You filed the claim, you went through the settlement conference and maybe a trial, and the court ordered the other side to pay you. Weeks later, nothing has arrived. No cheque, no e-transfer, no reply to your messages.

This is a common surprise for people who win in Small Claims Court. A judgment says the money is owed. It does not move the money. In Ontario, the person who won (the creditor) has to take the next steps to collect from the person who owes (the debtor), and the court's rules set out how. This article walks through those steps in plain language: what each enforcement tool does, what you file to start it, and the limits that come with it.

Everything here comes from Rule 20 of the Rules of the Small Claims Court (O. Reg. 258/98) and, for wages, section 7 of the Wages Act. The official forms mentioned below are on the Ontario Court Forms page for the Small Claims Court.

A judgment is an order, not a payment

When the court gives judgment for you, it makes an order for the payment of money. Rule 20 calls you the "creditor" and the other side the "debtor" (r. 20.01). If the debtor pays voluntarily, the matter ends there. If they do not, rule 20.03 lists the main ways an order for money can be enforced:

  • a writ of seizure and sale of personal property (Form 20C), under rule 20.06;
  • a writ of seizure and sale of land (Form 20D), under rule 20.07;
  • garnishment, under rule 20.08; and
  • a further order as to payment after an examination, under rule 20.10(7).

Rule 20.03 also says these are "in addition to any other method of enforcement provided by law." The court clerk issues the documents, and a bailiff or sheriff carries out seizures, but the creditor has to ask for each step and give the court the information it needs.

First, check what your order says about payment

Before you start enforcing, read the order itself. Some judgments include an order for periodic payment, meaning the debtor was allowed to pay in instalments. That changes what you can do.

Under rule 20.02(2), while an order for periodic payment is in force, a creditor named in the order cannot take or continue any enforcement step against the debtor, with one exception: you can still issue a writ of seizure and sale of land and file it with the sheriff.

If the debtor stops making the instalments, the rules give you a way out. You can serve a notice of default of payment (Form 20L) and file it with an affidavit of default of payment (Form 20M) (r. 20.02(3)). Under rule 20.02(4), the periodic payment order ends 15 days after you serve the notice, unless you file a consent waiving the default within those 15 days. After that, the full range of enforcement tools opens up.

The court also has a general power, under rule 20.02(1), to stay enforcement or to vary the timing and amounts of payments if it is satisfied the debtor's circumstances have changed. A debtor can ask for that, so it is worth knowing it exists.

The form that starts most enforcement: the affidavit for enforcement request

Almost every enforcement step begins with the same document: an affidavit for enforcement request (Form 20P). It is your sworn statement of where the judgment stands. For garnishment and examinations, rules 20.08(3) and 20.10(2) say it must set out:

  • the date of the order and the amount awarded;
  • the territorial division where the order was made;
  • the rate of postjudgment interest;
  • the total of any payments received since the order; and
  • the amount still owing, including postjudgment interest.

This is where good records pay off. If you have been tracking every partial payment with its date and method, the affidavit is straightforward. If you have not, rebuild that history before you swear anything. Our article on preparing your records for an unpaid invoice case explains how to keep a clean payment history from the start.

If the debtor is in another part of Ontario

Small Claims Court is organized by territorial division. If you want to enforce somewhere other than where you got the judgment, rule 20.04 lets the clerk issue a certificate of judgment (Form 20A) to the court location you name. The certificate states the date of the order, the amount awarded, the postjudgment interest rate and the amount owing. Garnishment and examination requests are filed in the division where the debtor lives or carries on business, with the certificate attached when the order came from somewhere else (r. 20.08(3), r. 20.10(1) and (2)).

Step one for many creditors: the examination hearing

If you do not know where the debtor works, banks or keeps assets, enforcement is guesswork. The examination hearing exists to fix that.

Under rule 20.10(1), if there is default under the order, the clerk issues a notice of examination (Form 20H) at your request. You serve it on the debtor, and the debtor has to come to court and answer questions under oath. Rule 20.10(4) lists what the examination can cover, including:

  • the reason for non-payment;
  • the debtor's income and property;
  • debts owed to and by the debtor;
  • any property the debtor has disposed of, before or after the order; and
  • the debtor's present, past and future means to pay.

