Debt collection · United Kingdom
Notice of enforcement — the seven days before a visit
An enforcement agent cannot simply turn up. The law makes it warn you first, and that warning is this letter. What it buys you is a short, fixed window — and the only things that use it are payment, an arrangement, or an application to the court that issued the warrant.
How serious: enforcement closeAlso called: bailiff notice, enforcement agent notice, 7 day notice, notice of enforcement agent action
Regulation 6 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 requires notice of enforcement to be given not less than seven clear days before an enforcement agent takes control of goods. Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day do not count towards the seven, and 'clear days' also excludes the day the notice is given and the day the agent acts.
Regulation 7 fixes what it must contain: your name and address, the reference numbers, the date of the notice, the judgment, order or other enforcement power relied on, the debt and the enforcement costs, how to pay, contact details, and the date by which payment stops goods being taken.
A court can allow a shorter period, but only where it is satisfied that otherwise the goods would be moved or disposed of to defeat the enforcement.
Who sends it
An enforcement agent or the agent's office — a High Court enforcement officer, a county court bailiff, or a certificated enforcement agent acting for a council or a creditor.
A notice headed 'Notice of Enforcement' with a reference number, the date, the judgment or order relied on, a breakdown of the debt and the enforcement costs, and a date by which payment prevents goods being taken control of. It may arrive by post, by hand through the letter box, or affixed where you will see it.
The deadline
not less than 7 clear days before goods may be taken — Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day do not count
Not less than seven clear days before the agent may take control of goods. In counting them, a Sunday, bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day does not count, and 'clear days' excludes both the day the notice is given and the day the agent acts (Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, reg 6). The date on the notice is the operative one; the seven clear days are the floor beneath it.
If you do nothing
Once the notice period has run, the enforcement agent may attend and take control of goods. Fees rise at each stage of enforcement, and goods taken into control can be removed and sold to meet the debt and those fees.
How it escalates
- 01The enforcement agent may attend and take control of goods once the period has run (Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, reg 6).
- 02Enforcement stage fees are added, rising as enforcement moves from the compliance stage to attendance and to sale.
- 03Goods taken into control may be removed and sold, with the proceeds applied to the debt and the fees.
- 04The judgment or order behind it stays in force whatever happens at the visit.
How to respond
What follows is the procedure only: who to pay, what to ask for, and which door an application goes through.
Response types
- Pay the sum on the noticePayment of the sum on the notice, including the enforcement costs shown
- Agree an arrangementPayment arrangement with the enforcement agent's office
- Ask for a breakdownWritten request for a breakdown of the debt, the fees and the enforcement power · Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 7
- Apply to the courtApplication to the court to stay or suspend the writ or warrant · Application notice (Form N244) at the court that issued the writ or warrant
Where and how
- The agent's office on the number printed on the notice — useful to arrange payment, but ask for the arrangement in writing.
- The agent's online payment page, where the notice names one; save the reference.
- Royal Mail Signed For to the agent's office, for anything that has to be on the file with a date.
- The court that issued the writ or warrant, for an application to stay or suspend it.
What to attach
- A copy of the notice, with anything you send.
- Proof of any payment already made.
- A statement of income and expenditure, where an arrangement is proposed.
- The claim number from the judgment or order, for a court application.
What makes it count
Payment counts when the agent's office has it, before the date on the notice. An arrangement counts when that office records it. An application to stay or suspend counts only when the court that issued the warrant files it.
Common questions
How do I count the seven clear days?
Leave out the day the notice was given and the day the agent would act, and do not count any Sunday, bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day in between (reg 6). The date printed on the notice is the one to work to.
Can the agent come sooner than seven days?
Only on a court order, and only where the court is satisfied that without it the goods would be moved or disposed of to defeat the enforcement (reg 6).
Can the enforcement agent stop the warrant?
No. Only the court that issued the writ or warrant can stay or suspend it, on an application made to that court. The agent can agree a payment arrangement, which is a different thing.
The notice arrived through the letter box with no envelope.
Regulation 8 allows notice by post, by fax or other electronic means, by hand through the letter box, by affixing it where it is likely to come to your attention, or by personal delivery. All of those count as given.
Sources
Facts verified against the sources below on 10 September 2026.