to
(1) File a written answer with this court, or
(2) Deliver payment to this court, or
(3) Appear before this court on the return date and time shown on this summons to answer the Suggestion for Summons in Garnishment of the judgment creditor that, by reason of the lien of writ of fieri facias, there is a liability as shown in the statement upon the garnishee.
As garnishee, you shall withhold from the judgment debtor any sums of money to which the judgment debtor is or may be entitled from you during the period between the date of service of this summons on you and the date for your appearance in court, subject to the following limitations:
(1) The maximum amount which may be garnished is the "TOTAL BALANCE DUE" as shown on this summons.
(2) If the sums of money being garnished are earnings of the judgment debtor, then the provision of "MAXIMUM PORTION OF DISPOSABLE EARNINGS SUBJECT TO GARNISHMENT" shall apply.
(3) If the garnishee is a financial institution, only the funds in a judgment debtor's account that exceed the total sum of the minimum protected account balance and protected amount, as both terms are defined in § 34-4.4, shall be subject to withholding.
If a garnishment summons is served on an employer having 1,000 or more employees, then money to which the judgment debtor is or may be entitled from his or her employer shall be considered those wages, salaries, commissions, or other earnings which, following service on the garnishee-employer, are determined and are payable to the judgment debtor under the garnishee-employer's normal payroll procedure with a reasonable time allowance for making a timely return by mail to this court.
______________________________________
Date of Issuance of Summons
______________________________________
Clerk
______________________________________
Date of delivery of writ of fieri facias to sheriff if different from date of issuance of this summons.
(b) A plain language interpretation of § 34-29 shall appear on the reverse side of the summons as follows:
"The following statement is not the law but is an interpretation of the law which is intended to assist those who must respond to this garnishment. You may rely on this only for general guidance because the law itself is the final word. (Read the law, § 34-29 of the Code of Virginia, for a full explanation. A copy of § 34-29 is available at the clerk's office. If you do not understand the law, call a lawyer for help.)
An employer may take as much as 25 percent of an employee's disposable earnings to satisfy this garnishment. But if an employee makes the minimum wage or less for his week's earnings, the employee will ordinarily get to keep 40 times the minimum hourly wage."
But an employer may withhold a different amount of money from that above if:
(1) The employee must pay child support or spousal support and was ordered to do so by a court procedure or other legal procedure. No more than 65 percent of an employee's earnings may be withheld for support;
(2) Money is withheld by order of a bankruptcy court; or
(3) Money is withheld for a tax debt.
"Disposable earnings" means the money an employee makes after taxes and after other amounts required by law to be withheld are satisfied. Earnings can be salary, hourly wages, commissions, bonuses, or otherwise, whether paid directly to the employee or not. After those earnings are in the bank for 30 days, they are not considered earnings any more.
If an employee tries to transfer, assign, or in any way give his earnings to another person to avoid the garnishment, it will not be legal; earnings are still earnings.
An employee cannot be fired because he is garnished for one debt.
The determination of what part of a person's earnings can be garnished is the responsibility of the employer, regardless of whether such earnings are paid to the employee by direct deposit.
Va. Code § 8.01-512.3. (Effective July 1, 2027) Form of garnishment summons.
Any garnishment issued pursuant to § 8.01-511 shall be in the following form:
(a) Front side of summons:
GARNISHMENT SUMMONS
(Court Name)
(Name, address, and telephone number of judgment creditor except that when the judgment creditor's attorney's name, address, and telephone number appear on the summons, only the creditor's name shall be used.)
(Name, address, and telephone number of judgment creditor's attorney)
(Name, street address, and social security number of judgment debtor)
(Name and street address of garnishee)
______________________________________ Hearing Date and Time
This is a garnishment against (check only one of the designations below):
a [ ] wages, salary, or other compensation. [ ] some other debt due or property of the judgment debtor.
a MAXIMUM PORTION OF DISPOSABLE STATEMENT
EARNINGS SUBJECT TO GARNISHMENT
b [ ] Support Judgment Principal $ _____
c [ ] 50% [ ] 55% [ ] 60% [ ] 65% Credits $ _____
d (if not specified, then 50%) Interest $ _____
e If none of the above is checked, Attorney's Fees $ _____
f then subsection A of § 34-29 applies. Garnishment Costs $ _____
g TOTAL BALANCE DUE $ _____
h The garnishee shall rely
on this amount.
_________________________________________________ Date of Judgment
TO ANY AUTHORIZED OFFICER: You are hereby commanded to serve this summons on the judgment debtor and the garnishee.
TO THE GARNISHEE: You are hereby commanded to
(1) File a written answer with this court, or
(2) Deliver payment to this court, or
(3) Appear before this court on the return date and time shown on this summons to answer the Suggestion for Summons in Garnishment of the judgment creditor that, by reason of the lien of writ of fieri facias, there is a liability as shown in the statement upon the garnishee.
As garnishee, you shall withhold from the judgment debtor any sums of money to which the judgment debtor is or may be entitled from you during the period between the date of service of this summons on you and the date for your appearance in court, subject to the following limitations:
(1) The maximum amount which may be garnished is the "TOTAL BALANCE DUE" as shown on this summons.
