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EJ-137Mandatory

Application to Stay Levy or Garnishment (Wage Garnishment—Enforcement of Judgment)

California · Judicial Council of California · Effective July 1, 2026

This form is used to ask the court to pause (stay) a wage garnishment, bank account levy, or other type of seizure of money. It is used when the creditor has not filed a required address verification form, or if a scheduled hearing is too far away.

The court describes it as: In a case where the judgment concerns consumer debt, ask the court to stay (pause) a wage garnishment, bank account levy, or other levy because the judgment creditor has not filed Declaration of Address Verification (form WG-015/EJ-135), or because the hearing scheduled by Notice of Hearing on Claim of Exemption (form WG-010/EJ-175) is scheduled to take place more than 30 days after form WG-010/EJ-175 was filed.

Open the official PDFfrom Judicial Council of California

Where this fits in a case

After judgment

Stage: After judgment

This form is used in a civil case when someone is trying to collect a judgment for personal debt and wants to temporarily stop a wage garnishment or bank levy.

Either party may file.

Official instructions

How-to guides published by the court for this form.

Common questions

What does this form ask the court to do?
It asks the court to pause a wage garnishment, bank account levy, or other levy. This is called staying the levy or garnishment.
Who fills out this form?
The form has sections for the court, the levying officer, and the attorney or party filing the application.

Revision history

No changes recorded since we started tracking this form on October 9, 2026. The current version took effect July 1, 2026.

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