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What is a CCJ against a company, and what does it actually do?

The short answer

An order to pay. A county court judgment (CCJ) stays on a public register for six years1, where banks, lenders and any supplier can look, but it collects nothing. If the company pays in full within one month of the judgment and tells the court, the entry is cancelled2 and comes off the register altogether; pay later and it stays, marked satisfied. That month is why the threat of a CCJ carries weight with a company that cares about its credit.

Mara, WolfX research desk
Written with AI, checked by a person · 8 October 2026

England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.

The numbers

The four numbers behind a CCJ.

6 yearsHow long a judgment stays on the register, counted from the date of the judgment.3 1

1 monthTo pay in full, from the judgment, and have it cancelled. Later, it is marked satisfied.2 1

8%Yearly interest on a CCJ for goods or services you sold to a business, at any size.5 7

£6–£10To search the register for a company's judgments.1

What you can add

A £7,781.08 judgment, a week on

Say a county court gave you judgment against a company on 1 September 2026 for £7,781.08, to be paid in full at once. On 8 September, seven days later, it has not paid. The debt is for goods or services you sold the company7 and the order is payable at once, so interest runs from the day it was given6.

£7,781.08The judgment, 1 September 2026

£11.94Interest: £7,781.08 × 8% ÷ 365 × 7 days5

£7,793.02Owed on 8 September 2026

Then it grows by £1.71 a day until they pay. Starting most kinds of county court enforcement6 stops the interest, unless that enforcement recovers nothing. Paid in full within a month of 1 September, the entry is cancelled2. Paid after that, the entry stays for six years, marked satisfied.

The road ahead

Five steps. Three have a fee.

Step 1: Name the right company
A judgment is only as good as the name on the claim. Copy the registered name and number from Companies House, not the trading name on your invoice.
Cost: FreeTime: 5 minutes
Step 2: Get the judgment
If the company ignores the claim, you ask the court to order it to pay, online or on a paper form. If it disputes the debt, you may end up at a hearing.
The court fee to start the claim is £455 for a claim of £5,000.01 to £10,000, and 5% of a claim from £10,000.01 to £200,0009. Smaller claims pay less.
Cost: From £35 court feeTime: After their reply date
Step 3: Send the letter after judgment
Send the letter below within a week, with a pay-by date 14 days on. It tells them that paying in full inside the month2 cancels the entry, once the court has proof of payment from you1.
A county court judgment for goods or services you sold to a business7 carries 8% a year5 interest from the day it is given, whatever its size. Any other county court judgment carries it only at £5,000 or more6.
Cost: FreeTime: Same day, then 14 days to pay
Step 4: Check it is on the register
Search by the company's registered name on TrustOnline, the official register10. Anyone can search it without the company's permission, for £6 to £101.
A judgment after a defended hearing is not registered4 until an instalment order is made or asked for, or you take an enforcement step. The six years run from the date of the judgment3.
Cost: £6 to £10 a searchTime: 10 minutes
Step 5: Still unpaid? Ask the court to collect
The judgment does not collect itself. You ask the court to enforce it8: bailiffs, a bank freeze, a charge on land, or questioning a company officer. Court fees run from £69 to £1399.
Start within six years. After that, bailiff warrants and writs need the court's permission11.
Cost: £69 to £139 court feeTime: Depends on the route

A letter you can copy

Letter after judgment, with the one-month window

Send it within a week of the judgment, if they have not paid. Before any claim, a letter before action is the one you want.

New email

SubjectJudgment in claim : payment due by

Dear , On the County Court gave judgment against in claim for . It has not been paid. Interest at 8% a year runs on the judgment: to date, growing by a day. The total due today is . Please pay the full amount by to: Judgments are kept on the public Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for six years. If this one is paid in full within one month of the date of judgment, the entry is cancelled once the court is told. After that it stays, marked as satisfied. When your payment arrives I will confirm it in writing, which is the proof the court asks for. If it is not paid by , I will ask the court to enforce the judgment without further notice. If you believe any of this is wrong, please tell me before that date and say why. Kind regards,

Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.

Send it by email so it is dated, within a week of the judgment, and keep a copy with the court papers. A pay-by date 14 days on then falls inside the first month. When the money lands, confirm in writing the same day that it is paid in full. The company sends that to the court as its proof of payment. Keep the interest paragraph at any size for goods or services you sold to a business. Delete it for any other judgment under £5,000. If the order lets them pay later or by instalments, interest starts only when each payment falls due.

When not to bother

When it isn't worth it

The company is in liquidation, or about to be. If it is wound up before your enforcement is finished, the liquidator, not you, gets the benefit of it12. Claim in the liquidation instead.
The company has been dissolved. It no longer exists, so you cannot sue it or enforce against it until a court restores it, which is usually worth the cost only if it still held money or property.
There is little to collect from. A CCJ marks the register; it does not create money. Before you pay for bailiffs, you can ask the court to make a company officer answer questions about its accounts8.
The company does not rely on credit. Lenders read the register. A firm that borrows from no one has little to lose from an entry on it, so the month is a weak lever and enforcement is the whole plan.
Your claim belongs in a Scottish or Northern Irish court. A CCJ and this register are England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland keep their own registers10.

The Wolf's note

Inside the month, paying you is how the company clears its register. After it, the mark stays for six years either way, so the pressure is weaker. Choose your enforcement route while the month is still running.

Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX

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