How to use the enforcement options calculator
- Say what is owed. A money judgment or a costs order or certificate, which court made it, the sum still unpaid (and the sum ordered, if more), the date and when it must be paid.
- Describe the debt and the debtor. An individual or a company; whether the claim was on a Consumer Credit Act regulated agreement or a Late Payment Act debt; any instalment order.
- Say who acts. Whether a solicitor acts (for the fixed costs) and whether the creditor is registered for VAT (for the agents’ fees).
- Read the options side by side. Each option shows whether the rules allow it now, the court, the form, the court fee, the fixed costs, the agent’s fees and the effect on interest, each with its rule.
- Copy it for the file. Copy the figures and rules for the file or a report to the client.
The enforcement options at a glance
For a money judgment or costs certificate (PD 70 para 1.1). Court fees from 13 July 2026 (Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 Sch 1); fixed costs from PD 45 Table 7, for a creditor with a legal representative; interest as it affects a County Court judgment that carries it (County Courts (Interest on Judgment Debts) Order 1991). A creditor may use more than one method, at the same time or one after another (CPR 70.2(2)).
| Method | Court | Form | Court fee | Fixed costs | Judgment interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrant of control | County Court (CPR 83.15) | N323, or online | £96 (fee 8.1) | £2.25 (sum over £25) | County Court judgment: stops once it produces a payment (art 4(1)) |
| Transfer up and writ of control | High Court (CPR 83.19, 83.9) | N293A | £82 (fee 7.1) | £51.75 | Runs on (our reading); under £5,000, 8% from the date of transfer (our reading: not decided) |
| Attachment of earnings order | County Court only (AEA 1971 s.1(2); CPR 89.3) | N337 | £139 a defendant (fee 8.7) | £8.50 an attendance | None while the order is in force (art 4(3)) |
| Charging order | County Court; High Court too for a High Court judgment over £5,000 (COA 1979 s.1(2)) | N379 (land), N380 (securities) | £139 an order (fees 8.4(b), 7.3(b)) | £110 on the final order | Runs on: charging orders do not stop it (art 4(2)) |
| Order for sale | County Court up to £350,000 owing; otherwise High Court, Chancery (PD 73 para 4) | Part 8 claim (CPR 73.10C) | £387 or £663 (our reading: fee 1.5) | None fixed: the court decides | As for the charging order |
| Third party debt order | The court that made the judgment (CPR 72.3) | N349 | £139 a third party (fees 8.4(a), 7.3(a)) | £98.50, or half the sum recovered under £150 | County Court judgment: stops once it produces a payment (art 4(1), (2)) |
| Order to obtain information | The court that made the judgment (CPR 71.2) | N316, N316A for a company officer | £69 (fees 8.3, 7.2); bailiff service £139 (fee 8A.1) | £15 a half hour before a court officer | County Court judgment: stops if it produces a payment (art 4(2)) |
County Court or High Court: the thresholds
A County Court judgment enforced by taking control of goods follows art 8 of the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991: under £600, a County Court warrant only; from £600 to under £5,000, a warrant or a transfer up for a High Court writ; £5,000 or more, a High Court writ only. A judgment in proceedings on a Consumer Credit Act regulated agreement is enforced only in the County Court, with no upper limit. GOV.UK’s guide adds that no warrant can be applied for where £10 or less is owed. A High Court judgment is enforced by writ of control whatever the amount, and may also be enforced by County Court warrant (CPR 83.17). The calculator tests the sum due with any judgment interest against these figures: our reading of “the sum which it is sought to enforce”.
Enforcement agents’ and High Court enforcement officers’ fees from 1 May 2026
The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, Schedule, as substituted from 1 May 2026 by the Taking Control of Goods (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/366). The percentage is 7.5% of the sum to be recovered above the threshold (reg 7). The fees are recovered from the debtor, stage by stage, and the whole fee for a stage is due once it begins (reg 4(3)). They are exclusive of VAT: a sum equivalent to VAT is added only where the creditor is not VAT-registered (regs 4(6) and 18). S.I. 2026/366 does not affect enforcement action taken before 1 May 2026 (reg 1(3)); HCEOs and CIVEA apply the old scale to cases received before 1 May 2026, whether or not any step had been taken, so ask the officer which scale they are using.
