A citation to discover assets is how a creditor in Illinois finds out what a debtor owns after winning a money judgment. It is one of the enforcement procedures covered in How Illinois Small Claims Courts Work. This article explains who can file a citation, how it is served, what happens at the hearing, what income and property the law protects, and how the citation lien works. The procedure is the same whether the underlying judgment came from a small claims case or a larger civil case.
What a citation to discover assets does
A money judgment by itself does not collect anything. It establishes that the debtor owes the creditor a set amount, but the creditor still has to find money or property to apply toward it. The citation to discover assets is the discovery step in that process.
Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1402, a judgment creditor is entitled to prosecute citations to discover assets for the purpose of examining the judgment debtor, or any other person, to discover income or assets of the debtor that are not exempt from enforcement. The same section lets the court compel the application of that non-exempt income and property toward the judgment.
The citation does two things at once. It compels disclosure, by requiring the person served to appear and answer questions under oath. It also freezes assets, because it can prohibit the person served from transferring or disposing of the debtor’s non-exempt property until the court rules.
A citation can be directed at the debtor or at a third party. A citation to the debtor asks the debtor to disclose everything they own. A citation to a third party, such as the debtor’s bank or employer, reaches money or property the third party holds for the debtor.
Who can file and when
A citation is available to a judgment creditor, or to a successor in interest when that interest appears of record. The judgment must already exist; the citation is a post-judgment remedy, not a way to investigate someone before a judgment is entered.
A citation proceeding begins when the clerk of the court issues a citation, which is then served. The procedure for conducting citation proceedings is set by Illinois Supreme Court rule rather than spelled out entirely in the statute. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 277 governs supplementary proceedings, including the timing of the examination and how the citation is returned to court.
Illinois uses standardized statewide forms for this procedure. The approved forms include a Citation to Discover Assets to Debtor, a Citation to Discover Assets to Debtor’s Bank, and a Citation to Discover Assets to Debtor’s Employer, all available through the Illinois Courts post-judgment collection forms.
Citation to Discover Assets to Debtor (Post Judgment Collection)
From Illinois Courts
URL verified June 2026 · 200 KB
How the citation is served
Service rules depend on who is being cited. A citation served on a judgment debtor who is a natural person must be served by personal service or abode service as provided in Supreme Court Rule 105, and it must include the Income and Asset Form that the statute sets out. That form asks the debtor to list employment, income, benefits, real estate, bank accounts, vehicles, and other property, and to bring supporting documents such as pay stubs and account statements to the hearing.
When a citation is served on a third party rather than the debtor, the person serving it must send the debtor a copy of the citation and the citation notice within three business days, which may go by regular first-class mail to the debtor’s last known address. The citation hearing cannot be held sooner than five business days after that notice is mailed to the debtor, except by agreement of the parties.
The citation itself must carry a prominent warning. 735 ILCS 5/2-1402 requires language, in capital letters on the front, telling the person served that failing to appear can mean losing the right to protect money in a bank, savings bank, or credit union account, and can result in arrest and a contempt charge punishable by jail.
What happens at the citation hearing
At the hearing, the person cited is examined under oath about the debtor’s income and assets. If the citation went to the debtor, the debtor answers questions about what they own. If it went to a third party, that party answers about money or property it holds for the debtor.
When the court finds non-exempt assets or income, 735 ILCS 5/2-1402 gives it several options. The court can order the debtor to turn over money, property, or accounts that are in the debtor’s control and not substantially disputed. It can order installment payments out of the debtor’s income, taking into account the reasonable needs of the debtor and any dependents. It can order a third party holding the debtor’s property to deliver it up. The court can also enter against a cited party any order that could be entered in a garnishment proceeding.
These steps follow a sequence in the courthouse process.
The creditor obtains and serves the citation
The creditor prepares the citation and the clerk issues it. The citation is then served on the debtor by personal or abode service, or on a third party such as a bank or employer. A citation to a debtor who is an individual must include the Income and Asset Form.
The debtor receives notice and the asset form
If a third party is cited, the debtor is mailed a copy of the citation and citation notice within three business days. The notice explains the debtor’s right to claim exemptions and the date and time of the hearing.
The examination takes place in court
At the hearing, the cited person answers questions under oath about the debtor’s income and assets. The debtor may also use the hearing to declare that specific income or property is exempt.
The court enters a turnover or payment order
If non-exempt assets or income are found, the court can order money or property turned over, order installment payments from income, or enter a garnishment-type order against a third party.
If, on examination, the court determines that the debtor has no non-exempt income or assets, the citation is dismissed. A citation directed at an individual debtor cannot result in a payment order unless the Income and Asset Form was served and the debtor had a chance to assert exemptions.
