A CCJ rarely arrives out of the blue: there are usually two or three letters first, and each one gives you a chance to stop it. The earlier you act, the more of those chances you keep.
This is general information about county court claims in England and Wales. It is not personal financial advice or regulated debt advice. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different systems.
Quick answer
A county court judgment (CCJ) is a court decision that you owe money. It usually follows a Letter of Claim and then a court claim form that went unanswered, could not be paid, or was defended and lost. A CCJ stays on the public register for 6 years, unless you pay the full amount within one month and tell the court. If you can only pay in instalments, the court sets an affordable rate from your income and outgoings. If the CCJ should never have been made, for example because the debt was already paid, you can ask the court to set it aside. What to do now is further down.
The stages before a CCJ, and what you can still do
| Stage and your time | What you can still do |
|---|---|
| Letter of Claim At least 30 days from the date at the top | Ask for documents, make an offer, or dispute the debt. A CCJ can usually still be avoided. |
| Court claim form 14 days to reply, or 28 days to defend if you send an acknowledgment of service | Pay in full, admit all or part and ask to pay by instalments, or defend. |
| Judgment (the CCJ) One month to pay in full and have it removed | Pay, ask to change the instalments, or apply to set it aside. |
| Enforcement | Ask to change the payments, which can stop a bailiff warrant. |
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We'll go through where you are in the process, the deadlines and what to send. Prefer to start on your own? The free letter below is yours to use.
Book a Clarity CallPrefer to watch instead? This video covers the main points from this guide, including the Letter of Claim, your choices when a claim form arrives, paying by instalments, and how a CCJ can be removed or set aside.
Before court: the Letter of Claim
Before a business takes an individual to court for a debt, it is expected to follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims. It starts with a Letter of Claim, which must come with a Reply Form, an Information Sheet and a financial statement form (paragraph 3.1).
Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, paragraph 3.4 (verbatim)
“If the debtor does not reply to the Letter of Claim within 30 days of the date at the top of the letter, the creditor may start court proceedings”
Source: justice.gov.uk
In plain English: the 30 days run from the date printed on the letter, not from when it arrived. Check that date as soon as you open it.
Replying buys you time
If you send back the Reply Form, the creditor has to wait longer. Under paragraph 4.2, it “should not start court proceedings less than 30 days from receipt of the completed Reply Form or 30 days from the creditor providing any documents requested by the debtor, whichever is the later.”
You can ask for documents
You can ask for a copy of the agreement, statements, or proof that the debt was sold on. Under paragraph 5.2, the creditor must provide them, or explain why it cannot, “within 30 days of receipt of the request.”
An agreed plan keeps you out of court
Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, paragraph 6.4 (verbatim)
“Where the parties reach agreement concerning the repayment of the debt, the creditor should not start court proceedings while the debtor complies with the agreement.”
Source: justice.gov.uk
In plain English: an affordable offer at this stage is the most powerful thing you can send. If the creditor agrees and you keep to it, it should not take you to court. If it later wants to, it has to start again with a new Letter of Claim.
The rules apply to the creditor too. If the creditor goes to court anyway, the court “will take into account non-compliance” (paragraph 7.1). Where you have replied but no agreement has been reached, the creditor should give you at least 14 days' notice before it starts a claim (paragraph 8.2).
Free template
Reply to a Letter of Claim
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Send this with the Reply Form that came with the creditor's letter. Replace everything in the highlighted brackets. Prefer to print it? Download the PDF.
[Your full name]
[Your address]
[Date]
[Creditor's name]
[Address for the Reply Form, from their letter]
Account reference: [the full reference from their letter]
Dear [creditor's name],
Reply to your Letter of Claim dated [date at the top of their letter]
I enclose the completed Reply Form.
Under paragraph 5.2 of the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, please send me: [a copy of the signed agreement / statements showing how the balance was reached / details of when the debt was assigned to you, and by whom].
I am in financial difficulty. My income and expenditure are enclosed. I can afford to pay £[amount] a month, starting on [date]. Please confirm in writing that you accept this payment arrangement. Under paragraph 6.4 of the Protocol, please confirm that you will not start court proceedings while I keep to it.
Please reply in writing.
Regards
[Your name]
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The court claim form
If there is no agreement, the creditor can start a claim. In England and Wales you will get a claim form (form N1, or an email if the claim was made online). GOV.UK says you “must respond by the date on the email or letter you receive.”
