How much must a bailiff leave in your bank account in Estonia?
At least one month's minimum wage — and more if you have dependants. Under the Enforcement Procedure Act, income is not seized where it does not exceed the minimum wage set for one month. Where the debtor has a dependant or pays maintenance, the protected amount increases by one third of the monthly minimum wage per dependant — except where a child maintenance debt is being enforced. And some income cannot be seized at all: among others, state family allowances, child benefit and parental benefit. If such income is seized anyway, an application must be filed with the bailiff within three days.
📋 The rules
- Protected: the monthly minimum wage
- Each dependant adds one third
- Exception: child maintenance debt
- Benefits cannot be seized
- Recovery application: 3 days
🔓 Exceptions
- The dependant uplift does not apply when child maintenance debt is enforced
- Family allowances, child benefit and parental benefit are not seizable
- Wrongly seized income must be reclaimed by application within three days
⚠️ Penalties & fines
The protection does not apply itself — you have to use it. The bailiff notes in the seizure act the amount that is not to be seized and accounts for dependants on the basis of the data available to them — but that data can be incomplete. If you have dependants, tell the bailiff, or the one-third uplift will simply not be applied. And where money was seized that should not have been — child benefit, parental benefit, family allowances — an application must be filed with the bailiff within three days. Three days is short, which is why an account seizure is not something to think about for a week. And the protection is not full where a child maintenance debt is being enforced.
📎 Official sources
- Riigi Teataja · Enforcement Procedure Act →
- Jurist Aitab · Non-seizable income →
- Chamber of Bailiffs and Trustees →
❓ Frequently asked
How much money is left to me?
Income is not seized where it does not exceed the minimum wage set for one month. That is the statutory floor which must remain available to the debtor.
What if I have children?
For each dependant the protected sum increases by one third of the monthly minimum wage. This uplift does not apply where a child maintenance debt is being enforced.
Can benefits be seized?
Some income cannot be seized at all, including state family allowances, child benefit and parental benefit. These must remain with the person whatever the size of the debt.
What if too much was seized?
An application must be filed with the bailiff within three days for the return of the seized income. Three days is a short deadline, so it needs an immediate response.
Does the bailiff know about my dependants?
The bailiff works from the data available to them, which can be incomplete. Dependants must be notified to the bailiff, or the additional protection will not be applied.
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