In Delaware, a creditor who has won a money judgment against you for an ordinary consumer debt can garnish only 15% of your wages. Under Title 10, Section 4913 of the Delaware Code, 85% of the wages you earn for your labor or services are exempt from attachment to satisfy a judgment. That makes Delaware one of the more protective states in the country: the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act lets creditors reach up to 25% of disposable earnings, while Delaware caps ordinary garnishment at little more than half of that. If you owe a credit-card balance, medical bill, payday loan, or other consumer debt and a judgment has been entered against you, the most a typical creditor can take from each paycheck is 15%.
Delaware's 85% Wage Exemption Explained
Delaware's core rule is short and powerful. Section 4913 of Title 10 protects 85% of a person's wages from both "mesne attachment" (a pre-judgment hold) and "execution attachment" (collection after judgment). In plain terms, no matter how large the judgment, a garnishment for a normal debt can only attach 15% of what your employer owes you for work performed.
This is a meaningful contrast with the federal baseline. The federal cap in 15 U.S.C. Section 1673 limits garnishment to the lesser of (1) 25% of your disposable earnings, or (2) the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour (which works out to $217.50 per week). When state law is more protective than federal law, the more protective rule controls. Because Delaware's 15% ceiling is lower than the federal 25%, Delaware residents get the benefit of the state limit.
The 85% figure is a fixed percentage in the statute, not a number tied to the minimum wage, so it does not change from year to year the way the federal formula does. For context, Delaware's own minimum wage rose to $15.00 per hour as of January 1, 2025, and it remains at that level as of 2026 under the state's scheduled increases. Always confirm the current Delaware minimum wage with the Delaware Department of Labor before relying on any rate, because the figure can change.
What Counts as Wages, and Where the Exemption Has Limits
The 85% protection applies to wages for labor or services. The most important practical limit is timing: the exemption protects money in your employer's hands, not necessarily money already sitting in your bank account. Once your paycheck is deposited, it can become subject to a separate bank attachment, and the 85% wage rule may not automatically shield it. That is why many people who are being pursued by a judgment creditor are careful about how protected funds (discussed below) are deposited and kept separate.
Delaware also distinguishes between different kinds of debt. The 85% exemption is the rule for ordinary judgment creditors. It does not give you the same protection against:
- Child support and spousal support. Support obligations are enforced under separate rules, and federal law (the CCPA) permits much higher withholding, generally up to 50% to 65% of disposable earnings depending on whether you support another family and how far behind you are.
- Federal and state taxes. The IRS and the Delaware Division of Revenue collect under their own levy procedures, which are not bound by the 15% consumer-debt cap.
- Federal student loans and other federal debts. Federal administrative wage garnishment follows federal percentages, not Delaware's 85% exemption.
For the vast majority of consumers worried about credit cards, medical debt, repossession deficiencies, and old loans, though, the 15% limit is the one that matters.
Income That Is Fully Exempt From Garnishment
Beyond the 85% wage rule, several categories of income are protected from creditors entirely, under a mix of federal and Delaware law. These funds generally cannot be reached by an ordinary judgment creditor at all:
- Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, protected by federal law.
- Veterans' benefits and most federal pension and disability payments.
- Unemployment compensation and workers' compensation benefits under Delaware law.
- Many retirement accounts and pensions, which receive protection under state and federal exemption rules.
These protections do not disappear simply because the money is deposited, but you may have to prove the source of the funds if a creditor tries to attach a bank account. Federal banking rules require banks to automatically protect a cushion of recently deposited Social Security and certain other federal benefits, but you should still be prepared to document where the money came from.