England & Wales
Registry Trust Ltd (RTL) is contracted to the Ministry of Justice to maintain the statutory public Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for England & Wales.
County Court Judgments (CCJ)
A CCJ is issued by a county court if you fail to repay the money you owe and the creditor has taken court action.
Most monetary CCJ’s will appear on the Register. Judgments will be registered if:
There are other conditions and exemptions. For the full list of criteria please refer to the latest statutory instrument relating to the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations.
CCJ’s are shown as either satisfied or unsatisfied on the Register. Satisfied means the judgment has been paid in full, unsatisfied means it has not. CCJ’s stay on the statutory register for six years unless set-aside/cancelled.
If you have a query about your case, this can be raised with the court – you will need your case number when contacting the court. The Register does not contain details of the claimant. This information is available, to the defendant, from the relevant county court.
The information appearing on the Register is as follows:
High Court Judgments
High court judgments can be issued by a county court or The Royal Courts of Justice if you fail to repay the money you owe and the creditor has taken court action.
Monetary judgments granted in the high court are added to the Register upon default (i.e. where a judgment is without trial and no defence was entered).
The following judgments are registered upon enforcement:
HCJ’s are shown as either satisfied or unsatisfied on the Register. Satisfied means the judgment has been paid in full, unsatisfied means it has not. HCJ’s stay on the statutory register for six years unless set-aside/cancelled.
In the Admiralty and Commercial Court, where judgment has been registered against a foreign company and/or the value is given in a foreign currency, the registration will be converted to pounds sterling at the exchange rate applicable on the judgment date.
The information appearing on the Register is as follows:
Administration Orders
An administration order (AO) is a formal and legally-binding agreement between the defendant and their creditors to pay back the debts over a period of time.
To get an AO the defendant must have:
If an AO is granted, this provides protection from further action by creditors in respect of any debts listed under the order.
Creditors not included in the order cannot pursue their debts separately through the courts – if they try, these debts are automatically added to the administration order.
AO’s are shown as either satisfied, unsatisfied, varied or revoked on the Register. Satisfied means the order has been paid in full, unsatisfied means it has not.
A varied administration order is where the amount of debt agreed under the original administration order is changed, or a new debt is added. A varied order replaces the original administration order.
If regular payments ordered by the court are not made, the arrangement under the administration order may be withdrawn and the order revoked. This releases the creditors from the restrictions imposed and enables them to take further legal action – either obtaining a judgment where one does not already exist or making a bankruptcy application.
AO’s stay on the statutory register for six years unless set-aside/cancelled.
Under the Insolvency Act 1986, an administration order may also be made against a limited company. Details of these administration orders are notified to Companies House but are not held on the Register.
The information appearing on the Register is as follows:
Child Support Agency Liability Orders
Child Support Agency (CSA) Liability Orders normally relate to self-employed individuals as no Attachment of Earnings Order (an order to allow funds to be taken directly from the debtor’s wages) can be made in these cases to enforce a judgment.
Where it is believed the debtor in a CCJ case has the funds to pay child maintenance, the CSA will take out a Liability Order in a Magistrates’ Court and, if the debtor is not willing to pay, the debt may be registered.
These orders are shown as either satisfied or unsatisfied on the Register. Satisfied means the order has been paid in full, unsatisfied means it has not. The orders stay on the statutory register for six years unless set aside/cancelled.
The information appearing on the Register is as follows:
The CSA Helpline telephone number is: 0800 171 2033/2162
Fines
A fine is the monetary penalty awarded by the magistrates' court for a criminal case in England and Wales, such as traffic offences, unpaid TV licences, public order offences, and antisocial behaviour. The most common sentences given out by magistrates are financial penalties or fines.
A court can register a defaulted fine following a failure to respond to a Further Steps Notice by the offender. At this point, the Fines Officer at the court has the discretion to decide which enforcement option is appropriate to best recover the outstanding amount. If the officer chooses to add the defaulted fine to the Register, the registration will note all outstanding monies owed on the fine(s) including costs and compensation.
Defaulted fines are only entered onto the Register where the offender is an individual or a trading style. The Register does not contain fines records against corporate bodies.
These fines are shown as either satisfied or unsatisfied on the Register. Satisfied means the fine has been paid in full, unsatisfied means it has not. The fine will remain on the Register for a period of five years from the date of conviction unless set aside/cancelled.
The information appearing on the Register is as follows:
At the time of registration, a letter is sent to the offender advising them of the action taken, the steps required to amend the Register and a court contact telephone number for any queries.
Tribunal Awards
Tribunal awards are registered following a tribunal decision which results in a sum of money being payable. Details of an award are only added to the Register once steps have been taken in the high court or county court to enforce the tribunal decision.
The tribunal awards section contains awards from the First-tier Tribunals, the Upper Tribunals, Employment Tribunals or Employment Appeal Tribunals.
What’s registered in the High Court or the Royal Courts of Justice?
75 First Tier Tribunal – Transport
76 First Tier Tribunal – Care Standards
77 First Tier Tribunal – HM Land Registry
78 First Tier Tribunal – Charity
79 First Tier Tribunal – Gambling
80 First Tier Tribunal – Information
81 First Tier Tribunal – Social Security and Child Support
82 Upper Tribunal – Land
83 Upper Tribunal – Tax
84 Upper Tribunal – Administrative
What’s registered in the County Court?
85 Employment Tribunal
86 Employment Appeals Tribunal
87 First Tier Tribunal – Transport
88 First Tier Tribunal – Care Standards
89 First Tier Tribunal – HM Land Registry
91 First Tier Tribunal – Charity
92 First Tier Tribunal – Gambling
93 First Tier Tribunal – Information
94 First Tier Tribunal – Social Security and Child Support
95 Upper Tribunal – Land
96 Upper Tribunal – Tax
97 Upper Tribunal – Administrative
98 ACAS Settlements
99 ACAS Conditional Settlements
The information appearing on the Register is as follows:
Tribunal awards are shown as either satisfied or unsatisfied on the Register. Satisfied means the award has been paid in full, unsatisfied means it has not. Awards stay on the statutory register for six years unless set-aside/cancelled.
Employment Tribunal Fast Track Awards
There is a fast track process to assist with enforcement in situations where an applicant has been successful at an Employment Tribunal but has not received the payment from the respondent.
If a respondent defaults the payment, the claimant can complete an Enforcement Form and send this to us together with the documents and applicable court fee referenced on the Form.
Registry Trust will allocate a High Court Enforcement Officer; the officer will arrange for a writ of control to be issued and then attempt to recover the monies owed.
For further details about Employment Tribunal Fast Track and copies of the relevant forms please see direct.gov.uk.
For more information about High Court Enforcement Officers please see www.hceoa.org.uk.