Garnishing Wages and Bank Accounts in BC

A court judgment does not put money in your account. If the debtor will not pay, one of the most direct tools in BC is a garnishing order, which redirects money that an employer or a bank owes the debtor into court.

Garnishment has strict steps and built-in protections for the debtor. This article explains how it works for wages and bank accounts, what the 70% wage exemption means in practice, and the options open to someone whose pay or account has been garnished.

What a garnishing order does

A garnishing order is directed at a third party who owes money to your debtor, such as an employer or a bank. That third party, called the garnishee, must pay the money into court instead of paying it to the debtor. The procedure is set out in Part 1 of BC's Court Order Enforcement Act and is available on judgments from both the Provincial Court (including Small Claims) and the Supreme Court.

Garnishment is one of several enforcement tools. For the others, such as registering a judgment against land or seizing goods, see our overview of enforcing a judgment in BC. This article stays with wages and bank accounts.

Before judgment and after judgment

In some cases a debt, such as a bank balance, can be attached before judgment on an affidavit describing the claim. Wages are different. The Act says an order attaching an employee's wages must not be made until a judgment or order for payment has been obtained against that employee (s 3(4)). Wage garnishment therefore almost always follows a judgment.

In Small Claims, Rule 11 lists the ways a creditor can collect under a payment order, including asking a judge or registrar to issue a garnishing order under the Court Order Enforcement Act. If a summons to a payment hearing has been filed, the creditor may not take other collection steps until the hearing is over or the summons is withdrawn or cancelled. If the court has set a payment schedule, the full balance becomes collectable once the debtor defaults on it (Rule 11(14)). Check where the file stands before applying.

How the application works

• Affidavit. The creditor or its lawyer swears an affidavit stating the judgment, the amount still unpaid, and that the garnishee owes money to the debtor (s 3(2)). It may be made on information and belief (s 8).
• No notice to the debtor. The application is made without notice, and a judge or registrar issues the order (s 3(2)).
• Service on the garnishee. The money is bound in the garnishee's hands from the time the order is served on it (s 9(1)), so timing matters.
• Service on the debtor. A copy must be served on the debtor at once, or within the time the registrar allows (s 9(2)). For Small Claims files, registered mail to the debtor's last known address is permitted (s 9(4)).
• Amount. The order is limited to the amount due plus a reasonable sum for costs (s 10). The garnishee pays into court and is entitled to its own costs, which the creditor pays unless the court orders otherwise (s 20).

Wages: the 70% exemption

Seventy percent of the wages an employer owes is exempt from garnishment (s 3(5)), so as a rule no more than 30% can be taken. The exemption cannot fall below $100 a month for a person without dependants, or $200 a month for a person with dependants, prorated for shorter periods. As an example only: on $4,000 of wages for a month, $2,800 is exempt and up to $1,200 can be attached.

Support debts are treated differently. Where wages are garnished under a support order or a separation agreement, the exemption is 50% of wages up to $600 a month and 33 1/3% of wages above that, with a minimum of $100 a month (s 3(7)). Support creditors can therefore reach a larger share of pay.

The order reaches wages that are owing, or that would become payable within 7 days after the affidavit is sworn (s 3(1)). It does not attach future pay indefinitely, so a creditor relying on wages may need to apply more than once.

Either side can ask to change the exemption. The creditor can apply to reduce it, and the debtor can apply to increase it. The registrar or judge must set a date no later than 7 days after receiving the application. The exemption cannot be raised above 90% of the wages due or cut below the monthly minimums (s 4).

Bank accounts

A bank or credit union holding the debtor's account owes the balance to the debtor, so it can be named as a garnishee. Because the order binds what is owing when it is served, a creditor usually wants it served promptly once it is issued.

Accounts are not always straightforward. If the garnishee says the money belongs to, or is claimed by, someone else, such as a joint account holder, a judge can call that person in to state their claim and then decide who is entitled (ss 17 and 18). While a third party's claim is outstanding, the money cannot be paid out without a court order (s 13(5)).

Getting the money out of court

Money paid in by a garnishee does not go to the creditor automatically. An order for payment out generally requires notice to the debtor (s 12). It can be paid out without an order if the debtor was given 10 days' notice and did not file a dispute, if the judgment was by default and 3 months have passed since the money was paid in, or if the debtor consents in writing to the exact amount (s 13).

If your wages or account have been garnished

• Check the exemption. Make sure your employer withheld no more than the law allows.
• Ask for a change. If the remaining income is not enough for you and your dependants, you can apply to increase the exemption (s 4). An order on that application can be appealed within 14 days.
• Propose instalments. You can apply to release the garnishment and, after judgment, to pay by instalments (s 5). While you keep up with an instalment order, no further garnishing order can be made on that judgment.
• Raise third-party money. If the garnished account holds someone else's money, say so early so the court can deal with the claim.

The system is due to change. The Money Judgment Enforcement Act, passed in 2023, is meant to replace much of the current enforcement law, but on BC Laws (current to October 6, 2026) it is not in force and comes into force by regulation. Until then the Court Order Enforcement Act governs. If you are still at the collection stage, our article on collecting unpaid debts in BC covers the steps before judgment.

Holding a judgment, or facing a garnishing order?

Our litigation lawyers can prepare the garnishing application and affidavit, deal with employers and banks as garnishees, and act for debtors who need the exemption changed or an instalment order.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.