What can High Court enforcement officers do?
High Court enforcement officers (HCEOs) are private enforcement agents who collect court debts under a High Court writ of control. They follow the same notice and entry rules as other bailiffs, but charge higher fees, and they cannot enforce judgments on regulated consumer credit agreements.
“High Court” on a letter can make it look more serious than county court enforcement, but an HCEO has broadly the same powers at your home as any other bailiff. What changes is the cost, which rises quickly with each visit, and the court you deal with if you want enforcement paused. This guide covers England and Wales.
HCEOs are individuals authorised by the Lord Chancellor. They work through private enforcement firms. Some firm names sound official, such as High Court Enforcement Group Limited, but that is a private company. The High Court Enforcement Officers Association is a membership body that represents HCEOs, and every HCEO must be at least an associate member, but it is not a regulator.
Why has your debt gone to a High Court enforcement officer?
Usually because a creditor with a county court judgment has chosen to transfer it to the High Court for enforcement. Whether it can do that depends on the amount and the type of debt:
| Judgment | Where it can be enforced |
|---|---|
| Under £600 | County Court only |
| £600 to £4,999.99 | County Court or High Court, the creditor chooses |
| £5,000 or more | High Court |
| On a regulated consumer credit agreement (for example a loan, credit card or store card), any amount | County Court only |
Source: High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991, article 8.
To move a judgment up, the creditor asks the County Court for a certificate of judgment on form N293A, which also requests a writ of control. Granting the certificate acts as an order transferring the case to the High Court for enforcement. The consumer credit rule is the one to check first. If a letter says an HCEO is enforcing a judgment for a credit card, personal loan or catalogue debt, ask the firm which court issued the writ and what the underlying agreement was, and get advice. A writ issued for a regulated consumer credit judgment should not exist.
Not every HCEO case starts with a CCJ. HCEOs also enforce unpaid employment tribunal awards, where the £600 minimum does not apply, and carry out evictions under a writ of possession when a possession order is transferred to the High Court.
Writ of control or warrant of control?
They do the same job in different courts. A writ of control comes from the High Court and is carried out by an HCEO. A warrant of control comes from the County Court and is carried out by county court bailiffs. The court fee to seal a writ of control is £82. Our guide to warrants of control compares the two side by side.
A writ of control is valid for 12 months from the date it is issued, and the court can extend it for 12 months at a time.
What fees can High Court enforcement officers charge?
HCEOs have their own fee scale, set by law and added to what you owe. It changed on 1 May 2026.
| Stage | Fee from 1 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Compliance (when the case is received) | £79 |
| First enforcement (first visit) | £200, plus 7.5% of the debt above £1,200 |
| Second enforcement (a further visit) | £520 |
| Sale or disposal | £550, plus 7.5% of the debt above £1,200 |
For example (hypothetical): Priya has a £3,000 judgment for unpaid building work that has been transferred to the High Court. The compliance fee adds £79. If an HCEO visits, the first enforcement fee is £200 plus 7.5% of £1,800 (£135), so £335. If she has still not paid or agreed a plan and a second visit is needed, another £520 is added. By then the fees alone are £934, which is why contacting the firm before the first visit matters.
The fees are much higher than for council tax or county court enforcement, where a first visit costs £247 and the percentage only applies above £1,900. Ask the firm for a written breakdown and check it against this table.
What can an HCEO do at your home?
The same rules apply as to other enforcement agents. You must get a notice of enforcement at least 14 clear days before they can take control of your goods, or at least 28 clear days if a debt adviser asks on your behalf. They cannot force their way into your home to take goods for an ordinary court debt, cannot enter between 9pm and 6am, and cannot enter if only children under 16 or vulnerable people are present.
If you let them in, they can take control of goods that are not protected. Essentials, work tools together worth less than £1,350 and anyone else’s belongings are protected. Different rules apply to business premises. Our guide to what bailiffs can and cannot do has the full list of protected goods and explains controlled goods agreements.
