3. Apply for garnishment

Garnishment is when the court takes the money owed to you directly from:

• money the debtor regularly gets, such as wages, or
• the debtor's bank accounts.

If you won your case and the debtor hasn't paid you, you can apply for a garnishment order. Depending on where you plan to issue the Notice of Garnishment, you may also need a Certificate of Judgment.

What you can garnish

You can't garnish more than 20 percent of a person's wages. For example, if they make $1,000 per week, you can only garnish up to $200.

You also can't garnish:

• employment insurance
• social assistance
• pension payments

Even if the payments listed above have been deposited into a bank account, they can't be garnished. Most other types of payments owed to the debtor can be garnished.

Complete the documents

To apply for a garnishment, complete:

• a Notice of Garnishment
• an Affidavit for Enforcement Request

File both documents at the court.

Serve the documents

Serve the documents on the debtor, and their employer or other garnishee. If there is a co-owner of the asset you're trying to garnish, you must also serve the co-owner.

You can serve the Notice:

• in person
• by mail
• by courier

Someone else may be entitled to part of the money you're trying to garnish. For example, the debtor may have a joint bank account. This is called a co-owner of the asset. When there is a joint bank account, no more than half of the account can be garnished.