The Sheriffs Office: what a letter means and what to do

“Sheriffs” and “High Court” on a letter can make it look like an official body, but The Sheriffs Office is a private firm whose officers enforce High Court writs. They have broadly the same powers at your home as other bailiffs. What differs is the cost, which rises quickly with each visit, and the court you deal with to pause enforcement. This guide covers England and Wales.

Who are The Sheriffs Office?

The Sheriffs Office is a trading name of SHCE LIMITED, company number 06422666. It is an active private limited company, incorporated on 9 November 2007, with its registered office in Cardiff. It was called Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Limited until June 2013. The firm says it began in the late 1970s as The Sheriffs Office in Northampton, dealing with High Court writs in Northamptonshire, before the Courts Act 2003 let High Court enforcement officers work across England and Wales.

Who owns The Sheriffs Office?

High Court Enforcement Group announced that it had acquired The Sheriffs Office with effect from 31 January 2016, and said both businesses would continue as separate legal entities. Companies House records High Court Enforcement Group Ltd as owning 75% or more of SHCE Ltd, with that entry dated 15 April 2026. See our guide to High Court Enforcement Group. The Sheriffs Office says its sister company Excel Civil Enforcement handles council tax and parking work for councils.

Is The Sheriffs Office regulated?

The Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) lists The Sheriffs Office as accredited since October 2023. The High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA) directory lists SHCE Ltd trading as The Sheriffs Office and an officer working for it. HCEOs are individuals authorised by the Lord Chancellor. The ECB is independent but voluntary, and the HCEOA is a membership body, not a regulator. The Sheriffs Office is not on the CIVEA members list. The FCA register shows SHCE Limited has not been FCA authorised since 1 November 2019.

Why are The Sheriffs Office contacting you?

The Sheriffs Office says it enforces High Court and County Court judgments for money, employment tribunal awards and ACAS settlements, possession orders against tenants, squatters and trespassers, and writs to recover goods, for lawyers, businesses, landlords, debt collection agencies, individuals and local authorities. It also does commercial rent arrears recovery and process serving. It says it does not collect council tax or parking fines.

A County Court Judgment transferred to the High Court

This is the most common reason. A creditor with a County Court Judgment (CCJ) can ask to transfer it to the High Court, where an HCEO enforces it under a writ of control. Whether that is allowed depends on the amount and the type of debt:

The consumer credit rule is the one to check first. If a writ relates to a credit card, personal loan or catalogue debt, ask which court issued it and get advice. A writ or warrant also needs the court's permission if the judgment is 6 years old or more.

Other orders

• Employment tribunal awards and ACAS settlements can be enforced by HCEOs whatever their value.
• Possession orders: if a possession order is transferred to the High Court, HCEOs carry out the eviction under a writ of possession. If this is about your home, get housing advice the same day.
• Business rent: a landlord can use commercial rent arrears recovery against a business tenant without a court judgment, if the lease is in writing and at least 7 days’ rent is unpaid.

Is the debt yours, and is it right?

Check the court, the claim number, the creditor and the amount. If you never knew about the court claim, or the debt is not yours, you may be able to apply to have the judgment set aside; if it is set aside, the writ falls with it. See how to remove or set aside a CCJ. The Sheriffs Office says that if a judgment is set aside, enforcement stops.

What can The Sheriffs Office do, and what can they not do?

HCEOs follow the same notice, entry and protected goods rules as other bailiffs. Our guide to High Court enforcement officers explains writs in full.

Notice

You must get a notice of enforcement at least 14 clear days before an agent can take control of your goods, or at least 28 clear days if a debt adviser asks on your behalf before the notice runs out. Cases started before 1 May 2026 stay on the old 7-day period.

Fees

High Court enforcement has its own fee scale, set by law and added to what you owe. The Sheriffs Office publishes the same figures.

For example, on a £2,500 judgment in a new case, the compliance fee is £79 and a first visit adds £200 plus 7.5% of £1,300 (£97.50), so £297.50. The Sheriffs Office says VAT on its fees is charged to the creditor if the creditor is VAT registered, and otherwise to you.

