Title 28Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-73

§3105 Sequestration

Title 28 › Part PART VI— - PARTICULAR PROCEEDINGS › Chapter CHAPTER 176— - FEDERAL DEBT COLLECTION PROCEDURE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER B— - PREJUDGMENT REMEDIES › § 3105

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

A court can order the United States to seize income that comes from property where a debtor has a large nonexempt interest. The money taken is held as security to pay a debt, plus interest and costs. The amount taken cannot be more than the difference between the debt (and likely interest and costs) and the debtor’s nonexempt share in property that already secures the debt or is attached, garnished, or in receivership. If the rules in section 3101 are met, the court must issue the order in certain cases: contract debts that are not fully secured or where original security lost value without U.S. action, tort damage claims, when the debtor lives outside U.S. jurisdiction, or to collect fines, penalties, or taxes. A U.S. marshal must carry out the order right away, file notice like a judgment, and serve copies on the debtor and the person holding the income. The order must show the date, court, docket number, debtor name and last known address, the amount to secure, and a clear description of the income. The person holding the income must deposit it with the court clerk and give a written statement showing names, amount, source property, and the time period. The marshal must return the writ to the court within 5 days of execution and describe what was seized and where. The debtor can ask the court to reduce or end a seizure that is excessive; the court must cut back or end it if it is too large, or end it if the debt cannot be calculated. If the U.S. wins, the seized income is used to pay the judgment. If the seizure is canceled or the judgment favors the debtor, the income must be returned.

Full Legal Text

Title 28, §3105

Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Any income from property in which the debtor has a substantial nonexempt interest may be sequestered pursuant to a writ of sequestration in an action or proceeding against a debtor on a claim for a debt and may be held as security to satisfy such judgment, and interest and costs, as the United States may recover on such claim.
(2)The amount of income sequestered shall not exceed the amount by which the sum of the amount of the debt claimed by the United States and the amount of interest and costs reasonably likely to be assessed against the debtor by the court exceeds the aggregate value of the nonexempt interest of the debtor in any—
(A)property securing the debt; and
(B)property attached, garnished, or in receivership under this subchapter.
(b)If the requirements of section 3101 are satisfied, a court shall issue a writ authorizing the United States to sequester income from property in which the debtor has a substantial nonexempt interest, as security for such judgment (and interest and costs) as the United States may recover on a claim for a debt—
(1)in an action on a contract, express or implied, against the debtor for payment of money, only if the United States shows reasonable cause to believe that—
(A)the contract is not fully secured by real or personal property; or
(B)the value of the original security is substantially diminished, without any act of the United States or the person to whom the security was given, below the amount of the debt;
(2)in an action against the debtor for damages in tort;
(3)if the debtor resides outside the jurisdiction of the United States; or
(4)in an action to recover a fine, penalty, or tax.
(c)(1)Subject to subsections (a) and (b), a writ of sequestration shall be issued by the court directing the United States marshal of the district where income described in subsection (a) is located to sequester the income.
(2)Several writs of sequestration may be issued at the same time, or in succession, and sent to different judicial districts until sufficient income is sequestered.
(3)The writ of sequestration shall contain—
(A)the date of the issuance of the writ;
(B)the identity of the court, the docket number of the action, and the identity of the cause of action;
(C)the name and last known address of the debtor;
(D)the amount to be secured by the sequestration; and
(E)a reasonable description of the income to be sequestered.
(d)(1)The United States marshal receiving the writ shall proceed without delay to execute the writ.
(2)The United States marshal shall file a copy of the notice of sequestration in the same manner as provided for judgments in section 3201(a)(1). The United States marshal shall serve a copy of the writ and notice of sequestration on—
(A)the debtor against whom the writ is issued; and
(B)the person who has possession of the income subject to the writ;
(e)A person who has possession of the income subject to a writ of sequestration shall deposit such income with the clerk of the court, accompanied by a statement in writing stating the person’s name, the name of the debtor, the amount of such income, the property from which such income is produced, and the period during which such income is produced.
(f)(1)A United States marshal executing a writ of sequestration shall return the writ with the marshal’s action endorsed thereon or attached thereto and signed by the marshal, to the court from which it was issued, within 5 days after the date of the execution.
(2)The return shall describe the income sequestered with sufficient certainty to identify it and shall state the location where it was sequestered, and the date and time it was sequestered. If no income was sequestered, the return shall so state.
(3)If sequestered income is claimed after the return, the United States marshal shall immediately make a further return to the clerk of the court showing the disposition of the income.
(g)(1)If an excessive or unreasonable sequestration is made, the debtor may submit a motion to the court for a reduction of the amount of the sequestration or its dissolution. Notice of such motion shall be served on the United States.
(2)The court shall order a part of the income to be released, if after a hearing the court finds that the amount of the sequestration is excessive or unreasonable or if the sequestration is for an amount larger than the sum of the liquidated or ascertainable amount of the debt and the amount of interest and costs likely to be taxed.
(3)The court shall dissolve the sequestration if the amount of the debt is unliquidated and unascertainable by calculation.
(h)If personal property in custody of the United States marshal under a writ of sequestration is not claimed, the court may make such order for its preservation or use as appears to be in the interest of the parties.
(i)(1)On entry of judgment for the United States, the court shall order the sequestered income to be applied to the satisfaction of the judgment.
(2)If the sequestration is vacated or if the judgment on the claim for the debt is for the person against whom the writ of sequestration is issued, the court shall order the income restored to the debtor.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective 180 days after Nov. 29, 1990, and applicable with respect to certain actions for debts owed the United States pending in court on that

Effective Date

, see section 3631 of Pub. L. 101–647, set out as a note under section 3001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

28 U.S.C. § 3105

Title 28Judiciary and Judicial Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73