What is a discharged (satisfied) CCJ?

The exact date matters. Pay the whole amount within one calendar month of the judgment and you can have it removed from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines as if it had never been there. Miss that window by even a day and the best you can get is a “satisfied” marker, which shows you paid but keeps the judgment on the register, and on your credit file, until 6 years from the judgment date.

What is the difference between satisfied and cancelled?

Sources: GOV.UK, CCJs and your credit rating; Registry Trust.

How does the one-month rule work?

The month runs from the date of the judgment, not the date the letter reached you. The judgment may arrive a few days after the date on it, so check the date printed on the judgment itself.

Paying within the month only helps if you can pay the whole amount without falling behind on rent, mortgage, council tax or energy. Do not take out a high-cost loan to beat the deadline if that leaves you worse off. If you cannot pay in full, paying the instalments ordered by the court is what keeps enforcement away.

How do you get a certificate of satisfaction or cancellation?

The register is not updated by magic. Once you have paid, ask the court that dealt with your case for a certificate:

1. Get proof of payment. Ideally a letter from the creditor confirming the judgment is paid in full.
2. Apply to the court in writing or on form N443, “Application for a certificate of satisfaction or cancellation”. The fee is £19, payable to HMCTS (you can call the court to pay by card).
3. If the creditor will not confirm payment, send form N443 with your own evidence, such as bank statements. The court writes to the creditor, and if it does not respond within 30 days the court decides using your evidence.

Once the court issues the certificate, the register is updated. The credit reference agencies take their information from it, so your credit file should follow. Check your file a few weeks later and, if it still shows the judgment as unpaid, send the agency a copy of your certificate.

You can check what the register holds by searching it through TrustOnline, run by Registry Trust, which maintains the register for the Ministry of Justice. A search costs between £6 and £10.

How does a satisfied CCJ look to lenders?

Lenders who search your credit file will see the judgment, the amount and whether it is satisfied. There is no official scoring rule for how much a satisfied CCJ hurts: each lender decides. What is certain is the time limit. The entry is removed 6 years from the judgment date, whether you paid it in month two or year five. Paying late does not reset the clock, and neither does it shorten it.

That is why it pays to act before judgment, not after. A business must send a Letter of Claim before it goes to court, and you have 30 days to reply. Agreeing an affordable plan at that stage can mean no claim is ever issued. If you are also struggling with other debts, free, impartial advice is available from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice and National Debtline: see where to get free debt advice.

Can you get a CCJ removed any other way?

Only in limited cases:

• You did not owe the money, or you never received the claim (for example, it went to an old address). You can ask the court to cancel, or “set aside”, the judgment using form N244. A court fee applies and there is usually a hearing. If the judgment is set aside, it comes off the register. See GOV.UK: cancel the judgment.
• The register or your credit file is simply wrong, such as a judgment that is not yours. Contact the court, Registry Trust or the credit reference agency with evidence.

If you owe the money but cannot manage the instalments the court set, you can ask the court to change them using form N245, with details of your income and spending. A fee may apply and the court decides the new amount.

What happens if a CCJ is not paid?

The creditor can ask the court to enforce it, for example with a warrant of control sending county court bailiffs, an attachment of earnings order, a third-party debt order on a bank account or a charging order on property. Unpaid judgments do not simply expire:

• There is no general time limit for enforcing a judgment. After 6 years the creditor needs the court’s permission to send bailiffs, but it can ask for it.
• Interest on the judgment cannot be recovered for more than 6 years back.
• The entry leaves the register and your credit file after 6 years, but the debt is still owed.

So “it disappears after six years” is true of the register and not of the debt. For how judgment debts are treated in formal solutions, see CCJs and IVAs, and for all the options side by side, debt solutions compared.

What to do next

1. Find the date on your judgment and work out whether you are still inside the one-month window.
2. If you have paid, get proof from the creditor and send form N443 with the £19 fee to the court.
3. A few weeks later, check your credit file shows the judgment as satisfied or removed.
4. If you cannot pay, or have other judgments or debts, speak to a free debt adviser before enforcement starts. Our debt problems hub lists the letters that need a fast response.