Governor of Washington State Again Extends Prohibition of Consumer Debt Garnishments

As a continuing measure to help ease the economic strain of Washington State residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has extended a prohibition on the garnishment of consumer debt until early November.

From the King County Clerk’s Office:

“Washington State Governor Inslee signed Proclamation 20-49.9 on October 2, 2020 regarding garnishments.  Proclamation 20-49.9 prohibits the garnishment of CARES Act stimulus payments and state and federal unemployment payments from bank accounts to collect on judgments for consumer debt throughout Washington State until 11:59 PM on November 9, 2020. 

Accordingly, the King County Clerk’s Office will not be issuing writs of garnishment for any consumer debt-based judgment where the garnishee defendant is a bank unless the application indicates the funds to be garnished are not CARES Act stimulus payments or state / federal unemployment payments. Any applications for consumer debt-based writs of garnishment presented to the clerk for filing where the garnishee defendant is a bank and does not exclude the funds above will be returned to the filing party. In addition, any application for writ of garnishment which is not clearly indicated to be other than consumer debt-related and lists a bank as the garnishee defendant will be returned to the filing party for clarification.”

The prohibition will be in place until November 9, 2020 unless modified by further proclamation.

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