Follow the money: what has been added
Look at the box on the right of the claim form. It shows the Amount claimed, then the Court fee, then the Legal representative's costs, and finally the Total amount. Everything after the first line is the cost of taking you to court, and it is added to what you owe. That is why replying at the Letter of Claim stage usually works out cheaper.
How long you have
Under the Civil Procedure Rules, you have 14 days after the claim is served to reply. If you send an acknowledgment of service, you have 28 days in total to file a defence (CPR 15.4), and the creditor can agree up to 28 days more (CPR 15.5). Do not leave it to the last day. If you do not reply in time, the creditor can ask for judgment without a hearing.
The four ways to respond
The response pack gives you four choices. Which one fits depends on whether the claim is right.
- Paying the full amount, including the fee and costs shown on the form.
- Admitting the claim and asking to pay by instalments, if you agree you owe it but cannot pay it all at once.
- Admitting part of it, if you agree you owe some but not all.
- Defending the claim, if you do not owe it: for example, it is not your debt, the amount is wrong, it has already been paid, or it is statute-barred (see our guide to statute-barred debt).
Not being able to afford the debt is not, by itself, a defence. But check the claim carefully before you admit anything. Once an admission is made, “the court's permission is required to amend or withdraw” it (CPR 14.2(11)). If you are unsure whether the amount or the paperwork is right, ask for the documents first.
If you defend and lose
If you defend, the claim may go to a hearing. If the court decides against you, in everyday terms you lose, it gives judgment for the amount it finds you owe. That judgment is a CCJ, with the same one-month rule as any other, and you can still ask to pay it in instalments from your income and outgoings.
The bigger worry is usually costs. Most claims of £10,000 or less go to the small claims track (CPR 26.9(4)). There, under CPR 27.14(2), “the court may not order a party to pay a sum to another party in respect of that other party's costs”, apart from limited items: the fixed cost of issuing the claim, court fees, reasonable travel costs and limited loss of earnings. The court can order more against someone who has “behaved unreasonably”. Claims above £10,000 go to other tracks, where that limit does not apply and losing can cost more.
In plain English: a genuine defence is worth making, but a defence that is only a way of buying time can end up costing you.
Can't pay in full? The court sets the rate
If you admit the claim and ask to pay by instalments, you send the court your income and outgoings. If the creditor does not accept your offer, the court decides the rate, not the creditor.
Civil Procedure Rules, rule 14.6(3) (verbatim)
“A defendant requesting time to pay must include in the notice a statement of income, outgoings, assets and liabilities.”
Source: justice.gov.uk
For claims up to £50,000, a court officer can decide the rate without a hearing (rule 14.6(4)). If you think the rate is wrong, you can ask for a judge to look again “within 14 days of the court officer's determination” (rule 14.6(5)).
In plain English: an honest, complete budget is your best evidence. The free Budget Planner gives you the figures the court asks for.
After judgment: what a CCJ means
The judgment comes by post. It says how much you owe, who to pay, and whether you pay in full or by instalments. Pay the creditor, not the court, and keep proof of every payment.
How long a CCJ lasts, and the one-month rule
A CCJ stays on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for 6 years. Lenders check it. GOV.UK explains the two outcomes:
| When you pay in full | What happens to the record |
|---|---|
| Within one month of the judgment | It can be removed from the register |
| After one month | It is marked “satisfied” but stays for 6 years |
Removal is not automatic. You have to write to the court with proof of payment from the creditor. Form N443 (£19) gets you a certificate of cancellation (paid within a month) or a certificate of satisfaction (paid later). If the creditor will not confirm the payment, send your own evidence, such as a bank statement. The court will write to the creditor, and if it does not reply within 30 days, the court decides on your evidence.
Does the debt keep growing?
Usually not, for credit cards and loans. Court judgments of £5,000 or more can carry interest, but the County Courts (Interest on Judgment Debts) Order 1991 says no interest is payable where the judgment is for money due under an agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974. That covers most credit cards, personal loans, catalogues and overdrafts.
If the payments are too high
You can ask the court to change the instalments on form N245, with your income and outgoings and what you can realistically afford. A court fee may apply. If a creditor has asked for a bailiff warrant, an accepted N245 offer stops the warrant as long as you keep up the payments.
Several judgments and small debts
If you have more than one judgment and your total debts are under £5,000, you can apply for an administration order (form N92). You make one payment to the court, and creditors cannot take action such as sending bailiffs while it is in place.
