Recovering a debt through garnishment

Your debtor has been ordered to pay but refuses to do so. Reminders have produced nothing. Under French law, a saisie-attribution (garnishment order) allows you to recover funds directly from a third party holding your debtor’s money – most commonly the debtor’s bank – without the need for further court proceedings. It is the fastest enforcement route for monetary claims: the effect is immediate.

From the moment the commissaire de justice serves the garnishment notice, the funds are attributed to the creditor and become unavailable to the debtor. No other creditor can intercept them, even if insolvency proceedings are opened after the garnishment. This immediate attribution mechanism, introduced by the 1991 reform, makes the saisie-attribution a powerful recovery tool.

What we handle

  • Verification of the enforceable title and updated debt calculation
  • Strategic selection of the target: bank account, debt owed by a third party, rental income
  • Coordination with the commissaire de justice for service of the garnishment notice
  • Monitoring the third party’s declarations and verifying their accuracy
  • Representation before the enforcement judge if the debtor challenges the garnishment
  • Obtaining the certificate of non-challenge and collecting the funds

Art. L. 211-1 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures (CPCE)

Any creditor holding an enforceable title evidencing a debt that is certain, liquidated and due may, in order to obtain payment, garnish debts owed to the debtor by a third party, where those debts consist of a sum of money. Three cumulative conditions: an enforceable title (judgment, notarial deed, European enforcement order), a debt of a determined amount, and maturity – meaning no current payment schedule is in force.

Challenging a garnishment order

You have received a garnishment notice. Your bank account is frozen, your standing orders rejected, your transfers suspended. You have one month to act. Once that deadline passes, the challenge becomes inadmissible and the funds are released to the creditor.

A challenge before the enforcement judge is not a re-hearing of the underlying dispute: the judge does not revisit the original judgment. The judge can, however, set aside the garnishment if it is procedurally irregular, reduce the amount if the debt calculation is wrong, or find that the debt is time-barred. The Cour de cassation recently clarified that an error in the calculation – for instance, the inclusion of sums due under other enforceable titles – does not void the garnishment but merely results in its reduction (Cass. 2e civ., 27 March 2025, no. 22-18.591).

Our lines of defence

  • Limitation of the debt or prior extinction by payment
  • Procedural defects in the garnishment notice: missing mandatory information, incorrect debt calculation, late service on the debtor (beyond 8 days)
  • Failure to respect the protected minimum bank balance (solde bancaire insaisissable, or SBI): under French law, the bank must leave the debtor a sum equal to the RSA (approximately EUR 636 in 2026)
  • Protection of exempt sums: family benefits, maintenance payments, sickness benefits
  • Challenging the enforceable title: unfair contract terms, irregular service, incomplete enforcement clause
  • Application for full or partial discharge before the enforcement judge, and damages for abusive garnishment where appropriate

Art. R. 211-11 CPCE – The one-month deadline

Challenges to a garnishment must be brought, on pain of inadmissibility, within one month from service of the garnishment notice on the debtor. The challenge takes the form of a summons before the enforcement judge. It must be notified on the same day to the commissaire de justice who carried out the garnishment. Above 10,000 euros, legal representation is mandatory.

The garnishment procedure in 5 steps

The French saisie-attribution follows a strict procedure laid down by the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures. The slightest procedural defect can render the measure void or cause it to lapse – a lever for the debtor, a risk for the creditor to manage.

The 5 steps of a garnishment

1

Service on the third party

2

Third party’s declaration

3

Service on the debtor (8 days)

4

Potential challenge (1 month)

5

Payment

The commissaire de justice serves the garnishment notice directly on the bank or third party holding the funds. The third party must immediately declare the account balance and the extent of its obligations towards the debtor. The creditor then has 8 days to have the garnishment notice served on the debtor. Failure to do so causes the garnishment to lapse.

The debtor then has one month to challenge the garnishment before the enforcement judge. If no challenge is filed, the creditor obtains a certificate of non-challenge from the court registry and the bank releases the funds. If a challenge is filed, payment is suspended until the judge rules.

For garnishments of bank accounts, a 15 business day clearing period allows pending transactions to be processed – cheques issued, card payments and direct debits predating the garnishment. The final seizable balance is calculated at the end of this period.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a bank account freeze last after a garnishment in France?

The account is frozen from the moment the garnishment notice is served on the bank. A 15 business day clearing period follows to process pending transactions (cheques, transfers, direct debits predating the seizure). At the end of this period, the seizable balance is final. If you do not challenge the garnishment within one month of service, the funds are released to the creditor. Without a challenge, expect roughly six weeks from garnishment to payment.

Is a lawyer required to challenge a garnishment in France?

If the claim exceeds 10,000 euros, legal representation before the enforcement judge is mandatory. Below that threshold, you may appear without a lawyer, but the challenge requires a formally drafted summons served on the day of filing. In practice, the very short deadlines and the procedural formalism make legal assistance essential in most cases.

Can the same bank account be garnished multiple times?

Yes. There is nothing to prevent a creditor from carrying out successive garnishments on the same account for as long as the debt remains outstanding. Each garnishment is an independent measure, subject to the same formal and substantive requirements. The protected minimum bank balance (SBI) must be respected each time.

What if the bank failed to respect the protected minimum balance?

Under French law, the bank must automatically leave a sum equal to the RSA for a single person (approximately EUR 636 in 2026) at your disposal, without any steps on your part. If this minimum was not respected, you may claim restitution of the sums unlawfully seized. The bank’s liability as third party may be engaged if it failed to comply with its disclosure obligations or did not make the protected balance available.

Can a garnishment be set aside for a procedural defect?

The Cour de cassation distinguishes between substantive defects and procedural defects. The absence of a valid enforceable title or of a debt that is certain, liquidated and due leads to automatic nullity. Procedural defects – an incomplete enforcement clause, an error in a mandatory mention – are sanctioned only if the debtor demonstrates prejudice. However, failure to serve the garnishment notice on the debtor within 8 days causes the garnishment to lapse automatically, without any need to show prejudice.