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Other Types of Enforcement
 In most cases once judgment is entered against a party, the terms of the judgment are complied with and the money owed is paid. However, in some cases this does not always happen and so it is necessary to consider methods for enforcing the judgment.
There are several methods available to those seeking to enforce a judgment; a brief description of each can be found below.
Execution Against Goods (Taking Control of Goods)
This is the most common method of enforcement and allows the judgment creditor to enforce the judgment by seizing the goods of the judgment debtor which can ultimately be sold to pay the debt. A High Court Enforcement Officer or county court bailiff can be instructed to seize and sell the debtors goods in order to satisfy the debt, legal costs and the costs of enforcement.
HCEOs and county court bailiffs have a series of rules to comply with in the enforcement of the court’s judgment. The most important of these is that enforcement officers have no right to force entry into residential premises although they are entitled to force entry into commercial premises such as shops, offices, warehouses and even workshops at the debtor’s home which are not attached to the main home.
HCEOs and county court staff can give you more information and support in enforcing your judgment if you decide to choose this method of enforcement.
A High Court judgment can be enforced in the High Court regardless of the amount. Where a county court judgment is enforced it will depend on the amount:
- £5,000 or more – must be enforced in the High Court
- £600 - £5,000 – either court may be used
- Less than £600 – must be enforced in the county court.
In order to enforce a county court judgment in the High Court, the judgment must be transferred to the High Court by filing form N293A. Once this form has been filed the High Court will endorse the judgement on a certificate. From this point onwards the certificate will be treated as a High Court judgment for enforcement purposes. The form of N293A can be found by clicking on this link:
Court Service Form Service - N293A
Most of our members offer a free or very inexpensive service to transfer the judgment and prepare the necessary form of Writ for the Judgment Creditor – so don’t waste time doing this yourself – let one of our members help you. You can contact a member by selecting an HCEO from the MEMBERS section of this website.
It should be noted that if the judgment is in respect of a Consumer Credit Act debt, then this cannot be transferred to the High Court for enforcement even if the value of the judgment is above £600.
As an Association we are lobbying Government to allow HCEOs to be able to do more to assist the civil court enforcement system by changing the current Rules. Our campaign is to allow HCEOs to be able to enforce debts under £600 and debts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act. If you support the Association’s position on this issue please send an email of your support to the Association Secretary at
Charging Orders
This is a means of securing a judgment debt against the debtor’s property. Although it won’t automatically result in a payment it will secure the debt against the debtor’s property and when the debtor comes to sell the property or remortgage it, the charge should be paid from any available equity. Alternatively the judgment creditor can take a pro-active approach and apply to the Court for an Order For Sale to force the sale of the debtor’s property. This application is usually made where the value of the debt is quite high.
More resources are available at: Charging Order
Attachment of Earnings
If the judgment debtor is employed but has no other assets this is often the most effective method of enforcement. This order can be made against wages, salaries, fees etc but not against self-employed income. This order requires an employer to regularly make deductions from the judgment debtor’s salary and make payments into the court in order to satisfy the judgment debt.
More resources are available at: Attachment of Earnings
Third Party Debt Order
This is the appropriate method when the judgment debtor himself is owed money by a third party. The most common application of this method is against the bank account of the judgment debtor. It can however also be used when a business is the judgment debtor and is owed money in the form of trade debts. A third part debt order requires the third party to pay the debt owed to the judgment debtor directly to the judgment creditor in order to satisfy the judgment debt.
More resources are available at: Third Party Debt Order
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