How long does a CCJ last?

There are two clocks to keep separate. The first is the record: the register entry and your credit file, which both run for 6 years from the judgment date. The second is the debt: a court judgment does not become statute-barred in the way an unpaid credit card can, so the money can still be owed after the record has gone. This guide covers England and Wales.

How long does a CCJ stay on your credit file?

Six years from the date of the judgment. The three main credit reference agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, all keep judgments for 6 years from the judgment date, and they take their information from the register.

The date that counts is the one printed on the judgment, not the date the envelope arrived. For example, a judgment dated 14 February 2025 comes off the register and your credit file in February 2031, whether it was paid in the first year or never paid at all.

Source: GOV.UK, CCJs and your credit rating.

Does paying off a CCJ make it disappear sooner?

Only if you pay the whole amount within one calendar month of the judgment date. Then you can ask the court to cancel it and it is removed from the register. Pay after that and the entry is marked satisfied, but it stays until the 6 years are up. Our guide to satisfied and cancelled CCJs explains the one-month rule and the £19 certificate.

Paying late is still worth doing if you can afford it. A satisfied marker shows lenders the debt was cleared, and it ends any risk of enforcement. It just does not shorten the time the entry is visible.

The only other way to remove a judgment early is to have it set aside by the court, which is for judgments that should not have been made, for example because the claim went to an old address. See how to remove or set aside a CCJ.

Can a creditor still chase a CCJ after 6 years?

Yes. Once a court has given judgment, there is no general time limit on enforcing it. Two rules do change at the 6-year point:

• Bailiffs need the court’s permission. A creditor must get permission to issue a warrant or writ of control 6 years or more after the judgment. The court decides whether to allow it, and you can tell it why it should not.
• Old interest cannot be recovered. Arrears of interest on a judgment cannot be recovered after 6 years from the date they fell due.

This is different from a debt becoming statute-barred. The 6-year limitation period in the Limitation Act 1980 is about how long a creditor has to start a court claim in the first place. Once the creditor has a judgment, that clock no longer protects you. If you have not been taken to court over an old debt, see statute-barred debt.

What if you are paying a CCJ by instalments?

The judgment lasts until the full amount is paid. If the court ordered you to pay £50 a month on a £4,000 judgment, you will still be paying after the register entry has gone. Keep paying: missing instalments lets the creditor ask the court to enforce, for example through bailiffs or an attachment of earnings order that takes money from your wages.

If your circumstances change and you cannot manage the instalments, you can ask the court to lower them on form N245. The court fee is £16, and the court decides the new amount.

How does a CCJ overlap with other records on your credit file?

Each record keeps its own clock, and none of them resets the others. That matters if you have a judgment and then start a formal debt solution.

An IVA does not clear the CCJ from your record, and it does not normally mark it satisfied, because an IVA rarely pays each creditor in full. What it does is stop that creditor enforcing the judgment once the IVA is approved. Can you get an IVA if you have a CCJ? explains how that works.

Is it different in Scotland or Northern Ireland?

Yes. Scotland does not have CCJs. A creditor gets a court decree instead, and Scottish decrees generally last 20 years before they prescribe. Northern Ireland has its own courts and its own system for enforcing judgments. The 6-year credit file period is broadly the same across the UK, but the enforcement rules on this page are for England and Wales only, so get advice locally if you live elsewhere.

What to do next

1. Find the date on your judgment. If you are not sure whether you have one, check the register.
2. If you are still inside the first calendar month and can pay in full without missing priority bills, do that and apply for a certificate of cancellation.
3. If you are struggling to keep up with the instalments or have other debts, speak to a free, impartial adviser at MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice or National Debtline before enforcement starts. See where to get free debt advice.
4. For how CCJs work from start to finish, read what a CCJ is. For ways of dealing with several debts at once, see debt solutions compared, and for other court letters, our debt problems hub.