No Fresh Start

The only policy advocate focused on debtors.

Debtor Policy's annual state-exemption research shows how well laws protect wages, bank accounts, cars, homes, and household goods from debt collection. The 2025 edition is the most recent report.

Explore the findings Open the report

Authors: Carolyn Carter, Michael Best
Latest edition: December 17, 2025
Scope: 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands

Jurisdictions with an A 0

No jurisdiction meets the report's strongest benchmark.

Jurisdictions with B grades 6

The best protections in the latest edition.

Jurisdictions with F grades 9

The weakest laws remain concentrated in a small group of states.

Basics not fully protected 5

Wages, vehicles, homes, bank balances, and household goods.

What the report measures

Five protections, zero full passes

State spotlight

Best states in 2025

B grade

Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Texas lead the latest report, but no state earns an A.

Year-over-year movement

How 2025 differs from 2024

Policy direction

What Debtor Policy recommends

Blog

Latest posts

0 published Updated just now

Read the blog Open the dashboard

Write and publish posts from the private dashboard, then refresh this page to see them here.