Securing a County Court Judgment (CCJ) is often only the midpoint in the recovery journey for creditors, not the end. A judgment establishes that money is owed, but if the debtor does not pay voluntarily, creditors must decide how best to deploy the enforcement powers available under English law. This article focuses on those powers from the creditor’s perspective and highlights how to use them strategically to maximise recovery while managing cost and risk.

Enforcing CCJs: A Creditor’s Guide to Your Powers and Strategic Recovery Options

Teodora (Teddy) Drangazhova January 6, 2026

Securing a County Court Judgment (CCJ) is often only the midpoint in the recovery journey for creditors, not the end. A judgment establishes that money is owed, but if the debtor does not pay voluntarily, creditors must decide how best to deploy the enforcement powers available under English law. This article focuses on those powers from the creditor’s perspective and highlights how to use them strategically to maximise recovery while managing cost and risk.

Your CCJ enforcement toolbox

Creditors generally have access to a range of enforcement tools, each suited to different debtor profiles and assets:

Control of goods: Instructing enforcement agents to take control of and, if necessary, sell the debtor’s goods.
Attachment of earnings: Directing an employer to deduct money from the debtor’s wages and pay it to you.
Charging orders: Securing the debt against the debtor’s property or other assets.
Third party debt orders: Freezing and taking money owed to the debtor by a bank or other third party.
Orders to obtain information: Forcing the debtor to attend court and answer questions about their finances.
Insolvency proceedings: Using bankruptcy (individuals) or winding-up (companies) to put financial pressure on the debtor.

Understanding how these options fit together allows you to build a tailored, commercially focused enforcement strategy.

When you can enforce a CCJ

Once a CCJ has been obtained, enforcement can usually begin immediately unless the court has ordered payment by instalments or enforcement has been “stayed” (put on hold by the court). As a general rule, most enforcement action started more than six years after judgment, including a new Attachment of Earnings Order, will require the court’s permission, and the court will examine the length of the delay, the reasons for it and whether it would be fair to the debtor to allow enforcement to proceed.

Some routes, such as charging orders and insolvency proceedings, are less tightly tied to the six-year rule, but prolonged delay can still affect whether the court will allow them and may make the court more sympathetic to arguments about unfairness or hardship. Creditors should therefore review the age of the judgment at the outset and plan enforcement with limitation issues firmly in mind.

Using control of goods and earnings

A Warrant of Control (County Court) or Writ of Control (High Court) allows creditors to instruct enforcement agents to attend the debtor’s premises to take control of goods for sale, or to agree payment terms. County Court warrants of control are usually limited to judgments up to £5,000, while qualifying judgments over £600 can be transferred to the High Court for enforcement by High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEOs), except for Consumer Credit Act (CCA) regulated judgments, which must remain in the County Court regardless of the amount. High Court Enforcement Officers are private enforcement agents who usually act faster and with a more commercial approach than County Court bailiffs, although only non-exempt goods belonging to the debtor can be taken.

Where the debtor is an individual in paid employment, an Attachment of Earnings Order can require their employer to deduct sums from wages and pay them directly to the creditor. This method is only available against individual employees; it cannot be used against companies or self-employed debtors. An Attachment of Earnings Order can continue to collect instalments beyond six years if the order was made within the six-year period, but a new application after six years would normally require the court’s permission. In practice, it is often a slower, steady and low-maintenance enforcement option that can work well where other methods are unattractive or have failed.

This group of methods is usually most useful where:

The debtor has valuable, non-essential goods or stock that can be taken and sold.
The debtor is in stable, PAYE employment and can afford regular deductions from wages.

Securing the debt against assets

A Charging Order allows a creditor to secure the judgment debt against the debtor’s assets, most commonly their home or other property. In simple terms, this turns an unsecured judgment into a “secured claim”, meaning the creditor is treated in a similar way to a mortgage lender and is paid out of the value in the property before the debtor receives any equity. “Equity” is the value of a property after paying off the mortgage and any other loans or charges secured on it. While a Charging Order will not usually generate immediate payment, the debt is commonly satisfied when the property is sold or refinanced.

