From Judgment to Payment in New Jersey Small Claims

This article covers the procedural tools that a judgment creditor uses to collect a small claims judgment through New Jersey’s Special Civil Part. The New Jersey Courts small claims page describes the simplified track for money disputes of $5,000 or less; larger claims belong in the Special Civil Part regular docket ($5,000 to $20,000) or the Law Division (over $20,000). For the broader process of New Jersey small claims court procedure, the hub article walks through filing, service, hearings, and appeals.

What the court does and does not do after judgment

A small claims judgment is a court order that the defendant owes the plaintiff a specific amount of money. The court enters the judgment after a hearing, or as a default judgment when the defendant fails to appear at the scheduled hearing. A default judgment lets the judge rule in the plaintiff’s favor without contested testimony, and the plaintiff then becomes the judgment creditor. The defendant becomes the judgment debtor.

The court does not collect the money. According to the New Jersey Courts collection guidance for small claims, the Judiciary will help the judgment creditor use post-judgment tools but cannot guarantee payment. Collection requires the creditor to take initiative, file the right forms, and pay additional fees. A judgment creditor with limited income can request a fee waiver for any post-judgment filing fee using the Request for a Fee Waiver (CN 11208), the same form used to waive the original filing fee.

The first step is to ask the debtor for payment directly. Voluntary payment is faster and cheaper than every method below. If voluntary payment does not occur, the next step depends on what the creditor knows about the debtor’s finances.

Find the debtor’s assets with an information subpoena

The judgment creditor cannot levy a bank account or garnish wages without knowing where the debtor banks or works. An information subpoena is the procedural tool that produces those facts. It is a court-issued document containing written questions about the debtor’s income, assets, employer, and bank accounts.

The form is published as Appendix XI-L of the Rules Governing the Courts of New Jersey. The Information Subpoena form (CN 11840) is the version used in the Special Civil Part. The information subpoena is served on the debtor by regular and certified mail with return receipt requested. The debtor has 14 calendar days from the date of service to answer and return the completed questions.

The same subpoena cannot be served more than once in any six-month period without court approval. After the debtor responds or fails to respond, the creditor can serve information subpoenas on third parties such as banks or the debtor’s employer with a separate court order.

Wage execution against a New Jersey employer

When the debtor works in New Jersey, a wage execution (the New Jersey term for wage garnishment) directs the employer to withhold a portion of the debtor’s pay and send it to a Special Civil Part officer, who forwards it to the creditor.

To start a wage execution, the creditor sends a Notice of Application for Wage Execution to the debtor by regular and certified mail and files the application with the Special Civil Part office in the county where the judgment was entered. As of 2026, the filing fee is $50. The How to Ask the Court to Order a Wage Execution packet (CN 10548) contains the application and instructions.

The debtor can object to the application. If the debtor objects, the court schedules a hearing. If the debtor does not object, or the court overrules the objection, the court issues a wage execution, which the Special Civil Part officer delivers to the employer.

Under NJSA 2A:17-56, the wage execution can take up to 10% of the debtor’s gross earnings, unless the debtor’s income exceeds 250% of the federal poverty level for the debtor’s family size, in which case a court may order a larger percentage. A debtor who earns $217.50 per week or less in disposable earnings is exempt from wage execution under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1673. The figure tracks the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour as of 2026.

The Special Civil Part officer deducts a 10% commission on amounts recovered before forwarding the balance to the creditor. The wage execution remains in force until the judgment is paid in full or the debtor changes employers. A new wage execution is required if the debtor moves to a different employer.

Bank levy through the Special Civil Part

A bank levy freezes funds in the debtor’s New Jersey bank account so the court can later order them turned over to the creditor. The creditor must know the bank’s name and address before the officer can act; the Special Civil Part officer does not search for accounts.

Three steps complete the process:

1. Request a writ of execution

   The creditor files a request for a writ of execution with the Special Civil Part office where the case was heard. As of 2026, the filing fee is $35 under the Special Civil Part fee schedule. The How to Complete the Request for a Writ of Execution packet (CN 11711) walks through the form. The writ identifies the debtor, the judgment, and the bank. To protect the debtor’s privacy, only the last four digits of the account number appear on the writ; the full number is provided to the officer directly.

2. The officer levies and freezes the account

   After the writ issues, the creditor delivers it to the Special Civil Part officer along with the officer’s fee. The officer serves the writ on the bank, which freezes the account up to the amount of the judgment plus costs.

3. File a Motion to Turn Over Funds

   A frozen account does not pay the creditor by itself. The creditor files a Motion to Turn Over Funds with the Special Civil Part and serves a copy on the debtor and the bank. If the debtor does not object, the court signs an order. If the debtor objects, the court holds a hearing. Once signed, the order goes to the officer, who collects the money from the bank and sends a check to the creditor by the 15th day of the following month.

Seizing personal property and motor vehicles

A writ of execution can also reach personal property such as household items, jewelry, office equipment, or a motor vehicle registered in the debtor’s name. The procedure mirrors the bank levy: the writ issues, and the Special Civil Part officer levies the property.

Personal property collection in New Jersey is constrained by two limits. The first is statutory: NJSA 2A:17-19 reserves up to $1,000 of personal property (exclusive of wearing apparel) from execution. A debtor with no more than $1,000 in non-exempt personal property cannot be levied by this method. The second is practical. Most household property is not worth the cost of seizure, storage, and sale.

A motor vehicle is the most common personal-property target. The creditor must show that the vehicle is registered to the debtor by providing either a certified copy of the title or a certified lien search from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. The vehicle must also have equity; a car with a loan balance higher than its market value yields nothing after the lender is paid.

When personal property is seized, the officer can sell it at public auction. Under the NJ Courts collection fee structure, the officer charges the debtor a 10% commission on amounts recovered, plus mileage from the courthouse to the debtor’s home or place of business. The creditor pays the costs of advertising and sale up front, and the net proceeds go to the creditor.

When collection stalls: docketing the judgment as a lien

A writ of execution against personal property or a bank account is good for two years after issuance under New Jersey Special Civil Part practice. If the judgment is not collected within that period, the creditor has two options: request a new writ and try again, or docket the judgment as a statewide judgment lien.

A docketed Special Civil Part judgment becomes a statewide lien against any real estate the debtor owns in New Jersey. The debtor cannot sell that property with clear title until the judgment is paid or released. To docket, the creditor requests a Statement for Docketing from the Special Civil Part office and forwards it with a $35 filing fee to the Superior Court Clerk’s Office in Trenton. The statewide judgment processing fee schedule lists the docketing fee and address.

The lien blocks a clean sale until the debt is satisfied, which often produces payment indirectly when the debtor refinances or sells. The creditor can still pursue wage executions and bank levies under the underlying judgment after docketing.

What collection cannot reach

Several categories of income and asset are off-limits to a Special Civil Part collection effort. The New Jersey Courts collection guidance lists welfare benefits, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), veterans’ benefits, and unemployment benefits as protected by federal statute; those sources remain exempt even when deposited in a bank account.

Wage execution is unavailable when the debtor earns the federal floor of $217.50 per week or less in disposable earnings, under 15 U.S.C. § 1673. Personal property is protected up to $1,000 under NJSA 2A:17-19. Real estate within New Jersey cannot be sold to satisfy a Special Civil Part writ; that remedy is reserved for the higher Law Division.

Collection against a debtor who has filed for bankruptcy is automatically stayed under 11 U.S.C. § 362 from the moment the petition is filed. A creditor who continues collection efforts after notice of the bankruptcy can be sanctioned by the bankruptcy court. After the bankruptcy concludes, the creditor’s remedies depend on whether the debt was discharged.