Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 525.030 (2026)

Persons exempted from summons as garnishee, when

✓ current as of May 2026

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525.030. Persons exempted from summons as garnishee, when — amount to be withheld from wages, how computed — earnings defined — penalty. — 1. No sheriff or other officer charged with the collection of money shall, prior to the return day of an execution or other process upon which the same may be made, be liable to be summoned as garnishee; nor shall any county collector, county treasurer or municipal corporation, or any officer thereof, or any administrator or executor of an estate, prior to an order of distribution, or for payment of legacies, or the allowance of a demand found to be due by his estate, be liable to be summoned as garnishee; nor shall any person be so charged by reason of his having drawn, accepted, made or endorsed any promissory note, bill of exchange, draft or other security, in its nature negotiable, unless it be shown at the hearing that such note, bill or other security was the property of the defendant when the garnishee was summoned, and continued so to be until it became due.

2. (1) The maximum part of the aggregate earnings of any individual for any workweek, after the deduction from those earnings of any amounts required by law to be withheld, which is subjected to garnishment may not exceed (a) twenty-five percentum, or, (b) the amount by which his aggregate earnings for that week, after the deduction from those earnings of any amounts required to be withheld by law, exceed thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 in effect at the time the earnings are payable, or, (c) if the employee is the head of a family and a resident of this state, ten percentum, whichever is less.

(2) The restrictions on the maximum earnings subjected to garnishment do not apply in the case of any order of any court for the support of any person, any order of any court of bankruptcy under chapter XIII of the Bankruptcy Act or any debt due for any state or federal tax.

(3) For pay periods longer than one week, the provisions of subsection 2(a) and (c) of this section shall apply to the maximum earnings subjected to garnishment for all workweeks compensated, and under subsection 2(b) of this section, the "multiple" of the federal minimum hourly wage equivalent to that applicable to the earnings subject to garnishment for one week shall be represented by the following formula: The number of workweeks or fractions thereof (x) x 30 x the applicable federal minimum wage. For the purpose of this formula, a calendar month shall be considered to consist of 4 1/3 workweeks, a semimonthly period to consist of 2 1/6 weeks. The "multiple" for any other pay period longer than one week shall be computed in a manner consistent herewith.

(4) The restrictions on the maximum amount of earnings subjected to garnishment shall also be applicable to all proceedings involving the sequestration of wages of employees of all political subdivisions.

(5) The term "earnings" as used herein means compensation paid or payable for personal services, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program.

3. In any proceeding of garnishment or sequestration of wages under the provisions of sections 525.010 to 525.480, the maximum part of the aggregate earnings of any individual in any workweek which shall be subject to garnishment or sequestration pursuant to the provisions of subsection 2 of this section shall be construed to constitute all wages or earnings of the defendant in the garnishee's possession or charge or to be owing by him to the defendant in that week.

4. No notice, summons, or writ of garnishment, or sequestration of wages issued or served under sections 525.010 to 525.480 shall attach or purport to attach any wages in excess of the amounts prescribed in subsection 2 of this section and each such notice, summons, or writ shall have clearly and legibly reproduced thereon the provisions of subsections 2, 5 and 6 of this section.

5. No employer may discharge any employee by reason of the fact that his earnings have been subjected to garnishment or sequestration for any one indebtedness.

6. Whoever willfully violates the provisions of subsection 5 of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

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(RSMo 1939 § 1562, A.L. 1971 S.B. 34, A.L. 1978 H.B. 1634)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 1398; 1919 § 1848; 1909 § 2415

Effective 1-02-79

(1974) Former employer who failed to withhold when garnished, thereby becoming liable for full amount of child support judgment and took assignment of that claim could not when he garnished subsequent employer obtain more than ten percent since claim no longer was an "order for the support of any person". Brown v. Brewington (A.), 513 S.W.2d 768.

(1978) Garnishment to collect an attorney's fee under Dissolution of Marriage Act is not an order for the support of any person and is therefore subject to limitations of Consumer Credit Protection Act and corresponding Missouri statute. Dyche v. Dyche (Mo.), 570 S.W.2d 293.

(1979) Spendthrift provision of union vacation trust fund which purported to prevent garnishment of wages and earnings held by the trust on behalf of participants was contrary to wage garnishment statute and therefore invalid as contrary to public policy. Electrical Workers v. IBEW-NECA Holiday Trust Fund (Mo.), 583 S.W.2d 154.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 43 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1954–2025 · leading case: Anani v. Griep, 406 S.W.3d 479 (Mo. Ct. App. 2013).

