New Hampshire: Wage Garnishment Limits
The short answer
New Hampshire is effectively barred for ongoing wage garnishment: its trustee-process statute exempts every dollar of wages earned AFTER the garnishment paperwork is served on the employer, so a creditor can never get a continuing garnishment order the way most states allow. The only reach an ordinary creditor has is a one-time grab of wages already earned but unpaid at the moment of service, and only in a lawsuit to collect on an existing New Hampshire court judgment — even then, up to 50 times the federal minimum wage per week stays exempt. Child support income assignment is a completely separate, much broader mechanism that isn't limited by any of this.
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This is the general rule in New Hampshire. Ezel applies current New Hampshire law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 512:21 (trustee-process wage exemptions — the operative limit on ordinary garnishment); § 458-B:4, § 458-B:6 (child support income assignment — separate mechanism, cap, and priority) |
|---|---|
| Maximum that can be garnished | Effectively barred for ongoing wage garnishment. RSA 512:21(I) exempts ALL wages for labor performed after the garnishment writ is served on the employer — the exact reach a continuing garnishment order needs — so an ordinary creditor cannot obtain one at all. The narrow exception (§ 512:21(II)) reaches only wages already earned but unpaid BEFORE service, and only in an action founded on an existing New Hampshire court judgment (not an original contract or tort claim); even then, up to 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage per week stays exempt. A separate, smaller carve-out (§ 512:21(IX)-(X)) applies only to certain licensed-lender loan contracts under RSA 399-A, exempting a flat $50/week instead |
| State rule vs. federal floor | Far more protective than the federal 25%/30x test — New Hampshire doesn't just lower the percentage, it structurally removes the ability to garnish future wages on an ongoing basis for an ordinary private-creditor debt. This puts New Hampshire alongside Texas, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina as a genuine bar-or-near-bar state for ordinary judgment creditors, though New Hampshire reaches that result through an exemption on FUTURE wages rather than naming excluded debt categories |
| Minimum-wage protected floor | 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage ($362.50/week at $7.25/hour) protects the narrow one-time reach into already-earned, unpaid wages in a judgment-on-judgment action (§ 512:21(II)) — well above the federal 30x floor, though the floor matters only because ongoing wages are exempt outright |
| Support, tax & student loan debts | Child support and spousal support income assignment runs on an entirely separate statute, RSA chapter 458-B, not limited by RSA 512:21 at all: the amount withheld is capped only by the federal CCPA ceilings in 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b) (§ 458-B:4(IV)), and that withholding 'shall have priority over any other legal process under state law against the same income' (§ 458-B:6(VI)). Tax debt and federal student loans are collected through their own separate administrative channels outside RSA 512 entirely |
| Head-of-household/family exemption | None on top of the (already near-nonexistent) ordinary wage-garnishment reach. New Hampshire's real family-protective exemptions live elsewhere and aren't wage-specific: a $100,000 homestead exemption (doubled for a married couple) under RSA 480:1, and the general personal-property exemption list in RSA 511:2 |
| Multiple garnishments at once | Because ordinary creditors can't reach future wages at all, there's little practical scenario of competing ongoing garnishments to prioritize — RSA 512's general trustee-process rules (service-order priority, like any other attached property) would govern the narrow one-time reach into already-earned wages that does exist. Child support income assignment overrides any of this regardless of service order (§ 458-B:6(VI)), and when MULTIPLE support obligations compete for the same withholding, § 458-B:4(VI) sets its own priority: current support first, then health insurance or medical support, then arrearages, then other child support obligations |
| Protection from being fired | No New Hampshire statute specific to ordinary trustee-process garnishment was found protecting against discharge — only the federal 15 U.S.C. § 1674 rule (barring discharge for a first garnishment on one debt) applies to that narrow mechanism. Child support income assignment has its own, separate anti-discharge protection: an employer who discharges, refuses to employ, or disciplines an obligor because of income-assignment withholding is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of up to $1,000 (§ 458-B:6(VIII)) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
The operative limit on ordinary garnishment is New Hampshire's trustee
process exemption statute, RSA 512:21. Child support and spousal support
income assignment is a separate chapter entirely, RSA 458-B, with its own
cap (§ 458-B:4) and its own priority and anti-discharge rules (§ 458-B:6).