The 2026 rules also limit the second visit fee: if nobody is contacted at the first visit, the officer must give you another chance to pay before moving to the second stage, and if you pay in full or keep to an agreed arrangement, only the first enforcement fee can be charged.

Entry and goods

You usually do not have to let an enforcement agent into your home. They cannot force entry 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 goods you own that are not protected. Essentials, work tools together worth less than £1,350 and other people’s belongings are protected. The firm says that fewer than 1% of its cases end in goods being removed.

Vulnerable people

Tell the firm and the creditor about illness, disability, mental health problems, a recent bereavement or anything else that makes things harder, with evidence if you have it. GOV.UK says vulnerable people may be able to get extra time to pay or to get debt advice.

What should you do at each stage?

When the notice arrives

Work out when the notice period ends (Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day do not count). Contact The Sheriffs Office before then and offer an affordable payment plan, or pay in full if you can. Agreeing before the first visit avoids the £200 or more enforcement fee. Get any agreement in writing.

If you cannot pay: ask the court to stay the writ

You can ask the High Court to stay (pause) the writ if you are unable to pay or there are special circumstances, setting out your income, spending and assets. The application is on form N244, and the court fee is £321 where the creditor is notified. You may be able to get help with court fees. Tell the firm as soon as you apply.

If an officer visits

Ask for identification. You can check certificated enforcement agents on the official register. If you sign a controlled goods agreement, you keep your goods while you pay, but breaking it lets the agent come back after at least 2 clear days of written notice.

Is this letter or visit really from The Sheriffs Office?

• A genuine High Court notice names the court, the claim number, the creditor and the High Court enforcement officer. Check them against your own court papers.
• Use the contact details on your paperwork or the firm’s official website. This page deliberately does not list any contact or payment details.
• Do not rely on a number from a search result, or one given in an unexpected text, email or call.
• Be wary of anyone pushing you to pay at once into an account you do not recognise.

How do debt solutions affect The Sheriffs Office?

• A creditor cannot enforce during a Breathing Space, which lasts up to 60 days for the debts it covers.
• An IVA is a legally binding agreement under the Insolvency Act 1986. Creditors bound by it cannot take further action to recover the debts included in it; secured debts, and debts that cannot be included, are outside it. See whether an IVA stops debt collectors and bailiffs.
• During a debt relief order, a creditor owed a listed debt has no remedy for it without the court’s permission. DROs are free, for people with debts under £50,000, less than £75 a month spare, assets under £2,000 and a vehicle worth less than £4,000.
• After a bankruptcy order, creditors owed debts in the bankruptcy have no remedy against your property or you personally for those debts. Bankruptcy costs £680 to apply for.
• A debt management plan is informal, so creditors can still enforce a judgment.

Each has costs, conditions and long-term effects, and the debt solutions comparison sets them side by side.

How do you complain about The Sheriffs Office?

1. Complain to The Sheriffs Office first, in writing. For incidents on or after 1 January 2025, it says it acknowledges complaints within two working days, tries to resolve them informally within five working days, and completes any formal investigation within 20 working days. It will not consider complaints about whether a writ is lawful or the amount on it, which are for the court or the creditor.
2. If you are not satisfied, you can refer it to the Enforcement Conduct Board, within 3 months of becoming aware of the problem or 1 month of the firm’s final response.
3. You can also complain to the High Court Enforcement Officers Association. Complain to the creditor too, because the firm acts on its instructions.
4. For serious misconduct, GOV.UK says you can ask a High Court judge to consider whether the officer should carry on working.

What to do next

1. Read the notice of enforcement. Check the court, claim number, creditor, amount and whether the debt was a regulated credit agreement.
2. Contact The Sheriffs Office before the notice period ends, using the details on your paperwork, and offer what you can afford. Get it in writing.
3. 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.
4. For your wider rights with bailiffs and collectors, see dealing with debt collectors.