Account garnishment: the deadlines from the day of service
Enter the day the order was served on your bank: the tool gives the end of the one-month period, moves it past weekends and holidays, and shows whether a P-account still protects backwards.
Convert to a P-account by
30 November 2026
Converted by then, protection applies back to the date of the garnishment (section 899(1) sentence 2 ZPO).
| Garnishment covers balances from | 28 October 2026 |
| Bank pays the creditor at the earliest after | 28 November 2026 |
| Objections to one month’s allowance by | 30 April 2027 |
| Deadline moved (weekend, holiday) | yes |
The bank may pay one month after the transfer order is served (section 835(3) sentence 2 ZPO). End of period per section 188 BGB and section 222(2) ZPO, nationwide holidays.
Prepared by Radif Partners · How we calculate · 2026 table (Federal Law Gazette 2026 I No. 80) and ZPO checked on 28 October 2026
A garnishment of your German bank account (Kontopfändung) takes effect once the garnishment order is served on the bank (section 829(3) ZPO). It covers the balance on that day and the daily balances of every day after (section 833a ZPO). Nothing is paid out at once: for an individual, the bank may pay the creditor only one month after the transfer order was served (section 835(3) ZPO). That month is crucial, because converting the account into a P-account within it brings back the €1,590 base amount from the date of the garnishment (section 899(1) sentence 2 ZPO). Example: service on 12 November 2026; the month would end on 12 December 2026, a Saturday, so under section 222(2) ZPO it ends only on 14 December 2026. If almost only exempt money reaches the account, a court can free the balance from garnishment for up to 12 months (section 907 ZPO). A joint account also gets a one-month freeze, during which you can move your share into a sole account (section 850l ZPO).
What applies from service
An account garnishment starts with a garnishment and transfer order (Pfändungs- und Überweisungsbeschluss) from the enforcement court. Once it is served on the bank, which is called the third-party debtor (Drittschuldner), the garnishment is in effect. From that day the bank may no longer pay out to you what the garnishment covers. And it covers a lot: section 833a ZPO names the balance on the day of service and the daily balance of every following day. A salary arriving a week later is therefore caught as well.
Part of it is protected only on a P-account. There the €1,590 base amount and any top-ups stay free until the end of the month, as described under P-account. An ordinary current account has no such base amount. So the first question after service is whether, and until when, a conversion still reaches back.
The one-month period and how it ends
The bank does not pay out a garnished balance of an individual straight away. Under section 835(3) ZPO it may pay the creditor or deposit the money only one month after the transfer order was served. If the account becomes a P-account within that time, protection applies back to the garnishment (section 899(1) sentence 2 ZPO). Section 188 of the Civil Code sets how a month runs out: the period ends on the day of the following month with the same number as the day of service; if that day does not exist, such as 30 February, it ends on the last day of the month. If the end falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, section 222(2) ZPO moves it to the next working day.
| Served on the bank | One month later | End under section 222 ZPO |
|---|---|---|
| 12 November 2026 | 12 December 2026 | 14 December 2026 |
| 18 December 2026 | 18 January 2027 | 18 January 2027 |
| 29 January 2027 | 28 February 2027 | 1 March 2027 |
| 1 April 2027 | 1 May 2027 | 3 May 2027 |
The calculator knows only the nine public holidays that apply in every federal state. A holiday that applies only in your state can shift the end once more; to be safe, plan with the earlier date in that case. How the conversion itself works is set out under opening a P-account.
P-account protection applies from
P-account protection applies from
3 November 2026
| Start of the fourth business day | Tuesday, 3 November 2026 |
| Convert with backdating by | 14 December 2026 |
| Bank pays the creditor at the earliest on | 12 December 2026 |
Joint accounts, the bank’s statement and a full exemption
If you share the account with someone, section 850l ZPO applies: the bank may pay the creditor only one month after the transfer order was served, including from future balances. During that month you can ask for your per-head share to be moved to an account in your sole name at the same bank. If that account becomes a P-account within the period, the protection rules cover the money moved. Your co-holders can likewise move their shares to their own accounts, and the garnishment does not follow those.
The creditor learns from the bank what it is reaching for. On request, the bank states within two weeks under section 840(1) ZPO, among other things, whether the account is a P-account or a joint account and whether an order under section 907 ZPO was made in the last twelve months.
That order is the strongest tool for people whose account receives almost nothing but exempt money, such as basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld, früher Bürgergeld) or child benefit. On your application the enforcement court can rule that the P-account balance cannot be garnished at all for up to 12 months (section 907 ZPO). You need proof for the past six months and a credible outlook for the next six. Which income counts as exempt is shown on exempt income.