Our members’ work
Our members are all fully trained, qualified and registered High Court Enforcement Officers who are authorised by the Lord Chancellor to enforce High Court Writs.
Their role is to enforce judgments to primarily collect unpaid debt that is owed to businesses and individuals across England and Wales.
Over the last 3 years, our members received 284,237 Writs, collecting just over £305 million in outstanding judgment debt on behalf of businesses and individuals.
This is an important task as without it, those companies and individuals would be unable to recover their money, and could become the debtors of tomorrow.
About the High Court Enforcement Officers’ Association
The High Court Enforcement Officers Association represents and supports High Court Enforcement Officers and acts as a voice for our profession.
In doing that we will:
- Help creditors – the people and businesses who are owed money – by enforcing their judgments and recovering unpaid debts
- Inform debtors – the people who owe money - by ensuring that anyone who owes money is treated fairly, ethically and proportionately
- Support government – by recommending changes and implementing improvements to the legal framework around High Court enforcement
This is a role we have carried out since the Association was first formed in 1887 when it was known as The Sheriffs Officers Association.
You can read more detail about what that means for our priorities in 2021 on our campaigns section.
Our standards
You cannot be a High Court Enforcement Officer without being, as a minimum, an Associate Member of this Association. This requirement is set out in regulations made by government and approved by Parliament.
The Association takes this responsibility seriously and has developed admittance criteria and a training programme to ensure that only those reaching our very high standards in both knowledge and conduct are admitted as Associate as full members.
All our members agree to adhere to our Code of Best Practice.
Our fees and charges are largely set by government through regulation approved by Parliament.
We continue to raise our standards of enforcement through:
- improved training, which includes subjects such as vulnerability and mental health awareness.
- guiding our members through codes of conduct and current regulation, ensuring that all our members provide an effective enforcement service that enables creditors to recover their judgments.
- ensuring that all parties involved in the enforcement of those judgments are treated in a fair, ethical and proportionate manner.
With our support and backing, the enforcement process has become more transparent for all parties in recent years and we will continue to work with government to improve this transparency.
Enforcement activity during the Covid-19 pandemic
Like all areas of society, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on High Court enforcement activity. Our members’ work is continuing in an appropriate, flexible and sensitive manner that reflects the challenges we are all facing.
To support this, the Association has developed a best practice Covid-19 plan called ‘A Flexible and Sympathetic Approach to Enforcement’, which provides recommendations to our members.
Using this website
If you need help recovering an unpaid debt or enforcing any other kind of judgment you can use this site to find out more about and instruct a High Court Enforcement Officer.
If you have an outstanding debt or there is another kind of High Court Writ affecting you, you can also use this site to find out more about what that means for you.
You will also discover useful information about High Court Enforcement, including:
- who the Association’s Authorised Officers are
- our regulations, code of conduct, and some useful frequently asked questions.
Making a complaint
If you have already followed the complaints procedure of your chosen High Court Enforcement Officer and have not reached a resolution, or have a complaint about High Court Enforcement Officers Association, please send this to us in writing using the details on our complaints page.
You can find the full details of our complaints procedure here.
Find out more
If you want to find out more, please contact us.