In appropriate cases, creditors can go further and seek an Order for Sale to force a disposal of the charged asset so the Charging Order can be paid. Here, the court will carefully weigh “proportionality” – that is, whether forcing a sale is a fair and reasonable response in the circumstances – taking into account the size of the debt, the value of the property, who lives there (for example, children or vulnerable adults) and the impact on other “charge holders” (other lenders or creditors who already have security over the same property). Courts are particularly cautious where a family home is involved and may refuse an Order for Sale or delay it if the hardship to the debtor and their family would be excessive.

Charging Orders and Orders for Sale are usually most useful where:

The debtor owns property with sufficient equity after existing mortgages and charges.
The creditor is prepared to take a longer-term view and is focused on ultimately securing payment rather than immediate cash.

Targeting third-party funds and using insolvency pressure

A Third Party Debt Order allows creditors to intercept money owed to the debtor by a third party, most commonly funds held in a bank or building society account in the debtor’s name. The court can first make an interim order freezing the money and then, if appropriate, a final order directing the third party to pay all or part of the frozen funds directly to the creditor. Timing is critical: the order only captures sums standing to the debtor’s credit at the precise moment the interim order is served on the bank or third party.

Where information about the debtor’s assets or income is limited, an Order to Obtain Information can require the debtor to attend court and answer questions on oath about their finances, employment, bank accounts and property. Although this does not itself recover money, it can provide the essential intelligence needed to decide which enforcement method (or combination of methods) is most likely to succeed.

In more serious cases, creditors may consider insolvency proceedings. A “statutory demand” is a formal written demand for payment which, if not complied with, can be used as grounds to present a bankruptcy petition (for an individual debtor) or a winding-up petition (for a company) to place the debtor into formal insolvency. Bankruptcy is a court process which can lead to the realisation of an individual’s assets for the benefit of creditors; a winding-up petition is the equivalent process for companies and can result in a compulsory liquidation. Insolvency routes are powerful but also carry cost, delay and strict procedural requirements, and the court can penalise creditors who use them abusively – for example, where there is a genuine dispute about the debt or where insolvency is used as mere pressure instead of an appropriate enforcement method.

These methods are usually most useful where:

The debtor has money in bank accounts or is owed funds by reliable third parties.
The size of the debt, the debtor’s overall financial position and the wider commercial context justify the cost and seriousness of insolvency proceedings.

When to seek specialist advice

CCJ enforcement offers creditors a wide range of powers, but choosing the wrong enforcement route can result in delay, increased costs or limited recovery. Whether you are a commercial creditor, landlord, managing agent or professional adviser, specialist legal input can make a significant difference to the effectiveness and proportionality of enforcement action.

You should seriously consider seeking expert advice where, for example:

The judgment is close to or more than six years old and you are unsure whether you need the court’s permission for further enforcement.
You are considering bankruptcy or a winding-up petition, given the cost, complexity and potential consequences of getting the process wrong.
The debtor’s home is involved, particularly where family members or other occupiers live there and hardship or human-rights arguments may be raised.

If you are a creditor considering enforcement of a judgment, the Jonathan Lea Network’s dispute resolution and enforcement team can assist with assessing recovery prospects, prioritising enforcement options and implementing a cost-effective, staged recovery plan.

We usually offer a no-cost, no-obligation 20-minute introductory call as a starting point or, in some cases, if you would just like some initial advice and guidance, we will instead offer a one-hour fixed fee appointment (charged from £250 plus VAT depending on the complexity of the issues and seniority of the fee earner).

Please email wewillhelp@jonathanlea.net providing us with any relevant information or call us on 01444 708640. After this call, we can then email you a scope of work, fee estimate (or fixed fee quote if possible), and confirmation of any other points or information mentioned on the call.

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This article is intended for general information only, applies to the law at the time of publication, is not specific to the facts of your case and is not intended to be a replacement for legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before relying on any of the information given. © Jonathan Lea Limited.