Wisconsin § 812.44 - Forms.

§ 812.44. Forms.

812.44(1) (1) 812.44(1)(a) (a) The judicial conference shall review the forms in this subchapter and may periodically revise those forms. Those revisions may not alter the rights of the parties under this subchapter. The judicial conference shall notify the clerks of court and any interested person of any forms revised under this subsection. 812.44(1)(b) (b) Except as provided under par. (bg) , no party may use a form substantially different from those in this subchapter as revised under this subsection. No party may alter those forms in a manner that may mislead any other party. If the court finds that a party has used a misleading form, the court shall award the aggrieved party actual damages, costs and reasonable attorney fees resulting from the additional proceeding. 812.44(1)(bg) (bg) If the judgment debt meets one of the conditions under s. 812.34 (1) , the creditor shall amend the forms used under this subchapter to inform the garnishee and debtor that the exemptions provided under s. 812.34 (1) do not apply. 812.44(1)(c) (c) No garnishee is required to act as requested by any form in this subchapter that does not identify the parties as required by s. 812.31 (4) or that is illegibly completed or otherwise unintelligible. No garnishee is liable to any person for refusing to so act. The garnishee shall mail that form back to the sending party, if known, within 3 days after receipt. The garnishee shall include with the returned form a statement specifying the defect in the form and that the garnishee is not acting as requested by the form under the authority of this paragraph. 812.44(2) (2) The notice filed by the creditor to initiate an earnings garnishment under s. 812.35 (1) shall be in substantially the following form: STATE OF WISCONSIN CIRCUIT COURT: .... County A.B., Creditor File or Reference Number ...... vs. EARNINGS C.D., Debtor GARNISHMENT and NOTICE E.F., Garnishee To the Clerk of Circuit Court: Please take and file notice that the creditor has today commenced an earnings garnishment action under subchapter II of chapter 812 of the Wisconsin Statutes against the debtor and the garnishee to collect an unsatisfied civil judgment. The judgment was entered on the .... day of ...., ...., (year) by .... (County Circuit or Federal District) Court. The case number of the action in which the judgment is entered is .... [and a transcript of the judgment was entered in this county in file number ....]. The creditor’s total claim for the unsatisfied portion of this judgment plus statutory interest and costs is $.... The names and addresses last known to the creditor of the parties to this proceeding are as follows: Debtor Name: .... Address: .... Garnishee Name: .... Address: .... Creditor Name: .... Address: .... Creditor’s Attorney Name: .... Address: .... Signature of Creditor or Creditor’s Attorney: .... Date: .... 812.44(3) (3) The earnings garnishment form issued by the clerk under s. 812.35 (2) shall be in substantially the following form: STATE OF WISCONSIN CIRCUIT COURT: .... County A.B., Creditor vs. File or Reference Number .... C.D., Debtor EARNINGS and GARNISHMENT E.F., Garnishee THE STATE OF WISCONSIN, To the garnishee: The creditor has been awarded a court judgment that has not been paid. As a result, the creditor claims that a total of $.... is owed by the debtor, as follows: A. Unpaid balance on judgment $.... B. Unpaid postjudgment interest $.... C. Costs of this earnings garnishment (estimated) $.... TOTAL $.... The creditor believes that you will owe the debtor for earnings within the next 13 weeks. If the $15 fee is tendered with these papers, you are directed by the court to do the following: DETERMINE WHETHER YOU WILL OWE THE DEBTOR EARNINGS 1. Determine if you are likely to owe the debtor for earnings in pay periods beginning within the next 13 weeks. 2. If you are not likely to owe the debtor for earnings in pay periods beginning within the next 13 weeks, send a statement stating that fact to the creditor by the end of the 7th business day after receiving the earnings garnishment forms. IF THE DEBTOR SENDS YOU AN ANSWER 3. Whenever you receive a debtor’s answer form from the debtor, mail a copy of the answer form to the creditor by the end of the 3rd business day after receipt of that form. Include the date you received the answer form on the copy sent to the creditor. 4. If the debtor’s answer form claims a complete exemption or defense, do not withhold or pay to the creditor any part of the debtor’s earnings under this garnishment unless you receive an order of the court directing you to do so. MULTIPLE EARNINGS GARNISHMENTS 5. If the debtor’s earnings are already being garnisheed when you receive this earnings garnishment, place this earnings garnishment into effect the pay period after the last of any prior earnings garnishments terminates. Notify the debtor of the amount of the garnishment and notify the creditor of the amount owed on the pending garnishments by the end of the 7th business day after you receive these forms. If there are no prior pending earnings garnishments against the debtor’s earnings, place this earnings garnishment into effect the pay period after you receive it. EARNINGS GARNISHMENTS LAST 13 WEEKS, EXCEPT FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES AND EXCEPT FOR GARNISHMENTS TO SATISFY AN ORDER FOR VICTIM RESTITUTION Down Down /statutes/statutes/812 true statutes /statutes/statutes/812/ii/44 Chs. 801-847, Civil Procedure statutes/812.44 statutes/812.44 section true Menu » Statutes Related » Statutes » Chapter 812 × Details for PDF view Link (Permanent link) Bookmark this location View toggle Go to top of document Search in this chapter Search in this section Search in this agency Search in this chapter group Search in this chapter Search in this section Cross references for section Acts affecting this section References to this 1970 Statutes Annotations Appellate Court Citations Administrative Code Index Reference lines Clear highlighting 2023-24 Wisconsin Statutes updated through 2025 Wis. Act 247 and through all Supreme Court Orders and Controlled Substances Board Orders filed before and in effect on August 5, 2026. Published and certified under s. 35.18. Changes effective after August 5, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 8-5-26)