Judgments

After you win a judgment, you must then have the judgment docketed. This process is sometimes called “transcribing the judgment.” You can docket a judgment by filing an Affidavit of Identification of Judgment Debtor form with court administration in the county where you were awarded the judgment. There may be a fee to docket the judgment, depending on the case type.

The court also publishes a form called an Affidavit of Identification of Judgment Creditor. This form is required when you need to docket a foreign judgment in Minnesota (one that was awarded in another state). See the How do I docket a foreign judgment? FAQ for more information.

NOTE: The process for docketing a judgment for child support or spousal maintenance is different than the process explained in this section. Review the Child Support Help Topic for more information on how to enter and docket a child support judgment. Review the Entry and Docketing Spousal Maintenance Judgments forms packet for more information on how to enter and docket a spousal maintenance judgment, including the forms you would need to file.

If you DO NOT know where the judgment debtor works or banks, or what kind of assets the judgment debtor has, go to Step 2.

If you DO know where the judgment debtor works or banks or where to find the judgment debtor’s assets and you want to begin the collection process, go to Step 4.

If you need information about where the judgment debtor works and/or has a bank account, you can file a Request for Order for Disclosure with court administration. There will be a small fee for each Request for Order for Disclosure.

NOTE: If your case started in Conciliation Court, you could file a Request for Order for Disclosure at any point after the judgment is docketed. If your case started in District Court, the judgment must be docketed for more than thirty (30) days before you can file a Request for Order for Disclosure.

When you file the Request for Order for Disclosure, court administration will send the judgment debtor an Order for Disclosure and a Financial Disclosure form. They will also send you a copy of the Order for Disclosure for your records. The Order for Disclosure directs the judgment debtor to fill out and mail the completed Financial Disclosure form back to you. The judgment debtor must return the completed Financial Disclosure form to you within sixteen (16) days of the date the Order for Disclosure was sent to the judgment debtor.

If the judgment debtor does not return the completed Financial Disclosure to you, or if the Financial Disclosure is incomplete, go to Step 3.

If the judgment debtor returns the Financial Disclosure and you:

• want to start the collection process, go to Step 4.
• do not agree with the information on the completed Financial Disclosure form, you may file a motion using the Civil Motion packet to bring the issue in front of a judge for a hearing.

If the judgment debtor does not return the Financial Disclosure form to you within sixteen (16) days of the date it was mailed by court administration, you can file an Affidavit in Support of Order to Show Cause.  You can also file the Affidavit in Support of Order to Show Cause if you received the Financial Disclosure, but the judgment debtor did not complete it. There will be a small fee to file the Affidavit in Support of Order to Show Cause.

If the judge decides that a hearing is needed, they will issue an Order to Show Cause requiring the judgment debtor to appear for a hearing and explain why they did not return the completed Financial Disclosure form to you. You will also likely need to attend the hearing. If the judgment debtor does not appear for the hearing, the judge may issue a bench warrant.

• If you are trying to collect from the judgment debtor’s earnings (wages):

You must first give written notice to the judgment debtor of your intent to collect from their earnings. To give written notice, you need to complete the Execution Exemption Notice and Notice of Intent to Levy on Earnings. Before a Writ of Execution can be served by the sheriff’s office (see step 5 below), the judgment debtor must be given at least 10-days of notice, if the form is hand-delivered, or 13-days of notice, if mailed.

NOTE: You cannot hand-deliver or mail the Execution Exemption Notice and Notice of Intent to Levy on Earnings to the judgment debtor yourself; you must have someone else over the age of 18 do it for you.

You can find a copy of this notice form in the Execution Levy on Earnings forms packet. The packet includes instructions, the notice form, and other paperwork you will need to give to the sheriff’s office later in the process.

• If you are trying to collect from the debtor’s bank account(s):
  

You do not need to send the judgment debtor any advance notice if you are trying to collect from their bank account(s) or other financial institution. However, when the sheriff’s office serves the bank or other financial institution, they will need to serve additional paperwork including a notice form that the bank will send to the judgment debtor telling them their funds have been frozen. You can find the forms you need to give to the sheriff’s office in the Execution Levy on Financial Institution forms packet, as well as instructions detailing the steps of this process.

You can ask court administration for a Writ of Execution by writing a letter with your court file number and the county where the judgment debtor’s bank or employer is located. Be sure to explain that you want a Writ of Execution. File this with court administration and pay the fee.

Be aware that a Writ of Execution expires after 180 days or when the judgment expires, whichever is sooner. The Writ of Execution will list the date it expires.

When you get a Writ of Execution from court administration, you will take it to the sheriff's office in the county where the Writ it is directed to. This is either the county where the judgment debtor works or the county where the debtor banks. 

You will also need to give the sheriff’s office a copy of the paperwork you completed in Step 4, along with a check for $15 made payable to either the judgment debtor’s bank (if collecting from the judgment debtor’s bank account(s)) or employer (if collecting from the judgment debtor’s wages). This is in addition to the fee the sheriff’s office will charge for executing the Writ.

When following the steps listed above, you may have to pay certain fees to the court and the sheriff’s office. It is possible to have the cost of these fees added to the amount of your judgment by filling out and filing an Affidavit of Increased Costs. Some counties may require proof of your expenses, so it is a good idea to keep your receipts. You can file more than one Affidavit of Increased Costs if needed.