A debtor who is an individual must also complete a financial information form (Form 20I), serve it on you and bring supporting documents to the hearing (r. 20.10(4.1) and (4.2)). If the debtor is a corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship, rule 20.10(5) allows an officer, director, partner or the sole proprietor to be examined on its behalf.

The examination is held in private unless the court orders otherwise, under oath, and recorded (r. 20.10(6)). Afterward, or if the debtor files a consent, the court may make an order as to payment (r. 20.10(7)). Like a periodic payment order, that order limits other enforcement while it is in force, except a writ of seizure and sale of land (r. 20.10(8)).

If the debtor does not show up or will not answer

Rule 20.11 deals with this. If a debtor who was served does not attend, or attends but refuses to answer or produce documents, the court may order them to attend a contempt hearing (r. 20.11(1) and (2)). The clerk gives the creditor a notice of contempt hearing, and the creditor must serve it on the debtor and file proof of service at least seven days before the hearing (r. 20.11(3)).

At the contempt hearing, the court decides whether the person is in contempt (r. 20.11(5) and (6)). The rule lists what the court may then order, including that the person attend another examination, or be jailed for not more than five days (r. 20.11(7)). Those orders are for the court to make; the creditor's part is to request the hearing steps and serve the notice on time.

The practical value of the examination is the information. Once you know who pays the debtor and where they bank, you can choose the right tool.

Garnishment: collecting from people who owe the debtor money

Garnishment is often the most useful tool for a small business creditor. Rule 20.08(1) lets you enforce the order by garnishing debts that other people owe to the debtor. The person who owes the debtor money is called the garnishee. Common garnishees are the debtor's employer (for wages) and the debtor's bank (for money on deposit).

How a notice of garnishment is issued and served

You file an affidavit for enforcement request (Form 20P) with the clerk in the division where the debtor lives or does business. Rule 20.08(3) says it must name one debtor and one garnishee, and explain why you believe the garnishee owes or will owe the debtor money. The clerk then issues a notice of garnishment (Form 20E) naming that garnishee (r. 20.08(4)). A notice names only one debtor and one garnishee (r. 20.08(5)), so if you want to garnish both an employer and a bank, you need two notices.

You serve the notice on the garnishee, then on the debtor within five days (r. 20.08(6) and (6.1)). If the garnishee is a bank or other financial institution, rule 20.08(6.2) says the notice is served at the branch where the debt is payable.

What the garnishee has to do

From the time it is served, the garnishee is liable to pay the clerk what it owes the debtor, up to the amount in the notice. Under rule 20.08(7), payment is due within 10 days after service or 10 days after the debt becomes payable, whichever is later. That covers money owed when the notice is served and money that becomes payable within six years after it is issued (r. 20.08(8)). For an employer, that means future pay periods, not only the current one.

A garnishee that disputes the garnishment, or pays less than the notice says, must file a garnishee's statement (Form 20F) within 10 days and serve it on you and the debtor (r. 20.08(11) to (13)). Any interested person can ask the clerk to schedule a garnishment hearing, where the court can sort out who owes what (r. 20.08(15) to (15.2)). If a garnishee simply ignores the notice, neither paying nor filing a statement, rule 20.08(17) says you are entitled to an order against the garnishee for the amount in the notice, unless the court orders otherwise.

The wage limit

Garnishing wages has a built-in limit. Section 7(2) of the Wages Act says 80 per cent of a person's wages are exempt from seizure or garnishment. Section 7(1) says that, for this purpose, "wages" do not include amounts the employer is required by law to deduct. So the 80 per cent is measured on pay after those required deductions, and for an ordinary debt at most 20 per cent of that amount can be garnished. Rule 20.08(9) ties garnishment payments to that limit.