Table 1 is the scale for a certificated enforcement agent where enforcement is not under a High Court writ. County Court warrants of control are enforced by County Court bailiffs employed by HMCTS, who do not recover these fees (Ministry of Justice, Regulation of the debt enforcement sector, June 2025). GOV.UK’s warrant guide (May 2026) says the court issues the warrant to a certified enforcement agency; if one executes it, Table 1 is the scale. Our reading is that Table 1 is the most that could be added on a County Court warrant.
| Stage | From 1 May 2026 | 6 April 2014 to 30 April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Table 1 (certificated agents, not a High Court writ): compliance | £79 | £75 |
| Table 1: enforcement | £247 + 7.5% over £1,900 | £235 + 7.5% over £1,500 |
| Table 1: sale or disposal | £116 + 7.5% over £1,900 | £110 + 7.5% over £1,500 |
| Table 2 (High Court writ): compliance | £79 | £75 |
| Table 2: first enforcement | £200 + 7.5% over £1,200 | £190 + 7.5% over £1,000 |
| Table 2: second enforcement | £520 | £495 |
| Table 2: sale or disposal | £550 + 7.5% over £1,200 | £525 + 7.5% over £1,000 |
On a High Court writ, only the first enforcement stage fee is recovered where the debtor pays in full, or keeps to a repayment arrangement or controlled goods agreement; otherwise both enforcement stage fees are (reg 4(5)). From 1 May 2026, where no contact is made at the first attendance, the officer may not move to the second enforcement stage until the debtor has had another chance to pay or agree terms (reg 4(5)(aa) and (ab)). Disbursements such as storage, a locksmith and auction costs can be added (regs 8 to 10). The Regulations fix only what is recovered from the debtor; what a creditor pays an officer if nothing is recovered is for the terms between them (the High Court Enforcement Officers Association says the creditor pays an abortive fee equal to the compliance fee). Reg 7(c) says “any fraction of £1 is to be reckoned as £1, but any fraction of a penny is to be disregarded”: the calculator rounds the percentage fee up to the next whole pound (our reading, which gives the highest figure; worked to the exact penny, as most published examples do, it can be up to £1 lower).
The notice of enforcement: 14 clear days from 1 May 2026
Notice of enforcement must be given at least 14 clear days before an enforcement agent takes control of goods (it was 7). Where a debt advice provider asks on the debtor’s behalf before the notice period ends, the minimum is 28 clear days, unless the debt is non-eligible business debt. Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day do not count, and the court may order a shorter period if goods are likely to be moved to avoid enforcement (Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 reg 6). The agent then has 12 months from the notice to take control (reg 9). GOV.UK’s warrant guide, updated 13 July 2026, still describes a letter giving the debtor 7 working days to pay.
What enforcement does to judgment interest
A High Court judgment carries 8% simple interest until it is paid (Judgments Act 1838 s.17; S.I. 1993/564), and enforcement does not stop it. A County Court judgment carries interest only if it is for £5,000 or more (the sum the judgment orders, even once part payments bring the balance lower), or for a Late Payment Act qualifying debt, and never on a Consumer Credit Act regulated agreement or a suspended possession order (County Courts (Interest on Judgment Debts) Order 1991 arts 1(2) and 2). Once the creditor takes County Court enforcement proceedings, including questioning the debtor or attaching a debt, the debt stops carrying interest, unless they produce no payment at all; charging order proceedings do not count (art 4(1) and (2)). No interest runs while an attachment of earnings order is in force (art 4(3)). When claiming interest in an enforcement request, give the amount, the sum it is on, the dates and the rate (PD 70 para 6). The judgment interest calculator works out the figures, with part payments.
