Collecting Money After Court in Scotland

The Court Does Not Collect for You

Winning a Simple Procedure case in the Sheriff Court gets you a Decision Form (Form 13A) — the formal decree ordering the other side to pay. What it does not get you is the money. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) states clearly that enforcing the decision is entirely the successful party's responsibility.

This catches many people off guard. After paying the court fee, attending a hearing, and waiting for the decision, the expectation is that the court will follow through. It will not. Everything from here is on you.

The Enforcement Sequence

There is a fixed procedural sequence. You cannot skip steps or jump straight to freezing bank accounts.

Step 1: Wait four weeks. After the Sheriff Clerk sends the Decision Form, you must wait exactly four weeks before taking any enforcement action. This standstill period lets the losing party appeal or apply to recall the decision.

Step 2: Send a voluntary payment request. Optional but sensible. Write to the debtor enclosing a copy of the Decision Form and ask them to pay. This has no legal force, but it is cheaper than instructing a Sheriff Officer and sometimes produces payment.

Step 3: Instruct a Sheriff Officer to serve a Charge for Payment. This is the formal statutory demand. The debtor gets 14 days to pay (28 days if they are outside the UK or their address is unknown). You need a Sheriff Officer commissioned for the sheriffdom where the debtor lives — or a Messenger-at-Arms, who has all-Scotland jurisdiction.

Step 4: Choose and instruct diligence. If the Charge expires without payment, you can instruct the Sheriff Officer to execute enforcement tools against the debtor's assets. Your main options are:

• Bank arrestment — freezes funds in the debtor's bank account above the £1,000 protected minimum balance
• Earnings arrestment — directs the debtor's employer to deduct money from their wages each pay period
• Attachment of goods — seizes the debtor's moveable property outside their home (business equipment, vehicles)
• Inhibition — blocks the debtor from selling or remortgaging their Scottish property until the debt is paid

Choosing the Right Tool

Which enforcement tool you use depends on what the debtor has. Bank arrestment works when you know where they bank. Earnings arrestment works when you know their employer. Attachment makes sense for sole traders or business owners with tangible commercial assets.

If you do not know what the debtor owns or where they work, you will need to do some asset tracing first — searching the Land Register, Companies House, and the Register of Insolvencies to build a picture before spending money on officer fees.

What It Costs

Sheriff Officer fees are statutory and regulated. Typical outlays include roughly £40–£85 plus VAT for serving a Charge for Payment, and £70–£120 plus VAT for executing an arrestment. These fees are added to the amount the debtor owes you, though if the debtor turns out to be insolvent, you may not recover them.

Judicial interest at the 8% per annum judicial rate accrues on the decree debt unless the Decision Form specifies a different rate. Interest runs from the date specified in the Decision Form until payment, and is recoverable from the debtor.

How Long You Have

A decree in Scotland is enforceable for 20 years under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, provided you interrupt the prescriptive period by executing diligence or receiving a written acknowledgment or part-payment before the clock runs out. More on this in our post on how long a court order lasts in Scotland.

Getting Started

The full enforcement process — from verifying your Decision Form through asset tracing, officer instruction, diligence selection, and recovery accounting — is covered step by step in the enforcement guide. It includes ready-to-use checklists, a diligence selection matrix, and a recovery ledger for tracking every payment and expense.

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