A judge can change the exemption. Under section 7(4), a creditor can bring a motion to decrease it, and the judge considers what is just having regard to the nature of the debt, the debtor's financial circumstances and any other relevant matter. Under section 7(5), the debtor can bring a motion to increase it, and the judge considers the debtor's financial circumstances and any other relevant matter. (A separate 50 per cent exemption applies when support orders are being enforced, under section 7(3).)

When you get paid

Garnishee payments go to the court, not to you. Once proof is filed that the debtor was served, the clerk distributes the first payment 30 days after receiving it, and later payments as they come in (r. 20.08(20) and (20.1)), unless a hearing or certain motions are pending. If other creditors have garnishments against the same debtor, the clerk shares each payment equally among the creditors who have not been paid in full (r. 20.08(10)).

A notice of garnishment lasts six years from the date it is issued and can be renewed before it expires (r. 20.08(5.1) and (5.2)). It also has to be ended when the debt is paid; see When the judgment is paid below.

Writ of seizure and sale of personal property

If the debtor owns things of value, such as equipment, vehicles or inventory, rule 20.06 allows a writ of seizure and sale of personal property (Form 20C). On your affidavit for enforcement request, the clerk issues the writ to a bailiff, and the bailiff enforces it for the amount owing, postjudgment interest and the bailiff's fees and expenses (r. 20.06(1)).

A few practical points from the rule:

  • You ask the bailiff to act by filing a direction to enforce (Form 20O) (r. 20.06(4)).
  • Seized property cannot be sold unless notice of the time and place of sale was mailed to you and the debtor at least 10 days before, and the sale was advertised to the public (r. 20.06(6)).
  • The writ expires on its sixth anniversary unless you renew it with a request to renew (Form 20N) (r. 20.06(2) and (3)).

Not everything can be seized. For a debtor who is not a corporation, section 2 of the Execution Act exempts necessary clothing, household furnishings and appliances, tools used to earn income from the debtor's occupation, and one motor vehicle, each up to a prescribed value, as well as medical and dental aids and devices. The prescribed values are set in O. Reg. 657/05. Property worth more than the prescribed amount can be seized (s. 2(1.1)).

The bailiff's fees and expenses are part of what the writ is enforced for, and a seizure takes time. Weigh what the property is realistically worth before you ask a bailiff to act, and get advice if you are unsure.

Writ of seizure and sale of land

If the debtor owns real estate, rule 20.07 lets the clerk issue a writ of seizure and sale of land (Form 20D) to the sheriff you name. Once issued, rule 20.07(2) says the Rules of Civil Procedure govern the writ, as if it were a writ issued in the Superior Court of Justice.

The Execution Act also limits seizure of a home: a debtor's principal residence is exempt if the debtor's equity in it does not exceed the prescribed amount (s. 2(2) and (3)), again set in O. Reg. 657/05. The writ lasts six years and can be renewed with a request to renew (Form 20N) filed with the sheriff (r. 20.07(3) and (4)). Under rule 20.07(0.1), lawyers and paralegals are "authorized Teranet users", and rule 20.07(1.3) lets them have the writ issued through the Teranet software without filing an affidavit for enforcement request.

This is the one step the rules allow even while a periodic payment order, an order as to payment or a consolidation order is in force (r. 20.02(2), r. 20.10(8), r. 20.09(9)). That makes it worth considering early.

When the debtor owes several creditors: consolidation orders

A debtor against whom there are two or more unsatisfied orders for the payment of money can ask the court for a consolidation order (r. 20.09(1)). The debtor's motion has to list the creditors, the amounts owed, the debtor's income and their financial obligations. Each creditor must be served at least seven days before the hearing, and creditors can make submissions about the amount and timing of payments (r. 20.09(3) and (6)).

If the court makes the order, the debtor pays into court and the clerk shares the money equally among the listed creditors at least once every six months (r. 20.09(12) and (13)). Total payments cannot exceed the garnishable portion of the debtor's wages (r. 20.09(5)). While the order is in force, creditors named in it cannot take other enforcement steps except a writ of seizure and sale of land (r. 20.09(9)). The order ends if the debtor is in default for 21 days (r. 20.09(10)).

