Wage Garnishment in French Payroll in 2026: A Complete Employer Guide

Introduction: wage garnishment, a legal obligation for the employer

Wage garnishment (saisie sur salaire, or saisie sur rémunérations) is a legal procedure that allows a creditor to recover amounts owed directly from a debtor’s salary. For the employer, this procedure entails strict obligations regarding the calculation, withholding and remittance of sums to creditors.

The scale of seizable earnings is updated each year in accordance with Article R.3252-2 of the French Labour Code. This scale defines the seizable portions according to progressive brackets, guaranteeing the employee a minimum subsistence amount. This complete guide details the procedure, the calculation of withholdings and the employer’s obligations, with concrete examples based on the 2025 values.

The legal framework of wage garnishment

Legal basis

Wage garnishment is governed by Articles L.3252-1 et seq. and R.3252-1 et seq. of the French Labour Code. It may only be implemented after a conciliation attempt before the enforcement judge (juge de l’exécution) of the judicial court (tribunal judiciaire), except in certain cases (maintenance payments, tax debts).

The procedure unfolds in several stages:

Application by the creditor to the judicial court;
Conciliation hearing between the debtor and the creditor;
In the event of failure, a garnishment order (acte de saisie) notified to the employer by the court registry (greffe);
Obligation of the employer to carry out the monthly withholdings.

Notification to the employer

The employer receives a garnishment order (acte de saisie) from the registry of the judicial court. This order specifies the amount of the debt, the identity of the creditor and the terms of withholding. The employer has a period of 15 days to provide the registry with information on the employee’s situation (remuneration, other garnishments in progress, declared dependants).

Important: an employer who fails to carry out the withholdings risks being declared personally liable for the sums due, in addition to any damages.

The 2025 scale of seizable earnings

The progressive garnishment brackets

The scale in force (revalued on 1 January each year — verify the applicable thresholds on service-public.fr) sets the seizable portions of net annual remuneration according to the following brackets (annual amounts for a person with no dependants):

Bracket 1: up to €4,370 — seizable at 1/20, i.e. a maximum of €218.50
Bracket 2: from €4,370 to €8,520 — seizable at 1/10, i.e. a maximum of €415.00
Bracket 3: from €8,520 to €12,690 — seizable at 1/5, i.e. a maximum of €834.00
Bracket 4: from €12,690 to €16,820 — seizable at 1/4, i.e. a maximum of €1,032.50
Bracket 5: from €16,820 to €20,970 — seizable at 1/3, i.e. a maximum of €1,383.33
Bracket 6: from €20,970 to €25,200 — seizable at 2/3, i.e. a maximum of €2,820.00
Bracket 7: above €25,200 — seizable in full

These amounts are increased by €1,680 per year (i.e. €140 per month) for each dependant of the indebted employee.

Monthly calculation

For monthly application, the annual thresholds must be divided by 12. The 2025 monthly brackets are therefore:

Up to €364.17: seizable at 1/20
From €364.17 to €710.00: seizable at 1/10
From €710.00 to €1,057.50: seizable at 1/5
From €1,057.50 to €1,401.67: seizable at 1/4
From €1,401.67 to €1,747.50: seizable at 1/3
From €1,747.50 to €2,100.00: seizable at 2/3
Above €2,100.00: seizable in full

The unseizable base salary (SBI)

Definition and calculation

The SBI (salaire brut insaisissable, unseizable base salary) corresponds to the employee’s net remuneration after deduction of mandatory social security contributions and the withholding tax at source (prélèvement à la source, PAS). It is on this net base that the garnishment scale applies.

In concrete terms, the SBI is calculated as follows:

SBI = Gross remuneration – Mandatory employee contributions – PAS

Included in the remuneration taken into account are: base salary, bonuses, overtime, benefits in kind, and paid leave allowances. Excluded are: reimbursements of professional expenses, severance pay (within certain limits), and family allowances.

The absolutely unseizable portion

Whatever the situation, the employee must retain a minimum subsistence amount corresponding to the amount of the RSA (income support) for a single person, i.e. €635.71 per month (the RSA amount for a single person, revalued each year — verify the amount in force). This portion is absolutely unseizable, even in the event of concurrent garnishments.

Reference: Article L.3252-5 of the French Labour Code and Article L.262-2 of the French Social Action and Families Code.

Complete example of a wage garnishment calculation

Example data

Consider the case of an employee with the following characteristics:

Monthly net salary after contributions and PAS: €2,300
No dependants
Ordinary debt (not a maintenance payment)

Calculation of the monthly seizable portion

Application of the 2025 monthly scale:

Bracket 1: €364.17 × 1/20 = €18.21
Bracket 2: (€710.00 – €364.17) × 1/10 = €345.83 × 1/10 = €34.58
Bracket 3: (€1,057.50 – €710.00) × 1/5 = €347.50 × 1/5 = €69.50
Bracket 4: (€1,401.67 – €1,057.50) × 1/4 = €344.17 × 1/4 = €86.04
Bracket 5: (€1,747.50 – €1,401.67) × 1/3 = €345.83 × 1/3 = €115.28
Bracket 6: (€2,100.00 – €1,747.50) × 2/3 = €352.50 × 2/3 = €235.00
Bracket 7: (€2,300 – €2,100) × 1 = €200.00

Total seizable = €18.21 + €34.58 + €69.50 + €86.04 + €115.28 + €235.00 + €200.00 = €758.61

Verification: the employee retains €2,300 – €758.61 = €1,541.39, which is higher than the unseizable minimum of €635.71. The withholding is therefore valid.

