Student Loan Wage Garnishments

There are three general categories of student loans.

1. Direct loans from the U. S. Department of Education;
2. Loans guaranteed by a state loan insurance program, and;
3. Ordinary consumer loans.

Each of these three types of student loans may ultimately be collected by garnishment upon default. However, the legal authority and the procedures applicable in the event a garnishment is pursued depends upon the source and the type of the loan.

Administrative wage garnishments to collect direct student loans from the Federal government are authorized by the  Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and they are subject to the procedures contained within 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 34.

Administrative wage garnishments to collect student loans guaranteed by a state loan insurance program are authorized by the Higher Education Act and corresponding State statutes and regulations. The administrative wage garnishment procedures used by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority are contained in 11 Kentucky Administrative Regulation (KAR) 3:100.

Wage and non-wage garnishments to collect ordinary consumer student loans are subject the the same statutory law, procedural rules and appellate opinions as are all other judicial garnishments.

It is important to know which type of student loan it is.