A plaintiff seeking pre-judgment garnishment of a defendant's wages, bank accounts, or assets held by a third party must post a garnishment bond — protecting the defendant against wrongful seizure and the garnishee against the cost and disruption of compliance. We write garnishment bonds in every state that permits pre-judgment garnishment, in federal court under FRCP 64, and on a same-day basis for time-sensitive applications.
A plaintiff with a pending claim — typically for a sum of money — believes the defendant has assets held by a third party that might be dissipated before judgment. The plaintiff petitions the court for pre-judgment garnishment to freeze those assets in the third party's hands. Because the seizure happens before the plaintiff has won anything, due process requires the plaintiff to post security against the possibility that the seizure proves wrongful.
That security is the garnishment bond. The principal is the plaintiff. The obligees are the defendant (against whom the garnishment runs) and, in many states, the garnishee (the third party holding the assets — typically a bank, employer, or escrow agent). If the plaintiff loses the underlying case, or if the garnishment is dissolved, the bond pays damages caused by the wrongful seizure: lost interest, returned check fees, payroll disruption, attorney's fees in dissolving the writ.
Pre-judgment garnishment is governed by state law in state court and by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 64 in federal court — which adopts the seizure remedies of the forum state. The bond amount, the qualifying showing, and the procedural requirements vary significantly. Most states require a verified petition with specific allegations of fraudulent transfer risk; some require an evidentiary hearing before issuance; a few allow ex parte issuance with notice afterward.
Pre-judgment garnishment is a state-law remedy that federal court adopts under FRCP 64. The substantive requirements come from the forum state's garnishment statute; the procedural overlay in federal cases comes from Rule 64. Bond amounts are set by the court — there is no statutory formula in most jurisdictions, though many state statutes set a minimum (typically equal to the amount of the underlying claim or 1.5× that amount).
Three threshold doctrines apply across most jurisdictions: (1) the plaintiff must show a likelihood of success on the underlying claim, (2) the plaintiff must show a risk that the defendant will dissipate or conceal the assets being garnished, and (3) the bond must be posted in an amount the court finds sufficient to indemnify the defendant against wrongful seizure. Failure on any of the three is grounds for dissolution.
Garnishment bonds are typically uncollateralized for principals with conventional financial position. The risk profile is moderate: most garnishments are not later determined to be wrongful, but when they are, damages can be substantial — bank-account freezes that bounce business-critical checks, payroll garnishments that breach employment relationships, escrow holds that derail closings. The underwriting assesses both the strength of the underlying claim and the principal's ability to satisfy the indemnity agreement if the bond is called.
Four documents start the file: the complaint or verified petition from the underlying action, the motion for pre-judgment garnishment showing the basis for seizure, the court order setting the bond amount (if already entered), and a financial statement for the principal appropriate to the bond size. If the bond amount has not yet been set, our underwriters can review the file in advance and provide a quote conditional on the court's order.
Most state and federal garnishment bonds are written same-day for qualified files. Time-sensitive applications — where the defendant's assets are about to move — go directly to the live underwriting desk and we issue PDFs for direct e-filing the same business day.
Send the complaint, the motion, and the bond order. Our underwriters open the file and respond immediately, 7/52/365.