Remove a CCJ: “appeal” or set aside?
People often search for a “CCJ appeal”. If the judgment was made because you did not reply, or should not have been made at all, the usual step is to ask the court to set it aside, which cancels it.
The court must set aside a judgment that was wrongly entered, for example where “the whole of the claim was satisfied before judgment was entered” (CPR 13.2). In other cases, it may set it aside:
Civil Procedure Rules, rule 13.3(1) (verbatim)
“the defendant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim”
Source: justice.gov.uk
or there is “some other good reason”. The court also considers whether you applied “promptly” (rule 13.3(2)), so do not wait.
| Your reason | What the court does |
|---|---|
| The judgment was wrongly entered, for example the debt was paid in full before judgment | Must set it aside |
| You have a real prospect of defending the claim | May set it aside |
| Another good reason, for example you never received the claim form | May set it aside |
You apply on form N244. GOV.UK gives the court fee as £321, and there is a private hearing that you must attend. If you only want lower payments, use form N245 instead.
Do I have a CCJ?
You can search the register of judgments yourself. GOV.UK says each search costs between £6 and £10. If the information is wrong, contact the court where the judgment was made.
If a CCJ is ignored
If the judgment is not paid as ordered, the creditor can go back to court to enforce it. That can mean a warrant for enforcement agents (bailiffs), which gives you 7 days to pay before a visit; deductions from your wages; money frozen in your bank account; or a charging order on a property you own. None of these is automatic, and an affordable N245 offer can stop many of them.
Breathing Space can pause enforcement for up to 60 days in England and Wales, while you keep up any ongoing payments. It is started by an authorised debt service.
If you are already in debt
A CCJ for a credit card or loan is still a debt you can deal with in affordable instalments. The court works from your income and outgoings, not from what the creditor wants. So the most useful thing you can do is get your budget right, protect your priority bills (rent or mortgage, council tax, energy), and offer what is genuinely left, even a token payment if that is all you have.
What to do now: a checklist
- Work out your stage: Letter of Claim, claim form, judgment or enforcement.
- Find the date that counts: the date at the top of a Letter of Claim, or the deadline on a claim form.
- Check the debt: your name, the amount, who is claiming and who the original creditor was.
- Ask for documents if anything is unclear (protocol paragraph 5.2).
- Do your budget with the free Budget Planner.
- Reply in writing before the deadline, with an affordable offer if you owe it.
- If judgment is made and you can pay in full, pay within one month and write to the court with proof.
- If you cannot, keep to the instalments, or ask to change them on form N245.
- If the CCJ should not have been made, apply to set it aside promptly on form N244.
- Keep copies of every letter, form and payment.
FAQs
What is a CCJ?
A county court judgment is a court decision in England and Wales that you owe money. It is made when a court claim for money is not answered in time, or when the court decides you owe the money, including after a hearing where you defended the claim and lost.
How long does a CCJ last?
It stays on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for 6 years, unless you pay the full amount within one month of the judgment and tell the court, in which case it can be removed.
Can a CCJ be removed?
Yes, in two ways. Pay in full within one month and write to the court with proof, or ask the court to set it aside on form N244. The court must set it aside if it was wrongly entered, for example because the debt was already paid.
Can I appeal a CCJ?
If the judgment was made because you did not reply, or should not have been made, the usual step is an application to set it aside rather than an appeal. Apply promptly.
How do I find out if I have a CCJ?
Search the Register of Judgments. GOV.UK says each search costs between £6 and £10.
Can I stop a CCJ before it happens?
Often, yes. Reply to the Letter of Claim, ask for any documents you need, and make an affordable offer. If the creditor agrees a repayment plan, it should not start court proceedings while you keep to it.
Does a CCJ add interest to my debt?
Not for debts under a Consumer Credit Act agreement, such as most credit cards and loans. Other judgments of £5,000 or more can carry interest.
What happens if I ignore a CCJ?
The creditor can ask the court to enforce it, for example with bailiffs, deductions from your wages or a charging order. An affordable offer on form N245 can stop many of these.
What happens if I defend the claim and lose?
The court gives judgment for the amount it finds you owe, which is a CCJ, and you can still ask to pay in instalments. On the small claims track (most claims of £10,000 or less) you usually only pay limited costs, such as the fixed issue fee and court fees, unless you behaved unreasonably. Larger claims can cost more.
