This page is meant to provide general guidance about the garnishment process as it relates to garnishments issued by the Oregon Department of Revenue (the department). This page should not be taken as legal advice.
Common terms
Garnishor: The department is authorized to garnish wages, bank accounts, and other payments to pay OAA debt. If a garnishment is issued by the department, the department is the garnishor.
Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS): State of Oregon laws, including those that regulate garnishments.
Other Agency Accounts (OAA): The Department of Revenue collects debt on behalf of more than 180 state agencies, boards, and commissions, including circuit courts and educational and regulatory agencies. If you owe to another agency, your debt may be assigned to the department for collection.
OAA debt collection process
Contact us to pay this debt in full. If you are unable to pay in full, payment plans may be available. While your debt is assigned to the department and unpaid, we have the authority to apply any state refund(s) to your balance.
If you are unable to set up a payment plan or make the payments you agreed to, we will take action to collect the money you owe. This may include garnishing your wages, bank accounts, or other contractual payments. Certain income, such as Social Security or disability payments, are protected from garnishment.
In addition, the department has authority to take any refunds owed to you (known as offsets) to pay debt you owe. This may occur even though you have a department-approved payment plan for your debt.
If we contact you, it is important that you respond promptly. If you do not respond, we may proceed with additional collection action, as required by law.
If you want someone else to call us on your behalf, you will need to submit an OAA Authorization for Disclosure and Financial Action form. We cannot discuss your account with anyone other than you without this authorization.
Correspondence from the department
If you owe a balance, you will receive the following series of letters during the OAA collection process. If you have a department-approved payment plan, review the notice and save for your records.
- OAA Notice and Demand for Payment: This is the first request for full payment of the debt you owe.
- Distraint Warrant: This is not a warrant for your arrest. Instead, it is a legal document that establishes the department's right to collect this debt from you.
- Statement of Account: This is a summary of all your accounts and balances owed. You will receive this letter periodically.
Payment options
Pay your debt in full on Revenue Online, by phone, in person, or by mail.
If you cannot afford to pay your debt in full, see Oregon Department of Revenue: Collections : Payment plans. If you cannot afford a payment plan, call us.
If you need specific information on how to pay off debt so you can reinstate your Oregon driver license, contact Oregon Department of Transportation : Driver and ID Index : Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services : State of Oregon.
Frequently asked questions
Visit Oregon Judicial Department-Online Records Search. Using the Notice and Demand for Payment letter, enter the characters listed as the “Agency ID number" on the notice, without the last three letters.
For example:
Agency MULTNOMAH COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, OREGON JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
Agency ID number H1234567MCR
Enter "H1234567" into the records search field to view details about your debt.
We are authorized by Oregon law to collect on delinquent accounts owed to state and local governments in Oregon (ORS 293.250).
No. To protect your personal information and your debt, you should register for a Revenue Online account and send a message through the Contact Us link. You can also make payments, view department letters, or set up a payment plan through the Revenue Online Account Center. You may also call the phone numbers listed under “Contact us."
There is no formal appeal process for debt assigned to the department for collection of debt owed to another agency. Before this debt was assigned to us for collections, you were given the right to appeal or contest your debt directly with the agency that sent us the debt.
Oregon law requires the department to assign delinquent accounts to private collectors if the customer doesn't make any payments on this debt for a six-month period (ORS 293.231).
As stated above, you will not receive any Oregon tax refund owed to you if you have unpaid state debts. The department is authorized to capture your refund and apply it to your debt (ORS 293.250). We will mail a letter explaining this offset and the debt that was paid. (Such funds are not considered a payment for a payment plan so continue monthly payments until your balance is paid in full.)
No. Just making payment to your debt may not prevent further collection actions (such as garnishments or liens) from taking place. You need an agency-approved payment plan in place. This can be done through an Revenue Online account or by calling the phone numbers listed under “Contact us."