Educational Pathway

Educational Pathway

The High Court Enforcement Officers’ Association welcome those who are suitably qualified to embark on its educational pathway. The career path of an Authorised High Court Enforcement Officer starts by becoming a student member of the Association.

How to become a Member

You will need to have obtained a Level 3, Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) examination or an equivalent. If you are unsure whether or not your current qualification meets the entry requirement, you can always send in your C.V. evidencing your current qualifications for a final decision.

Once we receive your C.V. it will be discussed at the next available Board meeting, of which there are 4 meetings held annually. Following a Board meeting, it will be determined which category you may join, Student or Associate member.

Once this has been determined, you will then be asked to complete an Application form and return that form to the Association Secretary enclosing the appropriate fee.

On successful admittance you can now embark on a career path of becoming an Authorised High Court Enforcement Officer.

Please see our basic flow chart highlighting our clear pathway:
(click on the image for larger view)

Student Membership

Overview

The High Court Enforcement Officers’ Association (HCEOA) have partnered with the Institute of Credit Management (ICM) as our preferred training partner.

As a Student Member embarking on this Career path, the Association would wish you to progress to the next level being that of an Associate Member. As an Associate Member you can then make an application to the Lord Chancellor for full Authorisation as a High Court Enforcement Officer. This is considered, as reaching the very pinnacle of an Enforcement Officer.  Once you receive your appointment you will then be admitted as a full Member of our Association.

High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEO’s) execute the Judgments and Orders of the High Court and County Courts of England and Wales. They are men and women who are authorised personally by the Lord Chancellor or his designated person pursuant to paragraph 2 (1) of Schedule 7 of the Courts Act 2003 and Regulation 6 of the High Court Enforcement Officers Regulations 2004.

Needless to say the gravity of the appointment means that becoming an Authorised HCEO means training and demonstrating an understanding of legal processes through academic study.

As well as the need to achieve recognised qualifications an individual cannot become an Authorised HCEO unless the conditions in Part 2 paragraph 4 of the High Court Enforcement Officer Regulations 2004 are met which include:

1. No outstanding conviction for a criminal offence involving a custodial sentence involving violence or dishonesty.
2. No outstanding court fines.
3. No unsatisfied Court Judgments within the last six years.
4. No status as an un-discharged bankrupt.
5. No disqualification as a Company Director within the last six years.
6. No involvement in any business relating to or including the purchase or sale of debts.

Applications for appointment must be made by individuals in writing to Lord Chancellor, Ministry of Justice, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ. The conditions to be met are set out in full in Part 2 of the High Court Enforcement Officer Regulations 2004.

An appointment should also include details of the applicant’s knowledge of the laws and the practice and procedure of the High Court in relation to enforcement of debts.

Applicants can demonstrate the required level of knowledge in these areas by passing the High Court Enforcement Officers examination, and reaching Associate status.

All are welcome to join our association. The first level of membership is “student membership”. As a student, membership costs £75.00 per year. Once a student has passed our examination they are entitled to apply for Associate Membership. The Association will then support an application to the Lord Chancellor for authorisation. Authorisation of associate members automatically qualifies them to become full members.

The Final Examination and Log Sheets

The examination is not only intended to provide students with the knowledge of the theory of enforcement but also, crucially to be able to demonstrate students have acquired the practical skills and experience necessary to competently enforce High Court Writs.

For further information on how your application may be subject to exemption(s) please write to the Association Secretary with full details of past academic achievements.

Help is available for students looking for a qualifying employer. Levels 1 - 4 can be undertaken whilst working outside the industry.

However, there is quite a lot of work for you to do, before being admitted as a Student or Associate Member, below we outline the steps that you will need to take.

Student Membership

To be admitted as a Student Member you will need to reach the minimum requirement of Level 3 Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) examination or an equivalent.

Reaching this level will have demonstrated that you are interested in Education, and that you have a capacity for learning. You will need to evidence your qualifications at the time of application, however if you do not have an ILEX Level 3, do not worry, as other qualifications you may have, could qualify as a substitute. Please send in your C.V. if you are unsure, and we will let you know.

If you do not qualify for a Level 3 or equivalent

We would recommend the following course work regardless of any previous academic achievements. Once passed this will then entitle you to become a Student Member.

Level 2 Vocational Paralegal Level 2. General Principles of English Law. Contract. Tort, Crime etc. Organised and run by The Institute of Legal Executives at schools and colleges throughout England and Wales. Also offered as a distance learning course.

Level 3 Vocational Paralegal Level 3. The Institute of Legal Executives course on Civil Procedure. Small Claims etc. At schools and colleges throughout England and Wales. Also offered as a distance learning course.

You qualify to become a Student Member

There are now available to you two pathways, they are slightly different as they will either give you:

• Theory and knowledge only
• Theory, knowledge and practical

If you decide after becoming a Student Member that you only want the Theory and Knowledge side for what it takes to become an Authorised Officer, then we recommend that you contact our training partner ICM. You will start a distance learning course, below is an example of some of the units that will be offered:

Level 4 - Certificate and Diploma in High Court Enforcement

Level 5 - Certificate and Diploma in High Court Enforcement

You may be content to study for the knowledge and theory side only. We recommend that the units will certainly give you a better understanding of what we do, it will also give you an understanding of Sheriff/High Court Enforcement Law. However if it is your ambition to eventually become Authorised then you will need to consider the following:

• In addition to the knowledge and theory you will need to have the practical experience before you are given Associate status. How is this achieved?
• You will need to be sponsored by an Authorised HCEO
• You will need to have gainful employment with an Authorised HCEO

This will mean that you will have to produce log sheets over a two year period that will include the following:

1. Information Technology
2. Health and Safety
3. Levying/Seizure of goods
4. Removal of goods
5. Possession/Evictions
6. Correspondence
7. Accounting
8. Insolvency
9. Litigation

The above are the headers of each log sheet, the logs will be able to demonstrate not only your knowledge, but evidencing that you can do the work of an HCEO on a practical level.

Each log sheet will be signed off by your sponsor/employer who is Authorised.  He/she, at the end of the training period, will sign a declaration to validate your competency.

FINAL EXAMINATION

At the end of your training period, you will be required to sit a final examination in a classroom environment as well as writing a 3,500 word thesis on a given subject.

To summarise:

To gain Associate status you will need the following:

• Certificate and Diploma up Level 5 of the ICM course work
• Completed Log sheets (Please note: that supporting logs for practical work experience are to be dated from the date that you are accepted as a Student member, these logs cannot be back dated)
• Pass mark of 75% of the final exam
• Thesis of 3,500 words

To make an application to the Lord Chancellor you will need the following from the Association:

Evidence of Associate Membership.

Association Contact

For more information or to have a chat about a future career in High Court Enforcement please call the Association Secretary, Pauline Hayward on 0207 152 4017 or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with a copy of your CV.