What is a warrant of control?

The word “warrant” can sound as though the police are involved, but a warrant of control is a civil enforcement step. It usually comes near the end of a long process, after letters, a court claim and a judgment. Even at this stage you still have options, including asking the court to suspend it. This guide covers England and Wales; Scotland has its own system (see debt solutions in Scotland).

When can a creditor apply for a warrant of control?

For most debts, such as a loan, credit card or unpaid bill, the steps before a warrant are:

1. Letter of Claim: before going to court, a business must send you a Letter of Claim. You have 30 days from the date on the letter to reply, and if you say you are getting debt advice, the creditor should not start proceedings for at least 30 days after it receives your reply form.
2. Court claim: you must respond by the date on the claim. If you are not paying in full, you can ask for another 14 days.
3. County Court Judgment (CCJ): if the court decides you owe the money, it orders you to pay, either in full or in instalments.
4. Warrant of control: if you do not pay as ordered, the creditor can ask the County Court to send bailiffs. It applies on form N323 and pays a £96 fee.

A warrant is not the only option a creditor has after a judgment. It can also apply for an attachment of earnings order (payments taken from your wages), a third party debt order (freezing money in a bank account) or a charging order on property.

If 6 years or more have passed since the judgment, the creditor needs the court’s permission to issue a warrant. A creditor also cannot enforce a judgment while you are in Breathing Space.

Warrant of control or writ of control: what is the difference?

They do the same job in different courts. A warrant of control comes from the County Court and is carried out by county court bailiffs. A writ of control comes from the High Court and is carried out by High Court enforcement officers.

The consumer credit rule matters. If your judgment is for a loan, credit card or similar regulated agreement, it cannot be passed to a High Court enforcement officer, however large it is. If a letter suggests otherwise, ask the firm which court issued the writ and check with that court. High Court enforcement also has a higher fee scale, set out in our guide to bailiffs and what they can and cannot do.

Other kinds of warrant of control

Magistrates’ court fines

A magistrates’ court can issue a warrant of control to recover an unpaid fine. These are usually carried out by civilian enforcement officers or approved enforcement agents. Criminal fines are one of the few debts where bailiffs can force entry to a home, as a last resort.

Parking and traffic penalties

For an unpaid penalty charge notice, the council first registers the debt and sends you an order for recovery. You then have 21 days to pay or to challenge it. If you do neither, bailiffs will be told to visit. The authority to use them comes from a warrant of control issued through the Traffic Enforcement Centre. You can only challenge an order for recovery on limited grounds, for example that you never received the penalty notice, or that you challenged it and never got a reply. GOV.UK explains how to challenge an order for recovery.

Council tax and business rates

There is no warrant of control for council tax. Once the magistrates’ court makes a liability order, the council can instruct enforcement agents straight away. The same notice, fee and entry rules apply.

What happens after a warrant is issued?

The bailiff must send you a notice of enforcement at least 14 clear days before taking control of your goods. If a debt advice provider asks on your behalf before those days run out, the period extends to at least 28 clear days. GOV.UK’s page on enforcing a judgment still mentions 7 days, but that is out of date: the 14-day rule has applied since 1 May 2026.

After the notice period, the bailiff can visit. They can take control of goods you own that are not protected, often by asking you to sign a controlled goods agreement: you keep the goods but agree not to sell them, and agree to repay. They cannot take essentials such as clothes, a cooker or fridge, work tools and equipment together worth less than £1,350, or anyone else’s belongings.

An enforcement agent cannot take control of goods more than 12 months after the notice of enforcement, unless you break a repayment arrangement (which restarts the 12 months) or a court extends the period.

Can you stop or suspend a warrant of control?

Pay, or agree a payment plan

Paying the full amount, or agreeing an affordable arrangement with the creditor, is the most direct way to stop enforcement. Always get a receipt.

Apply to the court on form N245

If you cannot pay what the court ordered, you can ask the court to suspend the warrant and set a lower payment on form N245. The fee is £16, and you may be able to get help with court fees.

On the form you set out your income, your spending and what you can afford to pay. The court sends a copy to the creditor, who has 14 days to object in writing. If the creditor does not object, a court officer will usually suspend the warrant on the terms you asked for. If the creditor only objects to the amount you offered, a court officer decides the rate. Other objections go to a hearing before a district judge. The court decides, so applying is not a guarantee. Keep in touch with the court and the bailiff while you wait.

If you never knew about the court claim, for example because it went to an old address, a debt adviser can tell you whether you can apply to have the judgment set aside.

Use a debt solution

Some debt solutions stop enforcement for the debts they cover. A creditor cannot enforce during Breathing Space. During a debt relief order, a creditor owed a listed debt has no remedy for it without the court’s permission. After a bankruptcy order, creditors owed debts in the bankruptcy have no remedy against your property. Creditors bound by an IVA cannot take further action to recover the debts included in it. Each has costs, conditions and long-term effects, and the debt solutions comparison sets them side by side.

Does a warrant of control affect your credit file?

The warrant follows a County Court Judgment, and it is the judgment that affects your credit. A CCJ stays on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for 6 years from the judgment date. If you pay in full within one calendar month of the judgment, it is removed. If you pay later, it is marked as satisfied but stays for the full 6 years. Our guide to satisfied CCJs explains how to get a certificate once it is paid.

What to do next

1. Check the notice: which court issued the warrant, the claim number, the creditor and the amount. Contact the court or the creditor using official contact details if anything is wrong.
2. Contact the creditor straight away and offer what you can realistically afford. If they refuse, consider form N245.
3. Get free, impartial help from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice or National Debtline, who can help with the N245 and ask for the longer notice period. See where to get free debt advice.
4. Read dealing with debt collectors if other creditors are also chasing you.