Income and property the law protects
Not everything a debtor owns can be taken. 735 ILCS 5/2-1402 requires the citation notice to spell out the main exemptions, and the debtor has the right at the hearing to declare income or assets exempt. The statute lists figures that, as of 2026, include a debtor’s equity interest of up to $4,000 in personal property of the debtor’s choosing, of which $1,000 is automatically applied to a bank, savings, or credit union account; up to $3,600 of equity in one motor vehicle; and up to $2,250 in tools of the debtor’s trade. The same notice provides a homestead exemption of $50,000 for an individual owner and $100,000 for two or more owners on a residence that is owned and occupied.
Several categories of income are generally protected, including Social Security and SSI benefits, public assistance, unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, and veterans’ benefits.
Wages have their own limits. Under the citation notice in 735 ILCS 5/2-1402, the wages that may be applied toward a judgment are limited to the lesser of 15% of gross weekly wages or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 45 times the Illinois minimum wage, with a separate federal cap of 25% of disposable earnings. Money held by a third party that the court determines to be wages is handled as if a wage deduction proceeding had been filed. Recovering wages and other income over time is part of turning an Illinois small claims judgment into payment, which covers wage deduction and other collection methods that follow the citation.
The lien created by a citation
Serving a citation does more than schedule a hearing. The judgment, or the balance due on it, becomes a lien on the debtor’s non-exempt personal property when the citation is served. When the citation is served on the debtor, the lien reaches personal property in the debtor’s possession or control, including money, that exists or comes due up to the disposition of the citation. When the citation is served on a third party, the lien reaches the debtor’s property in that party’s hands.
The lien has limits. It does not affect the rights of citation respondents in property before the citation is served, and it does not affect bona fide purchasers or lenders who had no notice of the citation. The lien is effective for the period specified by Illinois Supreme Court rule. A creditor who discovers a specific item of non-exempt personal property can ask the court to impress a lien on that item, and that lien can survive the end of the citation proceeding.
Because a citation reaches bank accounts and wages, it sits alongside the garnishment and wage-deduction remedies that consumers encounter after a judgment. The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains how a court judgment can lead to garnishment of wages or a bank account and which benefits are protected.
If the debtor cannot be found or has nothing
A citation only works if the debtor or a third party can be served and something non-exempt turns up. When examination shows no non-exempt income or assets, the court dismisses the citation, and the creditor can try again later. An Illinois judgment can be enforced for years and revived if it becomes dormant, so a debtor with no reachable assets now may have them in the future.
A citation is one piece of a larger enforcement picture. The same judgment can support a wage deduction or a non-wage garnishment, and the choice among them depends on what the debtor has. Where the judgment came from a small claims case, the path usually runs from filing a small claims case in Illinois circuit court through judgment and then into these collection tools.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a citation to discover assets last in Illinois?
The lien created by serving a citation is effective for the period set by Illinois Supreme Court rule, and the citation proceeding itself continues until the court disposes of it. The underlying judgment can be enforced for years and revived if it goes dormant, so a creditor whose first citation finds nothing can serve another one later. The exact timing of an individual citation is governed by Supreme Court Rule 277 and the local court’s scheduling.
Can a citation to discover assets reach my bank account?
Yes. A citation can be served directly on the debtor’s bank, which then must answer about the funds it holds. The citation creates a lien on non-exempt money in the account as of service. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1402, Illinois automatically protects $1,000 in a bank, savings, or credit union account through the end of the citation hearing, and additional exemptions, such as for directly deposited Social Security or other federal benefits, may protect more.
What happens if I ignore a citation to discover assets?
A citation is a court order. The statute requires the citation to warn, in capital letters, that failing to appear can mean losing the right to protect money in a bank account and can lead to arrest and a contempt charge punishable by jail. A debtor who disputes the debt or wants to claim exemptions does so at the hearing rather than by failing to appear.
Does the creditor have to tell me about a citation served on my employer?
When a citation is served on a third party such as an employer, the person serving it must send the debtor a copy of the citation and the citation notice within three business days, which may go by regular first-class mail to the last known address. The hearing cannot be held sooner than five business days after that notice is mailed, except by agreement of the parties.
What is the difference between a citation to discover assets and a wage garnishment?
A citation to discover assets is primarily a discovery and turnover tool that examines the debtor or a third party about income and property, and it can lead to turnover orders, installment payment orders, and garnishment-type orders. A wage garnishment, or wage deduction, is a separate procedure aimed specifically at a portion of the debtor’s earnings held by an employer. A court can convert a citation against wages into a wage deduction proceeding, and the two remedies share the same exemption limits.