EX50 Court Fees for CCJ Enforcement Applications in England and Wales

You won your county court judgment and the debtor has not paid. Now every enforcement application costs another fee — and if the method fails, that money is gone. The EX50 schedule (updated July 2026) lists the main civil court fees in England and Wales, but it runs to dozens of pages and buries the enforcement entries among claim-issuing and appeal fees. Here is the enforcement-only breakdown so you can budget before you file.

Enforcement Fee Table (EX50 Schedule, July 2026)

Each fee below is non-refundable. If the enforcement method succeeds, the fee is added to the judgment debt and recovered from the debtor alongside the original amount.

• Order to Obtain Information (Form N316): £69. This is the debtor-questioning hearing under CPR Part 71 — the cheapest way to find out what the debtor owns or earns before committing to a more expensive method.
• Warrant of Control (Form N323): £96. Sends a County Court Bailiff to the debtor's address to collect payment or take control of goods. For debts under £600, the County Court is the only route for enforcement by taking control of goods; for debts from £600 to £5,000, the creditor can choose County Court or High Court enforcement. Debts over £5,000 generally require High Court transfer unless the debt is regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
• High Court Transfer (Form N293A): £82 to seal the Writ of Control at the High Court. Available for debts of £600 or more (generally required for debts over £5,000 unless the debt falls under the Consumer Credit Act 1974).
• Attachment of Earnings Order (Form N337): £139. Redirects payments from the debtor's wages. Only works if the debtor is employed — not available against self-employed debtors or companies.
• Third-Party Debt Order (Form N349): £139. Freezes and collects money held in the debtor's bank account. You need to know which bank the debtor uses.
• Charging Order (Form N379): £139. Secures the judgment debt against the debtor's property or land. Does not produce immediate payment but protects your position when the property is sold.
• Certificate of Satisfaction (Form N443): £19. Records that the debtor has paid the judgment in full — removes the entry from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines.

How to Decide Which Fee Is Worth the Risk

The fee is non-refundable regardless of outcome. A £96 warrant that returns "no goods found" is £96 lost. The research reports in the market confirm that the most common frustration among judgment creditors is spending on enforcement without knowing whether the debtor has reachable assets.

Start with the cheapest option. An N316 Order to Obtain Information (£69) brings the debtor to court under oath to disclose their employer, bank accounts, property and other assets. That information tells you whether a warrant, attachment or charging order is likely to work — and prevents you from spending £139 on a method aimed at an asset the debtor does not have.

If the debtor has a regular employer, an Attachment of Earnings Order (£139) is one of the most reliable routes because the employer deducts directly from wages. If you know the debtor's bank but not their employment status, a Third-Party Debt Order (£139) can freeze and collect the account balance. For property-owning debtors, a Charging Order (£139) secures the debt against the property — you will not get paid immediately, but the charge survives a sale and transfers with the title.

Fee Exemptions and Remissions

Court fee remissions (Help with Fees, Form EX160A) apply to enforcement applications the same way they apply to claims. If you are a single applicant with no children and your monthly income is below £1,420, and your savings are within the applicable limit, you may qualify for a full remission. The threshold is higher for applicants with a partner or dependent children; partial remissions may apply at higher income levels. Apply through the HMCTS Help with Fees service before filing the enforcement application.

Stacking Fees Across Multiple Methods

Nothing stops you from running more than one enforcement method at once. A creditor can hold a Charging Order on the debtor's property while simultaneously applying for an Attachment of Earnings Order against their wages. Each application carries its own fee, but the total is added to the judgment debt and recovered from the debtor if enforcement succeeds.

The practical risk is cash-flow exposure. On a £2,000 judgment, a warrant (£96), a failed attachment (£139) and a charging order (£139) stack to £374 in fees before you see a penny. For smaller judgments, one or two well-targeted methods beat a scattergun approach.

Our CCJ Enforcement Guide walks through each method step by step — including the forms, the service requirements and the decision framework for choosing the right method based on what the debtor actually owns.

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