How do you stop or pause HCEO enforcement?
Pay, or agree a plan with the firm
Paying in full stops enforcement. If you cannot, contact the HCEO’s firm straight away and offer an affordable payment plan. Agreeing before the first visit avoids the £200 or more enforcement fee. Always get the agreement and receipts in writing.
Ask the High Court to stay the writ
You can ask the High Court to stay (pause) the writ. The court can do this if there are special circumstances that make enforcement inappropriate, or if you are unable, for any reason, to pay. Your witness statement must set out your income, spending and assets. You apply on form N244, and the court fee is £321 where the creditor is notified. You may be able to get help with court fees.
A stay is not automatic, and the court can set conditions, such as regular payments. Tell the HCEO’s firm as soon as you apply, and keep in contact while you wait for a decision. If you think the fees charged are wrong, you can also ask the court to assess them.
Challenge the judgment itself
If you never knew about the original claim, or the debt is not yours, you can apply to the court that made the judgment to set it aside. If it is set aside, the writ falls with it. See how to remove or set aside a CCJ.
Use a debt solution
A creditor cannot enforce during a Breathing Space. Creditors bound by an IVA cannot take further action to recover the debts included in it (see does an IVA stop debt collectors and bailiffs?), and debt relief orders and bankruptcy stop most enforcement for the debts they cover. Each has costs and conditions, and debt solutions compared sets them side by side.
Not sure which option fits? Answer a few questions and we can point you in the right direction. It takes about 3 minutes, and it is free and confidential.
How do you complain about a High Court enforcement officer?
- Complain to the HCEO’s firm in writing first, with dates and details.
- If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the High Court Enforcement Officers Association using its complaint form.
- If the firm is accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board and the problem happened on or after 1 January 2025, the ECB can investigate. Complain within 3 months of becoming aware of the problem, or within 1 month of the firm’s final response.
- Complain to the creditor too, because the HCEO is acting on its instructions.
For serious misconduct, GOV.UK says you can ask a High Court judge to consider whether the officer should be allowed to carry on working.
What to do next
- Read the notice of enforcement. Check the court, the claim number, the creditor, the amount and whether the debt was a regulated credit agreement.
- Contact the HCEO’s firm before the notice period ends, using the details on your paperwork, and offer what you can afford. Get it in writing.
- Speak to a free, impartial adviser at MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice or National Debtline. They can ask for the 28-day notice period and help with a stay application. See where to get free debt advice.
- For your wider rights with bailiffs and collectors, see dealing with debt collectors.
Common questions
Is a High Court enforcement officer more powerful than a county court bailiff?
Not in what they can do at your home. The same notice, entry and protected goods rules apply. The main differences are the higher fees and that they work for private firms rather than the court.
Can a High Court enforcement officer collect my credit card debt?
Not if the judgment is on a regulated consumer credit agreement, such as most credit cards, loans and store cards. Those judgments can only be enforced in the County Court, whatever the amount.
Do I have to let a High Court enforcement officer in?
Usually not. They cannot force entry to your home to take goods for a normal court debt, and they cannot come in if only children under 16 or vulnerable people are there. If you let them in, they can take goods that are not protected.
Is High Court Enforcement Group an official body?
No. High Court Enforcement Group Limited is a private company, one of several firms that High Court enforcement officers work through. The officers are individually authorised by the Lord Chancellor, but the firms are commercial businesses.
Related guides
- What is a warrant of control? How warrants of control work, how they differ from writs, and how to ask the court to suspend one.
- Bailiffs: what they can and cannot do Notice periods, fees from 1 May 2026, entry rules, what bailiffs can take and what can stop them.
- What is a CCJ and what happens if you get one? How a CCJ is made, what it orders, how creditors enforce it and what it means for your credit.
- Does an IVA stop debt collectors and bailiffs? What stops and when, for debt collectors and bailiffs, and the debts an IVA does not protect you from.