If you are served with one of these motions, it is worth attending. It is your chance to speak to the payment amount before it is set.

Timing: older judgments need permission

The rules build in a six-year marker. If more than six years have passed since the order was made, you need the court's leave (permission) to issue a writ of seizure and sale of personal property, a writ of seizure and sale of land or a notice of garnishment (r. 20.06(1.1), r. 20.07(1.1), r. 20.08(2.1)). If leave is granted and you do not issue the document within a year, the leave lapses (r. 20.06(1.2), r. 20.07(1.2), r. 20.08(2.2)).

Separately, each writ and notice of garnishment expires six years after it is issued unless renewed. Put the expiry dates in your calendar the day the documents are issued.

Putting it together: one possible sequence (hypothetical)

Every file is different, but here is how the tools can fit together. Suppose a small renovation company gets a Small Claims judgment against a former customer who stops responding.

  1. The company reviews the order to confirm there is no periodic payment order in force.
  2. It reconciles its payment records and swears an affidavit for enforcement request.
  3. Because it does not know where the customer works or banks, it asks for a notice of examination and serves it.
  4. At the examination, the customer gives evidence about their employer and bank.
  5. The company files for a notice of garnishment naming the employer, and a second one naming the bank, serving each garnishee and then the customer within five days.
  6. Because the customer owns a house, it also files a writ of seizure and sale of land with the sheriff.
  7. When the judgment is paid in full, it closes out the garnishments and writs as described in the next section.

That example is for illustration only. It does not predict how any real case will go or how much a creditor will recover.

When the judgment is paid

Once the debt is paid in full, close the file properly. Rule 20.12 allows the parties, on consent, to file a request for clerk's order on consent (Form 11.2A) confirming the order has been satisfied, or the debtor to bring a motion for an order confirming it. If you used garnishment, rule 20.08(20.2) says you must immediately serve a notice of termination of garnishment (Form 20R) on each garnishee and on the clerk. If you filed a writ of seizure and sale of land, the Rules of Civil Procedure govern it (r. 20.07(2)): once the order is satisfied in full, the creditor must withdraw its writs (Rules of Civil Procedure, r. 60.16(2)), which is done by giving the sheriff written instructions (r. 60.15(3)).

A short records checklist for enforcement

  • A copy of the judgment or order, and any later orders about payment.
  • A payment ledger showing every amount received after the judgment, with dates and methods.
  • Your calculation of the amount owing, including postjudgment interest at the rate in the order or certificate.
  • What you know about the debtor's employer, bank branch and assets, and how you know it.
  • Copies of every enforcement document issued, with issue and expiry dates.
  • Proof of service for every notice you served.

Frequently asked questions

Will the court collect the money for me?

No. The court issues the enforcement documents and receives garnishment payments, and the bailiff or sheriff carries out seizures, but each step starts with a request from the creditor. The rules say the clerk issues these documents "at the creditor's request" (for example r. 20.04(1), 20.06(1), 20.07(1) and 20.10(1)), so without a request, no enforcement step happens.

Can the debtor ask to pay in instalments after judgment?

Yes. After an examination, or on the debtor's consent, the court can make an order as to payment (r. 20.10(7)), and the court can vary the timing and amounts of payments if the debtor's circumstances have changed (r. 20.02(1)). While such an order is in force, your other enforcement options are limited, except a writ of seizure and sale of land.

Can I garnish more than one source at the same time?

Yes, but each notice of garnishment names only one debtor and one garnishee (r. 20.08(5)). An employer and a bank need two separate notices, each with its own affidavit and service.

If you have a Small Claims Court judgment that has not been paid and you would like someone to look over your order and records before deciding on the next step, you can request a free consultation. A short summary is enough to start, and we reply within 24 to 48 hours. Our Small Claims Court services page describes the claims we handle, and our article on contractor disputes in Small Claims Court covers how a case gets to judgment.

This article is general information about Ontario Small Claims Court procedure and is not legal advice about your situation. The rules change from time to time; check the current Rules of the Small Claims Court before relying on any step.