How do I check if a company has a CCJ?
The short answer
Search TrustOnline. It is the official register of judgments1, and each search costs £6 to £104. A clean result proves less than it seems: a judgment paid in full within a month is cancelled10 once the court is told, and one from a contested hearing is not registered7 until instalments are ordered or asked for, or the creditor takes a step to enforce it.
The numbers
The register in four numbers.
What you can add
£6 and about ten minutes before a £5,400 first order
Say a new limited company applies for a trade account with you and wants a first order of £5,400 on 30-day terms. Before you agree, you copy its registered name from Companies House and search it on the register.
That is about 11p in every £100 of the order. Before their second big order, repeating the search costs £3.002.
The road ahead
Seven steps. £6 to search, £3 to repeat.
Step 2: Search the company on TrustOnline
TrustOnline is run by Registry Trust for the Ministry of Justice1. Choose Check a business and enter the registered name; a limited company is searched by name alone12.
£6 buys one register2, such as county court judgments in England and Wales; £8 buys every England and Wales section, and £10 every register. A search that finds nothing still costs the fee3. Pay by card or PayPal.
Step 3: Check the hit is theirs, then read it
The emailed report lists exact matches and possible matches, which have a similar name. It is for you to decide3 which belong to the company. A record sits at the address the claimant gave2, so check it against every address you know for them, not only the registered one.
An entry gives the date, amount, court and case number8. From 20 October 2026, those made since 20 July usually name the claimant9. A satisfied entry shows as paid4. Unsatisfied can mean unpaid, or paid but not reported.
Step 4: Search any other name they have used
A search looks only at the name you enter2. An old name from Companies House, or a trading name you know, needs a search of its own, at the same price.
Step 5: Know what a clean result cannot show
Under the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005, a judgment paid in full within one month is cancelled10 once the court is told. A contested one is not registered7 until instalments are ordered or asked for, or the creditor takes a step to enforce it.
Technology and Construction Court judgments7 are left off, and so are debts without a judgment. For petitions and strike-offs, see where to look.
Step 6: Weigh it against the order
Set each judgment against your order: £400 from three years ago and £14,000 from last month are different news. Several recent ones can mean other creditors have had to sue too.
Unsatisfied or recent: shorten the terms, lower the limit or ask for cash up front. Satisfied, or nearly six years old: a note, not a no. An entry goes six years after the date of the judgment11.
Step 7: Search again before the next big order
Keep the search reference from your report. A repeat of the same search is half price2, once, so £3 on the £6 search. A company that was clean last time can have a judgment now.
The letter
Nothing to send. A search is something you do on your own, and what it shows decides what you write next.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- The order is small and paid up front. On a £60 cash sale, £6 is a tenth of the sale and you have lent nothing. Search when you first offer credit.
- A liquidator or administrator is already named. A judgment search adds little now. The insolvency checks tell you more, and an unpaid invoice becomes a claim against the company.
- They are a sole trader or a partnership. The register still works, but it searches a name at one address, and records sit at the address the claimant gave at the time2. Search each address you know; a move can mean a miss.
- The company is based in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Those nations keep their own registers1. The £6 search covers England and Wales only, and the £10 search adds the others2.
The Wolf's note
The register lists judgments, not late payers. Someone who settles before anyone sues leaves no entry, and one who pays inside the first month can lose theirs. Let the size of the order decide what a clean result is worth.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
How do I check if a company is insolvent or about to go under?
Three searches, ten minutes and £6: Companies House, The Gazette and the judgments register.
6 min read
Is this company legit? How do I check a UK company before I work for it?
Go by the company number, not the name.
5 min read · Letter included
How do I check a new client can pay before I start work?
Only partly. Ten minutes on the free records shows who a client is, not whether it will pay.
6 min read · Letter included
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.