Bankruptcy exemptions in Oklahoma: what you can keep

The Oklahoma exemption list, the homestead rule, which state's law applies and how to claim exemptions.

Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026.

Short answer

In Oklahoma you use state exemptions only (exemptions are the property the law lets you keep). Your home (homestead): unlimited in value — in a city or town: up to 1 acre that you own and live in as your principal residence.

Exemption system
State exemptions only
Car or other vehicle
$7,500 in equity in one motor vehicle, per person.
Amounts
Amounts fixed in statute (not indexed). Text read in Title 31 of the Oklahoma Statutes as compiled by the Oklahoma Legislature (PDF dated December 31, 2025); section 1 was last amended by Laws 2024, c.

Exemptions in Oklahoma, item by item

Exemptions are the property the law lets you keep. You use the Oklahoma list. The federal list is not available in Oklahoma.

Law: 31 Okla. Stat. 1(B)

WhatOklahoma exemption
Home (homestead)

Unlimited in value. In a city or town: up to 1 acre that you own and live in as your principal residence. Outside a city or town: up to 160 acres, in one or more parcels. A manufactured home that is your principal residence is also exempt.

In a city or town, at least 75% of the building's floor area must be used as your home; if more than 25% is used for business, the homestead exemption is limited to $5,000. Temporarily renting out the homestead does not end the exemption if you have not acquired another homestead. Federal bankruptcy law can cap a homestead acquired shortly before filing (covered in the federal section).

Law: 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(1)-(2); 31 Okla. Stat. 2

Car or other vehicle

$7,500 in equity in one motor vehicle, per person

Law: 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(13)

Household goods and clothing

All household and kitchen furniture, including a personal computer and related equipment, with no dollar limit. All books, portraits and pictures. Clothing up to $4,000 total. Wedding and anniversary rings up to $3,000 total. Guns for personal use up to $2,000 total. Professionally prescribed health aids. One year's provisions and forage. Farm animals kept for family use: 5 milk cows and calves under 6 months, 100 chickens, 2 horses with 2 bridles and 2 saddles, 10 hogs, 20 sheep.

Law: 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(3), (6)-(12), (14)-(17)

Tools of your trade

$10,000 total in tools, apparatus and books used in your trade or profession (or a dependent's), plus farm implements needed to farm the homestead

Law: 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(5)

Wages

75% of wages or earnings for personal or professional services earned in the last 90 days. If you support a family or dependents, a court can exempt more on a showing of undue hardship.

Law: 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(18); 31 Okla. Stat. 1.1

Retirement accounts

Any interest in a tax-qualified retirement plan or arrangement is exempt, including 401(k), pensions, IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEPs, Keoghs, 403(b), 457 plans and education IRAs. Since November 1, 2024 the law says distributions from these plans are exempt too. This is subject to the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. Tax-free rollovers between plans are not treated as fraudulent transfers.

Law: 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(20)

Public benefits

Unemployment benefits (while not mixed with other money), public assistance, and pension money of veterans disabled in U.S. military service are exempt. A personal injury, death or workers' compensation claim is exempt up to $50,000 net.

Law: 40 Okla. Stat. 2-303; 56 Okla. Stat. 173; 31 Okla. Stat. 7; 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(21)

Other exemptions
  • Federal earned income tax credit money is exempt.
  • Life, health and accident insurance proceeds and cash values, and annuity benefits, are fully exempt, including in bankruptcy, except premiums paid to defraud creditors.
  • Oklahoma College Savings Plan (529) accounts and individual development accounts are exempt.
  • Alimony, support and child support you receive, to the extent reasonably necessary for your and your dependents' support, and cemetery lots.

Law: 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(23); 36 Okla. Stat. 3631.1; 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(22), (24); 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(4), (19)

Federal limit on a newly bought home

If you use your state's exemptions, you can protect no more than $214,000 of home equity that you acquired in the 1,215 days (about 3 years and 4 months) before you filed. Equity moved from an earlier home in the same state, bought before that period, does not count. The cap does not apply to a family farmer's main home.

Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(p); 90 FR 8941

Amounts: Amounts fixed in statute (not indexed). Text read in Title 31 of the Oklahoma Statutes as compiled by the Oklahoma Legislature (PDF dated December 31, 2025); section 1 was last amended by Laws 2024, c. 70, effective November 1, 2024 (no dollar amounts changed).

