Ohio Debt Relief Programs: Free Counseling, Garnishment Limits, and Your Rights

How Ohio debt relief programs fit together

People often search for a government program that will erase their credit cards or medical bills. Ohio does not run one. What Ohio has instead is a layered system. Nonprofit agencies help you build a budget and, if it makes sense, a repayment plan. Hospitals that take part in a state program must give free basic care to the lowest-income patients. Legal aid lawyers help people who are being sued or garnished. And Ohio statutes set a floor on what any creditor can take from you.

Which layer you need depends on where you are. If you are behind but have not been sued, counseling is usually the place to start. If you got court papers, the 28-day answer deadline comes first. If the problem is a hospital bill, ask about HCAP and the hospital's own charity care before you pay anything. If a collector already froze your bank account, the 5-day hearing deadline matters most.

Debt is only one part of the picture for many households. If rent, utilities, or food are also tight, our guide to Ohio assistance programs lists the state and county help that can free up money for bills.

Nonprofit credit counseling in Ohio

A credit counselor reviews your income, bills, and debts, then explains your options. A first session is usually free. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends choosing a nonprofit agency and asking about fees and services before you sign anything.

If your unsecured debts are mostly credit cards, a counselor may suggest a debt management plan. You make one monthly payment to the agency, and it pays your creditors, often at lower interest rates the card companies agree to. Plans usually run three to five years, and you normally close the enrolled cards. Ohio law caps the monthly fee on these plans: under the state Debt Adjusters Act, a periodic fee may not exceed 8.5 percent of the amount you pay each period.

Ways to find a reputable agency in Ohio:

• NFCC member agencies. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling lists nonprofit agencies that serve Ohio by phone, online, and in person.
• Court-approved agencies. The U.S. Trustee Program keeps a list of approved credit counseling agencies for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio. These are the agencies you would use for the counseling course required before bankruptcy, but many also offer general counseling.
• HUD-approved housing counselors. If the mortgage is part of the problem, Ohio Legal Help points readers to Apprisen, a HUD-approved housing and credit counseling agency based in Ohio.

Our guide to free credit counseling agencies near me explains what happens in a session and the questions to ask.

Five paths side by side

Each option fits a different situation. This table compares them for an Ohio resident.

Settlement fee ranges vary by company; the figure above is a common range, not an Ohio rule. Before you choose a debt management plan, read our list of debt management plan pros and cons.

Wage garnishment limits under Ohio law

A creditor cannot simply call your employer and take your wages. In Ohio, it must first sue you and win a judgment. After that, the court sends you a Notice of Court Proceeding to Collect Debt, often called the 15-day letter. Ohio Legal Help says you then have 15 days to work something out, such as a payment plan, before the garnishment order goes to your employer.

The earnings exemption in Ohio Revised Code section 2329.66 works the same way as the federal limit. For ordinary consumer debts, the creditor can take the smaller of two amounts:

• 25 percent of your disposable earnings (pay after required deductions such as taxes), or
• the amount by which your weekly disposable pay is more than 30 times the federal minimum wage. At $7.25 an hour, that floor is $217.50 a week.

Example: if your weekly take-home pay is $250, only $32.50 can be taken, because the rest is under the $217.50 floor. If your take-home pay is $200 a week, nothing can be taken for a credit card judgment.

Child support, back taxes, and federal student loans follow different, higher limits, so the 25 percent rule does not apply to them. Ohio Legal Help also notes that your employer cannot fire you because of a garnishment for one debt within a 12-month period. If the garnishment leaves you unable to pay basic bills, talk to legal aid right away. Bankruptcy can sometimes stop a garnishment, and a court may vacate a judgment if, for example, you were never properly served.

Bank account holds and protected income

Creditors with a judgment can also ask a court to take money from your bank account. Ohio Legal Help explains that the bank usually places the hold without warning. The court then mails you a notice with a request for hearing form. You must return that form to the court within 5 days to argue that some or all of the money is exempt. Bring bank statements and deposit records that show where the money came from.

Ohio Legal Help lists these kinds of income as exempt from a creditor's reach:

• Social Security, SSI, and veterans benefits
• Unemployment and workers' compensation
• Ohio Works First (TANF) and Disability Financial Assistance
• Tax refunds from the Earned Income Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit
• Pension payments, child support, and alimony

It also says the court will always leave at least $400 in your account. Federal rules add another layer. The CFPB explains that when federal benefits such as Social Security or SSI arrive by direct deposit, the bank must automatically protect up to two months of those benefits. Benefits paid by paper check and then deposited do not get that automatic shield, so direct deposit is safer if you are worried about a levy.

Money that belongs to a joint owner is also protected. If the collector's lawyer agrees to release exempt funds, get it in writing and confirm with your bank.

Property Ohio law shields from creditors

Section 2329.66 also protects certain property from being seized to pay a judgment, and the same list applies in an Ohio bankruptcy. The dollar amounts are adjusted every three years for inflation. Published figures for cases from April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2028, include:

These are the adjusted amounts reported for the current three-year period. Exact figures for household goods, tools of a trade, and other categories are set in the statute, so check with legal aid or a bankruptcy lawyer before relying on a number for a court filing.

