A creditor usually needs a court judgment before it can garnish pay for a consumer debt. If a judgment was entered after papers never reached you, many states let you ask the court to set it aside. The deadlines are short. Get the case number from your employer today.
What happened
Your check was short, and payroll said a garnishment order came in. You never got a summons. You never went to court. A case can still move ahead if papers went to an old address or reached the wrong person. A judgment can then be entered without you there.
What usually applies
The garnishment order names a court and a case number. That is the thread to pull. California has a motion for people whose summons did not bring actual notice in time to defend the case. It is due at the earlier of two dates. One is two years after the default judgment. The other is 180 days after you were served written notice that it was entered. In New York, a motion based on an excusable default is due within one year. That year runs from service of a copy of the judgment with written notice of entry. In Texas, a motion for a new trial is due within 30 days after the judgment is signed. Other states set their own rules. A judge decides each request.
“When service of a summons has not resulted in actual notice to a party in time to defend the action and a default or default judgment has been entered against the party in the action, the party may serve and file a notice of motion to set aside the default or default judgment and for leave to defend the action.”
“The notice of motion shall be served and filed within a reasonable time, but in no event exceeding the earlier of: (i) two years after entry of a default judgment against the party; or (ii) 180 days after service on the party of a written notice that the default or default judgment has been entered.”
“excusable default, if such motion is made within one year after service of a copy of the judgment or order with written notice of its entry upon the moving party, or, if the moving party has entered the judgment or order, within one year after such entry”
“A motion for new trial, if filed, shall be filed prior to or within thirty days after the judgment or other order complained of is signed.”
What to do
- 1
Get the garnishment order from payroll
Ask for a copy the same day. It names the court, the county, and the case number.
- 2
Pull the case file at that court
Call the clerk with the case number or search the court website. Ask what address the papers went to.
- 3
Write down every date in the file
Your clock usually starts at the judgment date or the notice date, not the day payroll told you.
- 4
Ask about protected pay too
Part of your pay is protected by law. An exemption claim is a separate step with its own short deadline.
- 5
Call legal aid before you agree to anything
Legal aid offices and court self help centers handle these motions for free. Tell them you never got papers.
Do this now, not next payday. In most states the clock starts at the judgment date, and money keeps leaving each check meanwhile. Legal aid offices and court self help centers file these motions for free and can read the court file with you. Call your local 211 line if you cannot find an office near you.
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Sources
- California Legislative Information, Code of Civil Procedure 473.5Retrieved 2026-07-31
- New York State Senate, CPLR 5015Retrieved 2026-07-31
- Texas Judicial Branch, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 329bRetrieved 2026-07-31
Last reviewed 2026-07-31