How to Collect Your Judgment in Alabama
You already won. Here's how to actually get paid — debtor's exam, wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens, with the exact Alabama forms and deadlines.
Your collection options in Alabama
Work them roughly in this order — find the assets first, then go after them.
Find the money — debtor's asset exam
Compels the debtor to disclose, under oath, where they bank, work, and what they own — the information every other step depends on.
Under Ala. Code § 6-6-201 and ARCP Rule 69, the creditor can serve written interrogatories on the debtor or obtain a court order requiring the debtor to appear (not less than 10 days' notice) for an oral examination under oath about the nature, location, and value of assets, and to produce documents.
Garnish wages
Form Process of Garnishment (AOC Form C-21)Diverts part of the debtor's paycheck to you — up to 25% of disposable earnings (mirrors federal CCPA cap).
Debtor has a short window (about 10 days) to contest; if a contest is filed a hearing is set within ~7 days.
Filed with: clerk of the court that entered the judgment
Levy the bank account
Form Process of Garnishment (AOC Form C-21)Freezes and pulls non-exempt funds straight from the debtor's bank account.
Alabama uses the garnishment device to reach bank accounts and other non-wage assets held by a third party (garnishee); the writ is issued by the clerk and served on the garnishee, who must answer within 30 days.
Lien their real estate
Attaches to property the debtor owns for 10 years — you get paid when they sell or refinance. The cheap, passive backstop.
Record a Certificate of Judgment in the office of the judge of probate of any county where the debtor owns or later acquires real property (Ala. Code § 6-9-210/6-9-211).
Court fee: probate office recording fee (varies by county)
The fine print that matters in Alabama
How long your judgment lasts
Judgment is good for 10 years; if 10 years pass without an execution or collection activity it is presumed satisfied. It is revived by filing a motion to revive (Rule 69 / Ala. Code 6-9-191) in the issuing court, but cannot be revived more than 20 years after entry.
Interest while you wait
Ala. Code § 8-8-10 (rate lowered to 7.5% effective 2011)
What the debtor can protect (exemptions)
Homestead exemption $18,800 ($37,600 for married couples, inflation-adjusted under Ala. Code § 6-10-2); $7,500 personal-property exemption (incl. money/bank accounts, but NOT wages) under § 6-10-6; wages protected to the federal 25% cap; debtor can protect at least $1,000 of a paycheck by filing a claim of exemption.
Alabama gotchas
Post-judgment interest does NOT compound, even on a revived judgment. The personal-property exemption ($7,500) does not cover wages — wages are protected only by the 25% garnishment cap and the $1,000 paycheck claim-of-exemption form.
Let us prepare your Alabama collection paperwork
We prepare your Alabama-specific enforcement forms — debtor's exam, garnishment, levy, or lien — plus a plain-English playbook telling you exactly where to file and what each step costs. You file them; we never charge a cut of what you collect.
Collection firms take 33–50% of what they recover. On a $4,000 judgment that's $1,300–$2,000. Our flat fee keeps the rest in your pocket.
Alabama Judgment Collection FAQ
A Alabama judgment is enforceable for 10 years, and can be renewed before it expires. Judgment is good for 10 years; if 10 years pass without an execution or collection activity it is presumed satisfied. It is revived by filing a motion to revive (Rule 69 / Ala. Code 6-9-191) in the issuing court, but cannot be revived more than 20 years after entry.
Yes. Garnishment in Alabama can reach 25% of disposable earnings (mirrors federal CCPA cap). Exemptions: Debtor may file a notarized Claim of Exemption to protect at least $1,000 of a paycheck (PS-20 'Declaration and Claim of Exemption for Wages'); not available for child-support, personal-injury, or auto-accident judgments. Up to $7,500 in personal property (incl. bank accounts) may be exempt.
Through Order to Appear for Oral Examination (Discovery of Assets) / Rule 69 examination — the court orders the debtor to appear and disclose their assets under oath. Under Ala. Code § 6-6-201 and ARCP Rule 69, the creditor can serve written interrogatories on the debtor or obtain a court order requiring the debtor to appear (not less than 10 days' notice) for an oral examination under oath about the nature, location, and value of assets, and to produce documents.
Record a Certificate of Judgment in the office of the judge of probate of any county where the debtor owns or later acquires real property (Ala. Code § 6-9-210/6-9-211). The lien lasts 10 years.
You pay the court and sheriff their own filing/levy fees directly (usually modest, and recoverable from the debtor). Our Judgment Collection service is a flat $299 — we prepare your Alabama-specific enforcement forms and a step-by-step filing playbook; you file them. Compared with collection firms that take 33–50% of what they recover, that's hundreds to thousands less on a typical judgment.
Some debtors are "judgment-proof" — no job, no bank account, no equity — and no tool can squeeze money that isn't there. The honest play is the debtor's exam to confirm what exists, then keep the judgment alive (it lasts 10 years and is renewable) and try again when their situation changes. We give you the tools, not a guaranteed payout.
Collecting a judgment by county in Alabama
Where you file your garnishment or levy depends on the counties.
Jefferson County
Mobile County
Madison County
Baldwin County
Montgomery County
Tuscaloosa County
Shelby County
Lee County
Morgan County
Calhoun County
Houston County
Limestone County
All 67 counties in Alabama
Official Alabama sources
- https://eforms.alacourt.gov/civil-forms/garnishments/
- https://eforms.alacourt.gov/media/1llnhgcc/c-21-rev-10-2023.pdf
- https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-8/chapter-8/section-8-8-10/
- https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/2006/3069/6-9-211.html
- https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-6/chapter-6/article-4/division-2/section-6-6-201/
- https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/rules/cv69.pdf
- https://www.alabamalegalhelp.org/resource/alabama-debtor-exemption-laws
- https://eforms.alacourt.gov/media/oamaxkvn/ps-20-10-2025.pdf
This page is general information about collecting a money judgment in Alabama, not legal advice. Forms, fees, and procedures change and vary by court — confirm the current requirements with the court that entered your judgment before filing.
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