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Bailiffs and High Court enforcement

Sending an enforcement agent (bailiff) to take the debtor's goods is the best-known way of enforcing a county court judgment. Which court you use depends on the sum, the agents' fees changed on 1 May 2026, and there are firm limits on what they may take.

Checked against official sources on 30 September 2026. Court fees from 13 July 2026; enforcement agent fees from 1 May 2026.

Which court: the £600 and £5,000 rules

Enforcement against goods is split between the county court and the High Court by the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991, article 8. A county court money judgment enforced against goods:

• must be enforced in the county court where the sum sought is less than £600;
• must be enforced in the High Court where the sum sought is £5,000 or more;
• may be enforced in either court where it is between £600 and £5,000.

A judgment on an agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 must always be enforced in the county court, and no warrant can be issued for £10 or less. "The sum sought" is what remains unpaid, so a small claim can fall on either side of the £5,000 line. The other methods (attachment of earnings, third party debt and charging orders) stay in the county court regardless.

Applying for a warrant or a writ

County court warrant (N323). You file the request, without notice to the debtor, at the court that made the judgment or the Civil National Business Centre, certifying the amount still due. If the judgment was payable by instalments you must certify that one is unpaid; the warrant may then be for the whole balance or a part of at least £50 or one monthly instalment (CPR 83.15). A court officer issues the warrant to the enforcement agency covering the debtor's address. Paper requests were waiting 14 working days for processing in late September 2026; online requests are automated.

High Court writ (N293A). Complete part 1 and send it to the court that made the judgment or the Civil National Business Centre, giving the judgment date, the amount including costs allowed since judgment, interest accrued and the daily rate. The court certifies the judgment (CPR 40.14A), which takes effect as a transfer to the High Court (CPR 83.19). Any High Court Enforcement Officer will handle the transfer; the £82 fee is payable either way and is recovered from the debtor if enforcement succeeds. Form N293A asks for interest from the date of transfer at the rate inserted (the Judgments Act rate is 8%), so a writ is normally issued on that footing even for a judgment under £5,000.

A warrant or writ is valid for 12 months from the notice of enforcement (CPR 83.4; Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 reg 9); the court can extend it once by 12 months on an application notice (N244).

Enforcement agent fees from 1 May 2026

The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 set fixed fees for each stage. They were increased from 1 May 2026 and the regulations allow the enforcement agent to recover them from the debtor, out of the proceeds of sale or the money collected. Fees are exclusive of VAT; where the creditor is not VAT-registered, a sum equivalent to VAT is charged to the debtor.

Since 1 May 2026 an officer who makes no contact on the first visit must give the debtor another chance to pay or agree an arrangement before the second enforcement stage, and where the debtor pays in full or keeps to an arrangement only the first enforcement stage fee can be charged.

Notice, entry and what agents can and cannot do

The same rules in Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 apply to county court agents and High Court Enforcement Officers alike.

• Notice. From 1 May 2026 the debtor must be given at least 14 clear days' notice of enforcement before goods are taken; Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day do not count. The period extends to at least 28 clear days where a debt advice provider asks on the debtor's behalf (not for business debts). The court can shorten it only where goods are likely to be moved or disposed of.
• Where and whose goods. Only the debtor's own goods, at premises where the debtor usually lives or carries on business, or on a highway. Goods that are leased, rented or on hire purchase, including cars on finance, and goods belonging to someone else cannot be taken; jointly owned goods can be, with the co-owner's share protected.
• Entry. Only through a door or the usual means of entry, and only between 6am and 9pm. At a home, the agent may enter only if let in or if a door is left unlocked. Reasonable force is allowed only at premises where the debtor carries on a trade or business, without living accommodation attached, or with a further court warrant. No entry, and no taking control, where a child or vulnerable person is the only person present.
• Exempt goods. Tools, books, telephones, computer equipment and vehicles necessary for the debtor's work, trade or study, up to £1,350 in total; clothing, bedding, furniture and household equipment reasonably required for the household's basic domestic needs, including a cooker or microwave, fridge, washing machine, table and chairs, beds, a phone, heating and lighting, and medical and safety items; assistance dogs and pets; and a vehicle displaying a valid disabled person's badge.
• Value limit. Agents may not take goods worth more than the amount outstanding plus future costs; any surplus goes to the debtor.

Controlled goods agreements and sale

An agent takes control of goods by securing them on the premises, removing them, or entering a controlled goods agreement, under which the goods stay with the debtor on condition that they are not sold or removed while payment is made, usually by instalments. Breach of the agreement lets the agent return and remove the goods.

Removed goods are sold by public auction unless the court orders otherwise, not before 7 clear days from removal and with 7 clear days' notice of the sale. The proceeds pay the fees and then the debt; the court sends you the money, which can take up to 15 working days if the debtor paid by cheque. With a High Court writ, ask the officer for an update if you have heard nothing 28 days after issue.

Suspension, reissue and the debtor's applications

A debtor may apply to suspend a county court warrant on terms of payment using form N245. The court sends you the application and the debtor's statement of means, and you have 14 days to object on form N246A (CPR 83.7). If you do not object, a court officer may suspend the warrant on the proposed instalments; if you object only to the amount, the officer may fix a rate; either side may ask a District Judge to reconsider within 14 days. If the debtor then defaults, you ask for the suspended warrant to be reissued on form N445, with no fee.

Against a High Court writ the debtor may apply for a stay of execution or to set the judgment aside. While an attachment of earnings order is in force, a warrant against the debtor's goods needs the court's permission (Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 s.8). If the debtor pays you directly at any stage, tell the court or the High Court Enforcement Officer immediately.

Realistic prospects

HMCTS says a warrant will only help if the debtor has the money or enough goods at the address you give that could be sold at auction; agents will not usually take second-hand furniture or electrical items that would fetch little, and if a further visit finds nothing the warrant has run its course. For a company there may be nothing at the registered office, so give the address where it actually trades. The officers' association lists the usual reasons a writ fails: the debtor is not at the address, or the goods are not worth enough. No official success rate is published for either route.

Many creditors prefer the High Court route for debts of £600 or more because the officers are paid by results, but the abortive fee means the downside is £82 plus £79 and VAT if the debtor has nothing. The enforcement chooser compares this with the other methods in enforcing a judgment, and you can ask ClaimsBot about your situation.

Sources

• High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991, article 8
• GOV.UK – Apply for a warrant of control (HMCTS guidance)
• Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12
• Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 (revised)
• Taking Control of Goods (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026
• Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 (revised)
• CPR Part 83 – Writs and warrants: general provisions
• HCEOA – Fees and charges for recovering a debt