How to Collect Your Judgment in Massachusetts

A Massachusetts judgment is enforceable for 20 years, and can be renewed before it expires. A judgment is enforceable for 20 years (statute of limitations on a judgment under G.L. c. 260, § 20). An execution may be taken out within 20 years; if the judgment is unsatisfied after the time for taking out execution, the creditor may obtain a new execution by motion in the original court, or bring a fresh civil action on the judgment (G.L. c. 235, § 19). An original execution is generally valid/leviable for a limited time and may be re-issued.

Massachusetts bars or heavily restricts wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debts. RESTRICTED: Massachusetts' c. 246 § 28 protects ~85% of wages (or 50x minimum wage), so ordinary consumer wage garnishment yields little for most debtors. Collectors more commonly use supplementary process payment orders, bank attachment (trustee process), and execution liens on real estate. Child/spousal support orders are exempt from these caps and follow federal CCPA limits.

Through Supplementary Process (payment review / examination of judgment debtor under oath) (Application for Supplementary Process and Summons (G.L. c. 224, § 14)) — the court orders the debtor to appear and disclose their assets under oath. File an Application for Supplementary Process with the District/Boston Municipal Court clerk after judgment; the court summons the debtor to a payment-review hearing where the debtor is examined under oath about income, expenses, and assets and must submit a financial statement. The court may then order a payment plan.

Take out an execution on the money judgment and record it (with a description of the debtor's real estate) at the Registry of Deeds in the county where the property lies (levy on real estate under G.L. c. 236). The lien lasts 6 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 Massachusetts-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 20 years and is renewable) and try again when their situation changes. We give you the tools, not a guaranteed payout.