You won. Now let's collect.
A judgment doesn't collect itself. If the person who owes you won't pay, the courts give you real tools to make them — wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens. These free guides show you exactly how, state by state.
Pick your stateHow collecting a judgment works
Find out what they have
Enforcement starts with information: where the debtor banks, works, and what they own. If you don't know, a debtor's asset exam — court-ordered questioning under oath — is the tool that finds out.
Pick the right enforcement tool
Match the tool to the asset: garnishment for a paycheck, a levy for a bank account, a lien for real estate. Your state guide below covers which tools your state allows and the exact forms each one takes.
File, serve, and get paid
File the enforcement paperwork with the court that issued your judgment, have the sheriff or a process server deliver it to the right target (employer, bank), and the money is redirected to you. Court and sheriff fees are usually recoverable from the debtor.
The tools to collect a judgment
Which ones apply depends on your state and what the debtor has — your state guide spells it out.
Debtor's asset exam
Court-ordered questioning that forces the debtor to reveal, under oath, where they bank, work, and what they own. The step everything else depends on.
Wage garnishment
Diverts part of the debtor's paycheck to you until the judgment is paid (restricted in some states — we'll tell you if yours is one).
Bank levy
Freezes and seizes non-exempt funds straight from the debtor's bank account.
Property lien
Attaches to real estate the debtor owns — you get paid when they sell or refinance. The cheap, passive backstop.
Doing it yourself vs. hiring help
Most enforcement tools are built for self-represented creditors: state-issued forms, modest court fees (usually recoverable from the debtor), and no lawyer required. The guides below walk through each one.
If you'd rather hand it off entirely, judgment-recovery firms and collections attorneys take cases on contingency — typically 33–50% of whatever they recover. That trade can be worth it for a stubborn debtor or a large judgment; for most small claims, the do-it-yourself path keeps everything you collect.
Judgment collection by state
Every state enforces judgments differently. Pick yours for the exact forms, fees, and deadlines.
Common questions
A judgment is a court's confirmation that you're owed money, but it doesn't collect itself and the court won't collect it for you. If the debtor won't pay voluntarily, you have to use enforcement tools — garnishment, levies, liens — to make it happen. The guides below show you how, state by state.
You have two hands-on options: judgment-recovery firms and collections attorneys, which typically charge 33–50% of whatever they recover, or doing it yourself with your state's enforcement forms — the guides below walk through exactly how. Collection is not a service we offer; these guides are free and cover the do-it-yourself path step by step.
No — we focus on demand letters and small claims filing, and we don't offer judgment collection as a service. What we can do is point you to your state's exact enforcement process (below), and if you're at an earlier stage on a different dispute, prepare and file that case for you.
Some debtors are genuinely judgment-proof, and no tool can collect money that isn't there. The honest first step is a debtor's asset exam to find out what exists. If they're truly broke, you keep the judgment alive (most last years and are renewable) and try again when their circumstances change.
Have a different dispute that needs filing?
Collection isn't a service we offer — but if someone else owes you money, we prepare and file small claims cases for a flat $299 and draft demand letters for $149. Tell us what happened.
100% refund if we don't file your case
Prefer to talk it through? Call or text (424) 358-4927.