Form N337 Attachment of Earnings Order: Deducting a CCJ from Wages

The debtor has a steady job but will not pay your CCJ voluntarily. An attachment of earnings order bypasses the debtor entirely — it directs their employer to deduct money from their wages and send it to the court, which then passes it to you. No bailiffs, no bank freezes, no property charges. Just regular payments deducted at source.

What an attachment of earnings order does

An Attachment of Earnings Order (AEO) under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 and CPR Part 89 compels the debtor's employer to deduct a set amount from the debtor's net earnings each pay cycle and remit it to the HMCTS Central Benefit Account. The court then distributes the funds to the judgment creditor.

The order sets two rates:

• Normal Deduction Rate (NDR): The amount deducted each period to pay down the judgment debt within a reasonable timeframe.
• Protected Earnings Rate (PER): The minimum income the debtor must retain for basic living costs. Deductions can only come from earnings above this threshold.

Who qualifies

The debtor must be an employed individual receiving regular wages, salary or commission under a contract of employment. Self-employed individuals, company directors receiving only dividends, unemployed people on benefits, members of the Armed Forces and merchant seamen are all excluded. For self-employed debtors, a third-party debt order or charging order may work instead.

How to apply

1. Download Form N337 (Application for Attachment of Earnings Order) from GOV.UK.

2. Complete the form. You need the case number, debtor's name and address, the outstanding judgment balance (including costs and interest), and — crucially — the debtor's employer name and address if you know it.

3. Pay the fee. The court fee is £139 (EX50 Fee 8.7), added to the judgment debt.

4. File at the CNBC. The application goes to the Civil National Business Centre in Northampton.

5. Court serves the debtor. The CNBC sends the debtor a Statement of Means form (Form N56), which they must complete and return within eight days. The form requires full details of their employer, income, living expenses and other debts.

6. Court sets the rates. A court officer reviews the debtor's financial statement and sets the Normal Deduction Rate and Protected Earnings Rate. The formal AEO is then served on the employer.

Finding the debtor's employer

If you do not know where the debtor works, the application is difficult to process. The court can order the debtor to provide employment details through the N56 form, but a debtor who ignores the form creates delays.

The better approach: file an Order to Obtain Information (Form N316) first. At the CPR Part 71 examination, the debtor must disclose their employer under oath. You get the employer details you need and can then file the N337 with confidence.

What happens after the order is made

The employer must start making deductions from the next pay cycle and remit the money to HMCTS. The employer can deduct a £1 administrative fee per deduction from the debtor's remaining wages. Payments flow through the court to the creditor — you do not receive money directly from the employer.

If multiple judgment creditors have AEOs against the same debtor, the court may issue a Consolidated Attachment of Earnings Order under CPR Rule 89.15, splitting deductions proportionally. HMCTS retains an administrative fee of 10p for every £1 before distributing to creditors.

Priority matters: child maintenance orders and council tax attachment orders take statutory priority over civil judgment AEOs, regardless of when they were issued. Your deductions come after those obligations are met.

If the debtor changes jobs

When the debtor leaves their employer, the AEO lapses. Deductions stop until you or the court identifies the new employer and re-serves the order. The debtor is legally obliged to notify the court of any change in employment — but not all debtors comply.

If the debtor becomes self-employed, an AEO is no longer available. You need to switch to a different enforcement method.

When this method works best

Attachment of earnings is the most reliable enforcement method for employed debtors with a stable job. Payments arrive regularly without the debtor's voluntary cooperation, and the employer handles the administration. It is less effective for debtors who change jobs frequently, work in the gig economy or earn below a level that makes meaningful deductions possible.

The CCJ enforcement guide covers the complete AEO process alongside the other five enforcement methods, helping you match the right tool to the debtor's employment and asset situation.

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