Impact of dependants

If this same employee had 2 dependants, the thresholds of each bracket would be increased by 2 × €140 = €280 per month. The brackets would become:

Bracket 1: up to €644.17 (€364.17 + €280)
Bracket 2: from €644.17 to €990.00
And so on…

The seizable portion would then be reduced, giving greater protection to the employee with family responsibilities.

The special case of maintenance payments

An exception to the progressive scale

Maintenance payments (pension alimentaire) benefit from a derogatory regime provided for in Article L.3252-5 of the French Labour Code. Unlike ordinary debts, maintenance payments may be withheld beyond the seizable portion, provided the employee is left with the minimum subsistence amount (RSA for a single person = €635.71/month).

Example: If the employee receives a net of €2,300 and must pay maintenance of €800, the employer may withhold €800 because the employee retains €2,300 – €800 = €1,500, an amount higher than the minimum subsistence of €635.71.

However, if the maintenance payment were €1,800, the employer could only withhold a maximum of €2,300 – €635.71 = €1,664.29.

The priority of maintenance payments

Where an ordinary garnishment and a maintenance payment coexist, the maintenance payment takes priority. It is withheld first, and any seizable balance is distributed among the other creditors according to the order of priority.

The procedure from the employer’s side

Obligations upon receipt of the garnishment order

As soon as the notification from the registry is received, the employer must:

Acknowledge receipt and provide the requested information within 15 days;
Inform the employee of the implementation of the garnishment;
Carry out the monthly withholdings from the month following the notification;
Remit the sums to the court registry (or directly to the creditor as the case may be) within the month following the withholding;
Report any change in situation (end of contract, change in remuneration).

Handling the employee’s departure

In the event of termination of the employment contract, the employer must:

Apply the garnishment to the final settlement (solde de tout compte) (salary, compensatory paid leave allowances, etc.);
Immediately inform the registry of the end of the contract;
Send the registry the amount of the sums withheld and the details of the final settlement.

Voluntary assignment of salary

Difference from garnishment

A voluntary assignment (cession volontaire) is an act by which the employee themselves authorises the employer to withhold part of their salary for the benefit of a creditor. Unlike a garnishment, it does not require a court decision but must comply with the same seizability limits as the statutory scale.

The assignment must be formalised by a declaration to the registry of the judicial court of the employee’s place of residence. The employer may not carry out an assignment upon a simple verbal or written request from the employee without this formality.

The third-party holder notice (ATD) and tax debts

Specifics of the ATD

The third-party holder notice (avis à tiers détenteur, ATD), now called the administrative third-party holder seizure (saisie administrative à tiers détenteur, SATD), is a recovery tool used by the tax authorities and social security bodies. It differs from ordinary garnishment in that:

There is no prior judicial procedure;
Notification is made directly by the administration to the employer;
The same seizability scale applies as for ordinary garnishments.

The employer must handle the SATD with the same rigour as a judicial garnishment. Failure to comply with this obligation exposes the employer to financial penalties.

Order of priority among creditors

Where several garnishments or SATDs are in progress, the order of priority is as follows:

1. Maintenance payments (super-privilege);
2. Tax debts (SATD) and social security debts;
3. Ordinary debts, in chronological order of notification.

Points of vigilance for the payroll manager

Common errors

Forgetting to increase the brackets for dependants declared by the employee;
Failing to respect the minimum subsistence amount of €635.71 (RSA for a single person, 2025);
Confusing net pay with the calculation base of the garnishment (the PAS must be incorporated into the calculation);
Failing to inform the registry of a change in the employee’s situation;
Failing to remit the sums within the required deadlines.

Payroll tools and settings

Most payroll software includes a garnishment management module. It is recommended to:

Verify the annual update of the scale in the software;
Configure the dependants for each employee concerned;
Set up an alert for the end of garnishments;
Keep a record of the withholdings made and the remittances.

FAQ: wage garnishment in payroll

Can the employer refuse to carry out a wage garnishment?

No. As soon as the notification from the registry is received, the employer is legally required to carry out the withholdings. Refusal or negligence exposes the employer to being declared personally liable for the sums owed to the creditor.

How to handle an employee with several simultaneous garnishments?

Where an employee is subject to several garnishments, the total seizable portion remains unchanged. The various debts share the seizable portion according to the order of priority and the date of notification. Maintenance payments always take priority and may be withheld beyond the ordinary seizable portion, up to the minimum subsistence amount.

Is severance pay seizable?

Statutory or contractual severance pay is in principle not seizable (Article L.3252-3 of the French Labour Code). However, compensatory notice pay and paid leave allowances are treated as salaries and fall within the scope of the garnishment.

What to do in the event of a calculation error on a withholding?

In the event of an overpayment, the employer must regularise the situation the following month by reducing the withholding. In the event of an insufficient withholding, the catch-up must comply with the seizability scale. It is recommended to inform the registry of any error and regularisation carried out.

Does wage garnishment apply during sick leave?

Yes, the garnishment continues to apply to subrogated daily social security allowances (IJSS) or to supplementary allowances paid by the employer. If the employee receives the IJSS directly from the CPAM (health insurance fund), the employer is only required to make the withholding on the portion of remuneration it pays (the employer top-up). In all cases, the minimum subsistence amount of €635.71 must be respected.