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What is the full procedure for recovering an unpaid invoice in the UK?

The short answer

Eight steps. In England and Wales the first four cost no more than a stamp: check the invoice, ask for a date on day 7, ask again with the interest added on day 14, and send a letter before action on day 30. Skip that letter and the court can cut your interest, even if you win4; after it come the court claim, which has a fee and must start within six years6, and collecting the money. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own court process7.

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.

What you can add

A £6,500 invoice, taken to a court claim

Say you invoiced another business £6,500 for a website build, due on Monday 7 September 2026. You ask for a date on 14 September (day 7), send the sum on 21 September (day 14) and post the letter before action on Wednesday 7 October (day 30), giving the company 14 days. Nothing comes, so on Thursday 22 October, day 45, you start the claim online. The invoice went late in the second half of 2026, so the yearly rate is 11.75%: 8% over the Bank Rate1 of 3.75%2 on 30 June.

The invoice£6,500.00
Interest: £6,500 × 11.75% ÷ 365 × 45 days1£94.16
Fixed sum (invoices from £1,000 to £9,999.99)3£70.00
Court fee (claims from £5,000.01 to £10,000)8£455.00
Claim plus fee on 22 October 2026£7,119.16

What each step adds: the day-14 email asks for £99.29 on top of the invoice, the day-30 letter for £132.77 and the claim for £164.16, all of it interest and the £70 fixed sum. Steps 1 to 4 cost nothing but a stamp, so the £455 is the first real money. The fee is set by the claim plus interest, £6,664.16 here, and you may be able to claim it back if you win8. From 22 October, interest grows by £2.09 a day until they pay.

The road ahead

Eight steps. The first real money is the court fee.

Step 1: Check the invoice, the date and the deadline
Check the amount, the bank details and the order number, and that the invoice reached the person who approves payments. The page on what to do first has the checklist.
Then write one date on the file: six years after the day the invoice fell due, which is usually when the clock starts. A claim on an ordinary contract must start within six years6, and the steps before a claim do not change that limit4.
Cost: FreeTime: 15 minutes
Step 2: Day 7: ask once, in writing, for a date
Seven days after the due date, email the person who approves payments, attach the invoice and ask one question: on what date will it be paid? A date, or a reason such as a missing order number, is a good reply.
The wording is on the page on chasing politely and the reminder emails page. The law fixes none of days 7, 14 and 30; they are a rhythm that gives each message time to work.
Cost: FreeTime: Same day
Step 3: Day 14: ask again, with the interest worked out
Add interest at 8% a year over the Bank Rate1 and the fixed sum of £40, £70 or £1003, worked out as in the sum above. Interest to the day shows the working.
Ask for payment within 14 days4, the reply time the court's rules give a company in a straightforward case.
Cost: FreeTime: 15 minutes
Step 4: Day 30: send a letter before action
It is the last letter before a claim, and the one the court expects4. The letter is on its own page, ready to copy.
A company usually gets 14 days4 to reply; a sole trader gets 30 days5.
Three side roads can suit a case better: adjudication for building work, the Small Business Commissioner for a larger customer, and a statutory demand for a company debt nobody disputes.
Cost: A stampTime: 14 or 30 days
Step 5: Still unpaid? Start the court claim
Claim online or by post in the county court7. The fee is set by the claim plus interest8: £35 up to £300, £455 from £5,000.01 to £10,000, and 5% of the claim from £10,000.01 to £200,000.
You pay it when you start, and you may be able to claim it back if you win8. The court page takes you through the form, and the costs page lists every fee.
Cost: £455 on this claimTime: Same day
Step 6: If they say nothing, ask for judgment
On the online service the company has 28 days to reply9. If it stays silent, ask for judgment on the same site: the court must enter it9 unless the company has replied or paid first.
The request carries no fee12. The judgment is for the claim, the interest and the court fee9; it is an order to pay, not the money itself.
Cost: No fee to askTime: After 28 days
Step 7: If they defend, expect mediation, then a hearing
On a claim of £10,000 or less that the company disputes, you will be told you must attend mediation10: a free phone call of up to an hour with a court mediator, usually quicker and cheaper than going to court.
If there is no deal, a hearing follows, and a small claim over £3,000 carries a £346 hearing fee12.
Cost: £346 hearing fee on this claimTime: 1 hour, then a hearing date
Step 8: Collect the money
A judgment does not collect itself: you ask the court to collect11, and the right way depends on what the company owns. Start by asking the court to question an officer of the company11 about it.
Then pick: bailiffs, a freeze on its bank account or a charge on its land. Fees: £69 to question, £96 for a county court warrant, £82 to seal a High Court writ, £139 for each other order12. Over £5,000, bailiffs need the writ11.
Cost: From £69 a stepTime: Depends on what they own

The letter

This page is the map; each step's letter or email is on its own page, and the road links to it.

When not to bother

When it isn't worth it

The customer is a consumer. The interest and the fixed sum are for late payments between businesses3. Consumer debts have their own rules, which these pages do not cover.
The company is in administration or liquidation. The court road is the wrong tool. Tell whoever is running it what you are owed; what happens to your invoice explains how.
They dispute the invoice. Ask in writing which part and why, and chase the undisputed part first. For a large or tangled sum, a solicitor who does debt recovery is worth an hour. Disputes has the steps.
The sum is a few hundred pounds. A claim of £300 or less costs £35 to start8, before your own evenings. A last email with the interest worked out may do the same job, and a client worth keeping may only need a call.
It is over six years old. A contract claim must start within six years6, or it meets a time-limit defence. You can still ask; see what restarts the clock.

The Wolf's note

The cheap steps come first because they cost a stamp at most and because the court asks about them. Send each one on its day, in writing, and keep every copy. If the fee does come, you pay it with three dated asks already on the file.

Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX

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