How to Collect Your Judgment in West Virginia

A West Virginia judgment is enforceable for 10 years, and can be renewed before it expires. Execution may issue within 10 years of judgment; the judgment lien lasts 10 years from entry (W.Va. Code § 38-3-7, § 38-3-18). A dormant judgment may be revived by action or scire facias within 10 years after the date of judgment or 10 years from the return day of the last execution (W.Va. Code § 38-3-18, Article 56-8).

West Virginia bars or heavily restricts wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debts. RESTRICTED: West Virginia caps wage garnishment ('suggestee execution') at 20% of disposable earnings — more protective than the federal 25%. Clerk must wait at least 20 days after judgment (appeal/set-aside window) before issuing any enforcement document. Alternative: levy non-wage assets via writ of execution or a 'suggestion' on bank accounts.

Through Post-judgment interrogatories / debtor examination (suggestion proceedings) (No statewide SCA-M form for the exam itself; conducted under Rule 27 (Magistrate Court Rules of Civil Procedure) / W.Va. R. Civ. P. 69) — the court orders the debtor to appear and disclose their assets under oath. In Magistrate Court, the creditor serves post-judgment interrogatories under Magistrate Court Rule 27 (or proceeds in Circuit Court under W.Va. R.C.P. 69); the debtor must answer under oath about assets. A 'suggestion' (W.Va. Code § 38-5-10 et seq.) is also used to reach money/property held by third parties.

Obtain an Abstract of Judgment from the magistrate court clerk and file/record it with the clerk of the county commission of the county where the debtor owns real estate; this creates a lien on the debtor's real property (W.Va. Code § 38-3-6 et seq.). To force a sale, file suit in Circuit Court. 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 West Virginia-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.