Wyoming: Wage Garnishment Limits

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Wyoming's ordinary post-judgment garnishment cap is in W.S. 1-15-408. A
separate article, W.S. 1-15-501 through 1-15-511, governs "continuing
garnishment" — a writ that keeps withholding from successive paychecks
rather than a one-time grab — with its own matching cap in § 1-15-511 and
priority rule in § 1-15-504. The anti-discharge protection is in § 1-15-509.
A largely duplicate scheme, W.S. 40-14-505 and 40-14-506, applies the same
formula specifically to debt from a consumer credit sale, lease, or loan
under the Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code.

Maximum that can be garnished

Under § 1-15-408(b), the most a creditor can take in any week is the lesser
of 25% of the debtor's disposable earnings for that week, or the amount by
which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. The
continuing-garnishment article states this exact same test in § 1-15-511(a)
for a garnishment that runs across multiple pay periods.

State rule vs. federal floor

Wyoming simply adopts the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act formula
(15 U.S.C. § 1673(a)) — same percentage, same multiplier — without cutting
the percentage or raising the wage floor the way more protective states do.

Minimum-wage protected floor

The 30-times multiplier in both § 1-15-408(b)(ii) and § 1-15-511(a)(ii) is
tied to the FEDERAL minimum hourly wage set by the Fair Labor Standards Act,
not a separate Wyoming minimum wage. Wyoming's own state minimum wage
statute doesn't set a higher figure that would raise this floor.

Support, tax & student loan debts

A child support income withholding order obtained under W.S. 20-6-201
through 20-6-222 automatically has priority over any other garnishment,
whether an ordinary post-judgment garnishment (§ 1-15-408(a)) or a
continuing garnishment already in effect (§ 1-15-504(c)). Debt from a
consumer credit sale, lease, or loan is collected under the parallel
Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code cap (W.S. 40-14-505) instead of the
ordinary civil procedure code, though the numeric formula that results is
identical.

Head-of-household/family exemption

None exists. Neither the ordinary garnishment statutes nor the parallel
Consumer Credit Code provision gives a debtor supporting dependents any
additional protection on top of the plain 25%/30x formula. Wyoming's other
wage-related exemptions are narrow and unrelated to family support — for
example, a full exemption for a National Guard member's earnings while
performing military duty (W.S. 19-9-401).

Multiple garnishments at once

Only one writ of continuing garnishment against a debtor's earnings can be
satisfied at a time. Where more than one has been issued, they're satisfied
strictly in the order served on the garnishee, and a judgment creditor can't
serve more than one continuing-garnishment writ on the same garnishee for
the same debtor within any 90-day period (§ 1-15-504(a)). If a continuing
garnishment is suspended by agreement, it keeps its priority over any writ
served during the suspension once that suspension ends (§ 1-15-504(b)). A
child support withholding order always jumps ahead of an existing
continuing garnishment, pausing the earlier writ's effective period until
the withholding order ends (§ 1-15-504(c)).

Protection from being fired

§ 1-15-509 bars firing an employee because a creditor subjected, or tried
to subject, their earnings to any continuing garnishment — the statute's
own text carries no limit to a single garnishment. A wrongfully discharged
employee can sue within 120 days for reinstatement, lost wages capped at 30
working days, costs, and reasonable attorney's fees. The parallel W.S.
40-14-506 separately bars discharge tied specifically to a consumer credit
sale, lease, or loan garnishment.

What trips people up

Wyoming's cap looks like it might be the "greater of 75%/30x" framing some
courts and guides use, but it's the same underlying test as the federal
formula stated the other way — the LESSER of the two garnishable amounts
controls, not whichever is bigger. Also, a continuing garnishment only
lasts until the judgment is satisfied, the writ is dismissed, the
employment relationship ends, or 90 days pass, whichever comes first
(§ 1-15-502(b)) — a creditor with an unpaid balance after 90 days has to
serve a fresh writ, which then goes to the back of the line behind any
other garnishment already in effect.

Common questions

Does Wyoming protect more of my paycheck than federal law?
No — Wyoming's ordinary formula matches the federal 25%/30x test exactly,
with no state-specific enhancement.

Can two ordinary creditors garnish my wages at the same time?
No — only one continuing garnishment is satisfied at a time; a second
creditor's writ waits until the first is satisfied, dismissed, or expires.

Does a child support order have to wait its turn like other creditors?
No — a child support income withholding order always has priority over any
other garnishment, even one already in effect.