After transfer up: a County Court judgment whose enforcement is transferred to the High Court is treated as a High Court judgment for all purposes except setting aside and appeals (County Courts Act 1984 s.42(5) and (6)). Our reading is that a writ of control does not stop its interest, and that a judgment under £5,000, which carries no interest in the County Court, carries 8% a year from the date of transfer (Judgments Act 1838 s.17), as Form N293A’s “interest … from the date of transfer” assumes. No court has decided this (Bevans v Buckenham [2023] EWHC 746 (KB), para 23, left it open), and some debt advisers argue that a certificate of judgment adds no interest. The calculator does not add that interest to the sum due: none is due until the transfer.
Enforcing a costs order or costs certificate
Costs ordered in a stated sum, or set by a default, interim or final costs certificate, are enforced by the same methods as a judgment: each certificate includes an order to pay (CPR 47.11(2), 47.16, 47.17(5)), an interim or final certificate is enforced as if it were a judgment for money, and enforcement is not issued in the Costs Office (PD 47 paras 10.6 and 16.12). The costs are due 14 days after the order stating the sum or the certificate (CPR 44.7). Interest on costs usually runs from the date of the order for costs, not the certificate (Hunt v R M Douglas (Roofing) Ltd [1990] 1 AC 398): the interest on costs calculator works it out. Where a judgment orders a sum and costs to be assessed, the sum can be enforced first and the costs separately after assessment (CPR 83.5). Orders for costs against a claimant protected by qualified one-way costs shifting are enforceable only as far as CPR 44.14 allows.
What the calculator does not do
It does not say which option to use, or whether to enforce at all. It does not cover possession or delivery of goods, judgment summonses, receivers, insolvency (see the statutory demand calculator), committal, or enforcing tribunal awards or foreign judgments. It does not work out disbursements, auction costs or exceptional costs the court may allow, and it works judgment interest on the whole sum entered, without part payments.
Related tools
- Every court fee by form, including N293A, N323, N379, N349, N316 and N337: the civil court fees calculator
- Fixed costs on issue, judgment and enforcement: the fixed costs lookup
- Interest on a judgment, with payments: the judgment interest calculator
- Interest on costs: the interest on costs calculator
- A default costs certificate: the N254 builder
- A statutory demand and petition: the statutory demand deadline calculator
- Every free tool in one place: costs help for solicitors
Sources
Each read on 22 October 2026.
- Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, regs 4 to 7, 13 and 18 and the Schedule; as amended from 1 May 2026 by the Taking Control of Goods (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/366); the Schedule as made for the earlier scale
- Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, reg 6 (minimum notice, in force from 1 May 2026), regs 8, 9 and 12
- High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991, art 8
- County Courts (Interest on Judgment Debts) Order 1991, as amended by S.I. 1998/2400 and S.I. 2019/903; Judgments Act 1838 s.17
- Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Schedule 1, fees 7.1 to 7.4, 8.1 to 8.7 and 8A.1, in force from 13 July 2026
- CPR Part 70 and PD 70, Part 71, Part 72, Part 73 and PD 73, Part 83, Part 84, Part 89, rules 40.11 and 40.14A, 44.7 and 47.11 to 47.17, and PD 47 paras 10.6, 10.7 and 16.12
- PD 45 Table 7 (fixed enforcement costs)
- Charging Orders Act 1979 s.1 and s.3; County Court Jurisdiction Order 2014; Charging Orders (Orders for Sale: Financial Thresholds) Regulations 2013
- Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 s.1 and s.24; Limitation Act 1980 s.24
- GOV.UK: Apply for a warrant of control (updated 13 July 2026)
- Ministry of Justice: Regulation of the debt enforcement sector, consultation (9 June 2025), on County Court bailiffs and the TCG fees
- Lowsley v Forbes [1999] 1 AC 329 (HL); Chohan v Times Newspapers Ltd [2001] EWCA Civ 964; Hunt v R M Douglas (Roofing) Ltd [1990] 1 AC 398; Bevans v Buckenham [2023] EWHC 746 (KB); County Courts Act 1984 s.42
- CPR 12.5(2)(b) (default judgment payable immediately); Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 s.3(3)