Maximum garnishment amount
RSA 512:21(I) exempts all wages for labor performed after the garnishment
writ is served on the employer — meaning an ordinary creditor cannot obtain
a continuing garnishment order at all, since there's nothing left to reach
going forward. The only exception (§ 512:21(II)) reaches wages already
earned but unpaid before service, and only in an action on an existing New
Hampshire court judgment; even then, up to 50 times the federal minimum
hourly wage per week stays exempt. A narrower, separate exemption applies
only to certain licensed-lender loan contracts under RSA 399-A, protecting
a flat $50/week instead of the 50x-minimum-wage figure.
Federal floor comparison
Far more protective than federal law. Rather than lowering a percentage or
raising a minimum-wage multiple, New Hampshire removes the mechanism itself
for reaching future wages. That puts it in the same practical category as
Texas, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina — states that bar or nearly bar
ordinary wage garnishment — even though New Hampshire gets there through a
"future wages are exempt" rule rather than naming excluded debt types.
Minimum wage protection floor
50 times the federal minimum hourly wage ($362.50/week at $7.25/hour)
protects the narrow one-time reach into already-earned, unpaid wages in a
judgment-on-judgment action (§ 512:21(II)) — well above the federal 30x
floor, though it only matters for that one narrow scenario since ongoing
wages are exempt entirely.
Priority debt exceptions
Child and spousal support income assignment is a wholly separate track
under RSA 458-B, not limited by RSA 512:21 at all. The amount withheld is
capped only by the federal CCPA ceilings (§ 458-B:4(IV)), and that
withholding has priority over any other legal process against the same
income (§ 458-B:6(VI)). Tax debt and federal student loans go through their
own separate collection channels, outside RSA 512 entirely.
Head-of-household exemption
None on top of the ordinary garnishment reach — which is already close to
nonexistent. New Hampshire's real family-protective exemptions are
elsewhere and aren't wage-specific: a $100,000 homestead exemption (doubled
for a married couple) under RSA 480:1, and the general personal-property
list in RSA 511:2.
Multiple garnishments priority
Since ordinary creditors can't reach future wages at all, there's rarely a
real scenario of multiple ongoing garnishments competing for the same
paycheck. The narrow one-time reach into already-earned wages that does
exist would follow RSA 512's general trustee-process priority rules
(service order, like any other attached property). Child support income
assignment overrides all of this regardless of service order, and when
multiple support obligations compete for the same withholding, § 458-B:4(VI)
sets its own order: current support first, then health insurance or medical
support, then arrearages, then other child support obligations.
Employee termination protection
No New Hampshire statute specific to ordinary trustee-process garnishment
protects against discharge — only the federal rule (15 U.S.C. § 1674,
barring discharge for a first garnishment on one debt) applies. Child
support income assignment has its own, separate anti-discharge protection:
discharging, refusing to employ, or disciplining an obligor over
income-assignment withholding is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up
to $1,000 (§ 458-B:6(VIII)).
What trips people up
Don't assume "New Hampshire has a garnishment statute" means creditors can
garnish your ongoing paycheck the way they can in most states — RSA 512:21
was written to exempt exactly that. The only real exposure for ordinary
debt is a one-time snapshot of wages already earned but unpaid, and only
after the creditor already has a New Hampshire judgment. Don't confuse that
narrow mechanism with child support income assignment, which works
completely differently and reaches ongoing income directly.
Common questions
Can a credit card company or medical debt collector garnish my ongoing
paycheck in New Hampshire?
Not on an ongoing basis. RSA 512:21(I) exempts wages you earn after the writ
is served, so there's no continuing garnishment order available the way
most states allow.
Is there any way an ordinary creditor reaches my wages at all?
Only a one-time reach into wages you'd already earned but hadn't been paid
yet at the moment of service, and only in a lawsuit to collect on an
existing New Hampshire judgment — with 50 times the federal minimum wage
per week still protected.
Does any of this apply to child support?
No. Child support income assignment runs on a completely separate statute,
reaches ongoing income directly, and isn't limited by the wage exemptions
that block ordinary creditors.
Statutes and sources
- N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 512:21 — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/512/512-21.htm (accessed 2026-07-05)
- N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 458-B:4 — https://gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XLIII/458-B/458-B-4.htm (accessed 2026-07-05)
- N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 458-B:6 — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xliii/458-b/458-b-6.htm (accessed 2026-07-05)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1673 — https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title15/USCODE-2011-title15-chap41-subchapII-sec1673 (accessed 2026-07-05)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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