Governor of Washington State Extends Prohibition of Consumer Debt Garnishments

As a measure to help ease the economic strain of Washington State residents during the Coronavirus lockdown, Governor Jay Inslee has extended a prohibition on the garnishment of consumer debt until mid-June.

From the King County Clerk’s Office:

“Washington State Governor Inslee signed Proclamation 20-49.4 on May 29, 2020 amending and extending Proclamations 20-49, 20-49.1, 20-49.2 and 20-49.3 regarding Garnishments.  Proclamation 20-49.4 prohibits the garnishment of bank accounts to collect judgments for consumer debt throughout Washington State until 11:59 PM on June 17, 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.  Any applications for consumer debt-based writs of garnishment presented to the clerk for filing where the garnishee defendant is a bank will not be accepted and 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 proclamation will stand until June 17^th, 2020, barring further amendments by the Governor.

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