Keeping your home in Oklahoma

Unlimited in value. In a city or town: up to 1 acre that you own and live in as your principal residence. Outside a city or town: up to 160 acres, in one or more parcels. A manufactured home that is your principal residence is also exempt.

In a city or town, at least 75% of the building's floor area must be used as your home; if more than 25% is used for business, the homestead exemption is limited to $5,000. Temporarily renting out the homestead does not end the exemption if you have not acquired another homestead. Federal bankruptcy law can cap a homestead acquired shortly before filing (covered in the federal section).

Law: 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(1)-(2); 31 Okla. Stat. 2

Federal limit on a newly bought home

If you use your state's exemptions, you can protect no more than $214,000 of home equity that you acquired in the 1,215 days (about 3 years and 4 months) before you filed. Equity moved from an earlier home in the same state, bought before that period, does not count. The cap does not apply to a family farmer's main home.

Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(p); 90 FR 8941

IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions

Any interest in a tax-qualified retirement plan or arrangement is exempt, including 401(k), pensions, IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEPs, Keoghs, 403(b), 457 plans and education IRAs. Since November 1, 2024 the law says distributions from these plans are exempt too. This is subject to the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. Tax-free rollovers between plans are not treated as fraudulent transfers.

Law: 31 Okla. Stat. 1(A)(20)

Retirement money in tax-exempt accounts is protected whichever set of exemptions you use (IRAs subject to the 522(n) cap).

Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(3)(C), 522(d)(12), 522(n)

Recent changes in Oklahoma

Effective November 1, 2024, Oklahoma added 'including any distributions from said plan or arrangement' to the retirement plan exemption, so money paid out of a qualified retirement plan is also exempt (Laws 2024, c. 70). No dollar amounts changed in 2024-2026.

Which state's law applies

You use the exemption law of the state where you lived (your domicile) for the full 730 days (2 years) before you filed. If you moved between states during those 2 years, you use the law of the state where you lived for the 180 days before that 2-year period, or where you lived the longest part of those 180 days.

Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(3)(A)

If this rule leaves you with no exemptions at all (for example, the state's exemptions apply only to its residents and you no longer live there), you can use the federal exemptions instead.

Law: 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(3), flush language

In nearby states

  • Kansas: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): unlimited value.
  • Arkansas: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): only if you are married or the head of a family — Rural home: up to 160 acres worth up to $2,500, but never less than 80 acres regardless of value.
  • Texas: State or federal, your choice. Home (homestead): no dollar limit.
  • Missouri: State exemptions only. Home (homestead): $15,000 in your home and the land used with it.

Steps to protect what you can in Oklahoma

  1. Make a property list

    List each thing you own and what it is worth on Official Form 106A/B.

  2. Check the exemption list

    For each item, find the Oklahoma exemption that covers it and its limit.

  3. Fill in Schedule C

    The exemptions you choose go on Official Form 106C.

Where to get free help in Oklahoma

Questions about exemptions in Oklahoma

State or federal exemptions in Oklahoma?

No. Oklahoma requires you to use the state exemptions.

What is the homestead exemption in Oklahoma?

Unlimited in value. In a city or town: up to 1 acre that you own and live in as your principal residence. Outside a city or town: up to 160 acres, in one or more parcels. A manufactured home that is your principal residence is also exempt.

What is the vehicle exemption in Oklahoma?

$7,500 in equity in one motor vehicle, per person

What personal property is protected in Oklahoma?

All household and kitchen furniture, including a personal computer and related equipment, with no dollar limit. All books, portraits and pictures. Clothing up to $4,000 total. Wedding and anniversary rings up to $3,000 total. Guns for personal use up to $2,000 total. Professionally prescribed health aids. One year's provisions and forage. Farm animals kept for family use: 5 milk cows and calves under 6 months, 100 chickens, 2 horses with 2 bridles and 2 saddles, 10 hogs, 20 sheep.

What happens to retirement money in Oklahoma?

Any interest in a tax-qualified retirement plan or arrangement is exempt, including 401(k), pensions, IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEPs, Keoghs, 403(b), 457 plans and education IRAs. Since November 1, 2024 the law says distributions from these plans are exempt too. This is subject to the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. Tax-free rollovers between plans are not treated as fraudulent transfers.

What is the wage exemption in Oklahoma?

75% of wages or earnings for personal or professional services earned in the last 90 days. If you support a family or dependents, a court can exempt more on a showing of undue hardship.

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