Statutes and sources

• W.S. 1-15-408 — "(b) The maximum portion of the aggregate disposable
  earnings of an individual which are subject to garnishment is the lesser
  of: (i) Twenty-five percent (25%) of defendant's disposable earnings for
  that week; or (ii) The amount by which defendant's aggregate disposable
  earnings computed for that week exceeds thirty (30) times the federal
  minimum hourly wage prescribed by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,
  29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1), in effect at the time the earnings are payable, or,
  in case of earnings for any pay period other than a week, any equivalent
  multiple thereof prescribed by the administrator of the Wyoming Uniform
  Consumer Credit Code in the manner provided by W.S. 40-14-505(b)(iii).
  ... If more than one (1) writ is served, the writ first served shall
  have priority. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection,
  an income withholding order for child support obtained pursuant to W.S.
  20-6-201 through 20-6-222 shall have priority over any other
  garnishment." — https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• W.S. 1-15-504 — "(a) Only one (1) writ of continuing garnishment against
  earnings due the judgment debtor shall be satisfied at one (1) time.
  When more than one (1) writ of continuing garnishment has been issued
  against earnings due the same judgment debtor, they shall be satisfied
  in the order of service on the garnishee. ... In any civil action, a
  judgment creditor shall serve no more than one (1) writ of continuing
  garnishment upon any one (1) garnishee for the same judgment debtor
  during any ninety (90) day period. (b) Where a continuing garnishment
  has been suspended for a specific period of time by agreement of the
  parties pursuant to W.S. 1-15-502(b), the suspended continuing
  garnishment shall have priority over any writ of garnishment or
  continuing garnishment served on the garnishee after the suspension has
  expired. ... (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an
  income withholding order for child support obtained pursuant to W.S.
  20-6-201 through 20-6-222 shall have priority over any other continuing
  garnishment. If an income withholding order is served during the
  effective period of a writ of continuing garnishment, the effective
  period shall be tolled and all priorities preserved until the
  termination of the income withholding order." —
  https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• W.S. 1-15-511 — "(a) The maximum portion of the aggregate disposable
  earnings of a judgment debtor which are subject to continuing
  garnishment under this article is the lesser of: (i) Twenty-five percent
  (25%) of the judgment debtor's disposable earnings for that week; or
  (ii) The amount by which the judgment debtor's aggregate disposable
  earnings computed for that week exceeds thirty (30) times the federal
  minimum hourly wage prescribed by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,
  29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1), in effect at the time the earnings are payable, or,
  in case of earnings for any pay period other than a week, any equivalent
  multiple thereof prescribed by the administrator of the Wyoming Uniform
  Consumer Credit Code in the manner provided by W.S. 40-14-505(b)(iii)."
  — https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• W.S. 1-15-509 — "(a) No employer shall discharge an employee for the
  reason that a creditor of the employee has subjected or attempted to
  subject unpaid earnings of the employee to any continuing garnishment
  directed to the employer for the purpose of paying any judgment. (b) If
  an employer discharges an employee in violation of the provisions of
  this section, the employee may, within one hundred twenty (120) days,
  bring a civil action for the recovery of wages lost as a result of the
  violation and for an order requiring the reinstatement of the employee.
  Damages recoverable shall be lost wages not to exceed thirty (30)
  working days, costs and reasonable attorney fees." —
  https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• W.S. 40-14-505 — "(b) The maximum part of the aggregate disposable
  earnings of an individual for any workweek which is subjected to
  garnishment to enforce payment of a judgment arising from a consumer
  credit sale, consumer lease, or consumer loan may not exceed the lesser
  of: (i) Twenty-five percent (25%) of his disposable earnings for that
  week; or (ii) The amount by which his disposable earnings for that week
  exceed thirty (30) times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by
  section (6)(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, U.S.C. tit.
  29, § 206(a)(1), in effect at the time the earnings are payable." —
  https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title40.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• W.S. 40-14-506 — "No employer shall discharge an employee for the reason
  that a creditor of the employee has subjected or attempted to subject
  unpaid earnings of the employee to garnishment or like proceedings
  directed to the employer for the purpose of paying a judgment arising
  from a consumer credit sale, consumer lease, or consumer loan." —
  https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title40.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1673 — "Except as provided in subsection (b) and in section
  1675 of this title, the maximum part of the aggregate disposable
  earnings of an individual for any workweek which is subjected to
  garnishment may not exceed (1) 25 per centum of his disposable earnings
  for that week, or (2) the amount by which his disposable earnings for
  that week exceed thirty times the Federal minimum hourly wage prescribed
  by section 206(a)(1) of title 29 in effect at the time the earnings are
  payable, whichever is less." —
  https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title15/USCODE-2011-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1673
  (accessed 2026-07-06)