Statute of limitations on Ohio debts

Ohio changed its time limits in 2021. Senate Bill 13 cut the limit for written contracts from eight years to six and for oral contracts from six years to four. It also set a six-year limit for most consumer debts, such as credit cards, under section 2305.07. In practice, most Ohio credit card and personal loan debts can no longer be taken to court about six years after the cause of action accrued, which is usually around the time you defaulted.

A few points the CFPB stresses about old debts:

• The debt does not disappear. Only the right to sue expires.
• A collector may not sue or threaten to sue you on a time-barred debt, but it can still contact you.
• If you are sued on an old debt, you usually must raise the time limit yourself. The court may not do it for you.
• A partial payment or written acknowledgment may restart the clock in some states, so get advice before paying anything on a very old account.

Credit reporting is a separate clock. Most negative items drop off credit reports seven years after the first missed payment, no matter the lawsuit limit.

When a collector files a lawsuit

Most Ohio debt suits are filed in municipal or county court. Ohio Legal Help says you must file a written answer within 28 days. If you do not, the creditor will likely ask for a default judgment, and the court can treat everything in the complaint as true, including the amount.

1. Read the complaint. Check the name of the plaintiff, the amount, and the date of the last payment.
2. File an answer. Ohio Legal Help has letter and form tools to help you write one.
3. Raise your defenses. Common ones are the statute of limitations, wrong amount, or the plaintiff cannot prove it owns the debt.
4. Go to mediation if offered. Many courts schedule it, and settlements there often include payment plans.
5. Attend the hearing. If you miss it, you may lose automatically.

Before any lawsuit, collectors must also follow the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Ohio Legal Help notes that a collector must send a validation notice within 5 days of first contacting you, and you then have 30 days to dispute the debt in writing.

Medical bills and HCAP

Ohio's most useful medical debt tool is the Hospital Care Assurance Program (HCAP). Hospitals that take part must provide basic, medically necessary hospital services free of charge to Ohio residents whose income is at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and who do not have Medicaid. For 2026, the poverty guideline is $15,960 a year for one person, plus $5,680 for each additional person. HCAP covers the hospital's own charges, not separate bills from doctors.

Many Ohio hospitals go further with their own financial assistance policies, sometimes offering free care up to 200 percent of poverty and discounts above that. Nonprofit hospitals must have a written policy and publicize it under federal rules the IRS describes. Ask the billing office for the application, even if the bill has gone to collections.

On credit reports, the three national credit bureaus stopped reporting medical collections under $500 and paid medical collections in 2023. Ohio lawmakers have proposed House Bill 257, the Medical Debt Fairness Act, which would cap medical debt interest and bar credit reporting and wage garnishment for medical debt. As of our last check, it had not become law. A few Ohio local governments, including Toledo and Lucas County, have also paid a nonprofit to buy and cancel residents' medical debt; those relief letters arrive by mail and never require a payment. Our guide to medical debt and hospital bill financial assistance has more ways to lower a bill.

Debts owed to the State of Ohio

Some Ohioans owe money not to a bank but to the state, such as an unpaid balance at a state university, a fee owed to a state agency, or an overpayment. Under Ohio law, state agencies and public colleges certify unpaid debts to the Ohio Attorney General's Collections Enforcement Section. Once a debt is certified, collection fees can be added, and the state may take tax refunds to cover it.

If you get a letter from the Attorney General about a state debt, contact the office listed in the letter and ask about a payment plan. The Attorney General's office also accepts offers in compromise in some cases. Separately, the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section takes complaints about debt collectors and debt relief companies at 800-282-0515.

Free legal aid across Ohio

Ohio has a network of legal aid societies that help low-income residents with debt collection suits, garnishments, and bankruptcy questions at no cost. Ohio Legal Help's legal aid finder matches your county to the right office. Regional programs include:

• The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland (Northeast Ohio)
• The Legal Aid Society of Columbus (Central Ohio)
• Legal Aid of Southwest Ohio (Cincinnati area)
• Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (Toledo, Dayton, and Northwest and West Central Ohio)
• Community Legal Aid (Akron, Canton, Youngstown, and nearby counties)
• Southeastern Ohio Legal Services (Appalachian counties)

Ohio Legal Help's pages on wage withholding, bank holds, and debt lawsuits walk through each step with forms.

Red flags with debt companies

Real Ohio debt relief programs never charge to apply, and legal aid is free. Be careful with any company that:

• Charges a large fee before it settles or reduces any debt.
• Tells you to stop all contact with your creditors.
• Promises to wipe out debt through a "government program."
• Says it can remove accurate, recent negative items from your credit report.
• Calls itself an Ohio state program or uses a seal that looks official.

You can report problems to the Ohio Attorney General, the CFPB complaint portal, or the FTC.

Related guides

• Ohio hardship program
• Ohio utility relief programs
• Ohio unclaimed property
• Are debt relief programs a scam?

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Ohio statutes (including sections 2329.66, 2305.07, and the Debt Adjusters Act) and court rules can change, and exemption amounts are adjusted every three years. National Relief Program is an independent website and is not affiliated with the State of Ohio, the Ohio Attorney General, or any government agency.