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Anani v. Griep, 406 S.W.3d 479 (Mo. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 24× “Employer contends the lower court erred in entering judgment against it and failing to award it costs and attorney’s fees, because Employer properly garnished ten percent of Employee’s earnings under the head of family exemption pursuant to section 525.030 RSMo 2000. 1 We…”

Elec. Workers, Local No. 1 Credit Union v. IBEW-NECA Holiday Trust Fund, 583 S.W.2d 154 (Mo. 1979). · cites it 10× “We turn now to a consideration of whether the use of a spendthrift clause in this Holiday Fund Trust violates Missouri statutes or public policy. Plaintiff contends that the payments to employees made from the Trust are wages or earnings, and that to shelter those payments from…”

In Re Parsons, 437 B.R. 854 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. 2010). · cites it 14× “Missouri Statute Section 525.030 states: (2) The maximum part of the aggregate earnings of any individual for any workweek, after the deduction from those earnings of any amounts required by law to be withheld, which is subjected to garnishment may not exceed (a) twenty-five…”

In Re Sanders, 69 B.R. 569 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. 1987). · cites it 10× “No creditor was then attempting to garnish his wages and on their Schedule B-4, Debtors claimed $990 of these pre-bankruptcy earnings as exempt under the Missouri garnishment statute, Mo.Rev.Stat. § 525.030. 1 In the event their exemption claim were disallowed under that…”

In Re Smith, 124 B.R. 787 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 1991). · cites it 14× “It is debtors position that the bonus constitutes earnings, 90% of which are exempt under Mo.Rev.Stat. § 525.030. Furthermore, they contend that the ERISA Retirement Fund constitutes a pension or other plan, exempt under Mo.”

Dyche v. Dyche, 570 S.W.2d 293 (Mo. 1978). · cites it 6× “030 which added a new provision, subsection (3), which provides: “In any proceeding of garnishment or sequestration of wages under the provisions of sections 525.010 to 525.480, the maximum part of the aggregated earnings of any individual in any workweek which shall be subject…”

In Re Arnold, 193 B.R. 897 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 1996). · cites it 8× “First, FNB claims that the funds are not exempt as wages pursuant to Missouri’s Revised Statutes § 525.030 because they lost their character as wages when deposited into the checking account.”

Dyer v. Martin Loan & Fin. Co., 281 S.W.2d 633 (Mo. Ct. App. 1955). · cites it 14× “Louis to allow Clarence Eldon Dyer, judgment debtor, the exemption provided under Section 525.030 RSMo 1949, V.A.M.S. The plaintiff, appellant herein, on May 1, 1950, obtained a divorce from Clarence Eldon Dyer in Division 15 of the Circuit Court of the City of St.”

In Re Boykin, 118 B.R. 716 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 1990). · cites it 5× “The relevant provisions of Mo.Rev.Stat. § 525.030(2) define earnings as used in that section to mean “compensation paid or payable for personal services, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension…”

Gaines v. Nelson (In Re Gaines), 121 B.R. 1015 (W.D. Mo. 1990). · cites it 3× “1987) it was found that the state’s exemp *1020 tion scheme enabled a debtor to exempt certain pre-bankruptcy earnings by way of the Missouri garnishment statute, Mo.Rev. Stat. § 525.030. Since pre-bankruptcy wages are exempt from garnishment outside of bankruptcy under § 525.”

In Re Radebaugh, 125 B.R. 797 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 1991). · cites it 6× “§ 525.030 and RSMo. § 513.430(3). The Chapter 7 Trustee objects to the exemption claiming that the payments are no longer wages of the debtors and the amount claimed exceeds the allowable limit of objections available to the debtors.”

Fisher v. Evans (In Re Evans), 2 B.R. 85 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 1979). · cites it 2× “11 Therefore, for the foregoing reasons, the court of bankruptcy is constrained, under the governing legal principles, to hold that the award of attorney’s fees is sufficiently related to support to require its being regarded as nondischargeable in bankruptcy, even though it may…”

Show all 43 citing cases →

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 525.030(2) — 13 cases

In Re Parsons, 437 B.R. 854 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. 2010). “Missouri Statute Section 525.030 states: (2) The maximum part of the aggregate earnings of any individual for any workweek, after the deduction from those earnings of any amounts required by law to be withheld, which is subjected to garnishment may not exceed (a) twenty-five…”

In Re Boykin, 118 B.R. 716 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 1990). “The relevant provisions of Mo.Rev.Stat. § 525.030(2) define earnings as used in that section to mean “compensation paid or payable for personal services, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension…”

In Re Arnold, 193 B.R. 897 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 1996). “First, FNB claims that the funds are not exempt as wages pursuant to Missouri’s Revised Statutes § 525.030 because they lost their character as wages when deposited into the checking account.”

Dyche v. Dyche, 570 S.W.2d 293 (Mo. 1978). “030 which added a new provision, subsection (3), which provides: “In any proceeding of garnishment or sequestration of wages under the provisions of sections 525.010 to 525.480, the maximum part of the aggregated earnings of any individual in any workweek which shall be subject…”

United States v. Ford (In Re Ford), 29 B.R. 364 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 1983).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 525.030(2)(a) — 1 case

In Re Parsons, 440 B.R. 811 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. 2010).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 525.030(2)(c) — 2 cases

S. v. S., 614 S.W.2d 313 (Mo. Ct. App. 1981).

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