(2) If the sums of money being garnished are earnings of the judgment debtor, then the provision of "MAXIMUM PORTION OF DISPOSABLE EARNINGS SUBJECT TO GARNISHMENT" shall apply.
(3) If the garnishee is a financial institution, only the funds in a judgment debtor's account that exceed the total sum of the minimum protected account balance and protected amount, as both terms are defined in § 34-4.4, shall be subject to withholding.
If a garnishment summons is served on an employer having 1,000 or more employees, then money to which the judgment debtor is or may be entitled from his or her employer shall be considered those wages, salaries, commissions, or other earnings which, following service on the garnishee-employer, are determined and are payable to the judgment debtor under the garnishee-employer's normal payroll procedure with a reasonable time allowance for making a timely return by mail to this court.
_______________________________________
Date of Issuance of Summons
_______________________________________
Clerk
_______________________________________
Date of delivery of writ of fieri facias to sheriff if different from date of issuance of this summons.
(b) A plain language interpretation of § 34-29 shall appear on the reverse side of the summons as follows:
"The following statement is not the law but is an interpretation of the law which is intended to assist those who must respond to this garnishment. You may rely on this only for general guidance because the law itself is the final word. (Read the law, § 34-29 of the Code of Virginia, for a full explanation. A copy of § 34-29 is available at the clerk's office. If you do not understand the law, call a lawyer for help.)
An employer may take as much as 25 percent of an employee's disposable earnings to satisfy this garnishment. But if an employee makes the minimum wage or less for his week's earnings, the employee will ordinarily get to keep 40 times the minimum hourly wage."
But an employer may withhold a different amount of money from that above if:
(1) The employee must pay child support or spousal support and was ordered to do so by a court procedure or other legal procedure. No more than 65 percent of an employee's earnings may be withheld for support;
(2) Money is withheld by order of a bankruptcy court; or
(3) Money is withheld for a tax debt.
"Disposable earnings" means the money an employee makes after taxes and after other amounts required by law to be withheld are satisfied. Earnings can be salary, hourly wages, commissions, bonuses, or otherwise, whether paid directly to the employee or not. After those earnings are in the bank for 30 days, they are not considered earnings any more.
If an employee tries to transfer, assign, or in any way give his earnings to another person to avoid the garnishment, it will not be legal; earnings are still earnings.
An employee cannot be fired because he is garnished for one debt.
The determination of what part of a person's earnings can be garnished is the responsibility of the employer, regardless of whether such earnings are paid to the employee by direct deposit.
Plain-English Summary
Garnishment touches ordinary people and small businesses who have never seen a court form before, so Virginia does not leave the summons to improvisation. Section 8.01-512.3 locks in the exact wording and layout every garnishment summons issued under § 8.01-511 must use.
The front side identifies the court, the creditor and attorney, the debtor, including Social Security number, and the garnishee, marks whether the garnishment targets wages or some other debt or property, and lays out the math the garnishee is supposed to rely on — judgment principal, credits, interest, costs, and attorney’s fees rolled up into a single “total balance due.” It also tells the garnishee, in the summons itself, exactly what its three options are: file a written answer, deliver payment to the court, or appear on the return date.
The back side translates § 34-29’s wage-exemption formula into plain language for people without a law degree — how much of a paycheck an employer can take, the higher percentage that applies to child or spousal support, the minimum-wage floor that protects low earners, and a reminder that a worker cannot be fired for a single garnishment.
The Code carries two versions of this form back to back: one effective until July 1, 2027, and a revised one taking effect that date. The changes are not purely cosmetic — the earlier form includes a checkbox for garnishments based on state taxes, marked to withhold the full balance with no wage exemption applied, that the revised form drops entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Virginia law prescribe an exact form for garnishment summonses?
To ensure every garnishment issued under § 8.01-511 gives the debtor, garnishee, and court consistent, complete information in the same format.
What must the front of the summons show?
The court, creditor and attorney information, the debtor’s identifying information including Social Security number, the garnishee, whether wages or other property is targeted, and the total balance due.
What are the garnishee’s three options listed on the summons?
File a written answer with the court, deliver payment to the court, or appear in court on the return date.
What does the back of the summons explain?
A plain-language interpretation of the wage-exemption formula in § 34-29, including the percentage an employer may withhold and the minimum-wage protection.
Does the version of the form change what a debtor’s exemption is?
The core wage-exemption percentages carry over unchanged, but the form itself is not identical: the version effective until July 1, 2027 includes a checkbox for state-tax garnishments withholding the full balance with no wage exemption, and that checkbox is absent from the version effective from that date.
Amendment History
(Effective until July 1, 2027) Form of garnishment summons.1983, c. 399; 1994, c. 40; 1995, c. 379; 1996, c. 1051; 2006, c. 55; 2017, cc. 36, 143; 2026, cc. 637, 638, 1019, 1090.
(Effective July 1, 2027) Form of garnishment summons.1983, c. 399; 1994, c. 40; 1995, c. 379; 1996, c. 1051; 2006, c. 55; 2017, cc. 36, 143; 2026, cc. 396, 637, 638, 1019, 1090.
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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