Bailiffs & High Court Enforcement Officers: An England and Wales Business Guide to Rights, Risks & Next Steps

If a Notice of Enforcement has landed on your desk, the clock has already started. Under the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, you normally have at least 14 clear days, not counting Sundays and bank holidays, before an enforcement agent can take control of goods, and what you do in that time largely decides whether you lose business assets.

What follows sets out who bailiffs and High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEOs) actually are under the law of England and Wales, what they can and cannot do, what each fee stage costs, and the options that can pause or stop enforcement completely.

We’ve written it for directors dealing with commercial debt enforcement, not personal debt (which follows different rules).

One distinction that matters immediately: there is no legal difference on the day between “a bailiff” and “an HCEO” in terms of your rights.

Both are enforcement agents acting under Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The difference is who sent them and for what kind of debt.

Quick answer if you’re under pressure

• Notice of Enforcement arrived, agent not yet visited: the voluntary window is still open. Pay in full, agree a payment plan directly with the creditor, or apply to set aside the judgment if it was wrongly obtained. Call 0800 074 6757 if you need help deciding.
• Agent has visited and listed goods: the controlled goods agreement binds you. Breaching it can lead to the agent re-entering by force, usually after giving you at least 2 clear days’ notice. Do not remove or sell listed items.
• Agent at the door now: for debts other than court judgments, such as rent arrears, business rates or HMRC debts, you do not have to let them in on a first visit. An HCEO or county court bailiff enforcing a court judgment can use reasonable force to enter business premises, even on a first visit. Call a licensed IP straight away.

Who Bailiffs and HCEOs Actually Are

Under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, an enforcement agent is anyone authorised to take control of goods under Schedule 12. That category includes what most people still call bailiffs, certificated enforcement agents, and High Court Enforcement Officers.

The practical distinction is the type of debt, and in our experience most directors only learn the difference once an HCEO has already attended.

• HCEOs enforce High Court writs of control. They can be instructed for any judgment over £600 if the creditor chooses to transfer the judgment up from the county court. This is common for commercial debts above £600 because HCEO fees are added to the debt and their recovery rates are higher.
• County court bailiffs enforce county court judgments under £600, and judgments from £600 to £4,999 that the creditor has not transferred up. A judgment of £5,000 or more enforced by taking goods must go to an HCEO.
• Private certificated enforcement agents handle commercial rent arrears under CRAR, HMRC debts, unpaid traffic penalties, and VAT arrears, among others.

All three operate under the same procedural framework in Schedule 12. Your rights are the same. The consequences of non-payment are the same.

What Bailiffs and HCEOs Can and Cannot Take

The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 4, lists items that are exempt from seizure. These include:

• Items necessary for the personal use of the debtor and their family (basic domestic items, not luxuries)
• Tools, books, vehicles, and other equipment necessary for personal use in the debtor’s employment or trade, up to an aggregate value of £1,350 (this does not apply to business rates or HMRC debts)
• Goods that belong to someone else (subject to proof)
• Goods subject to a valid hire purchase or conditional sale agreement

For a limited company, the “tools of trade” exemption doesn’t apply in the same way. The company itself is the debtor, and assets used in the company’s trade are fair game. That’s why enforcement against commercial premises can escalate fast.

What the agent cannot take at all:

• Items not belonging to the company
• Items subject to valid retention of title clauses
• Fixtures that form part of the building

Director Rights When Bailiffs Visit

Before we get into the mechanics, one thing we tell every director: agents rely on you not knowing the rules. Read this section carefully.

Notice. The agent must give you at least 14 clear days’ written notice, not counting Sundays and bank holidays, before taking control of goods (TCGR 2013, regulation 6), unless a court has ordered shorter notice. If they take control of goods without the required notice, they are acting unlawfully.

Visiting hours. 6am to 9pm, seven days a week (TCGR 2013, regulation 13). A visit outside these hours is unlawful unless a court has allowed it, your premises are open for business at that time, or the agent is finishing a visit that began within the permitted hours.

Entry. Whether an agent can force entry on a first visit depends on the debt.

An HCEO or county court bailiff enforcing a court judgment can use reasonable force to enter business premises, even on a first visit, if they reasonably believe the company trades there. For other debts, such as commercial rent arrears, business rates or HMRC debts, they cannot force entry on a first visit. They can walk through any unlocked door.

For those other debts, they cannot break locks, climb through windows, or use a locksmith on the first visit. If you keep the door closed, they cannot come in.

Later visits. If goods are under a controlled goods agreement and you breach its payment terms, the agent can re-enter using reasonable force after giving you at least 2 clear days’ notice. An HCEO, a county court bailiff or HMRC can use reasonable force to re-enter business premises where goods are already under their control.

Vulnerability. Enforcement agents must take reasonable steps to identify and handle vulnerability. If the director or a member of staff has a disability, mental health condition, or is otherwise vulnerable, agents should adjust their conduct.

What Each Bailiff Fee Stage Costs

The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 set fixed fees, which rose on 1 May 2026. There are three stages for most debts, and four for High Court writs enforced by HCEOs. These fees are added to the debt the agent is collecting.

Compliance stage: £79. Charged once the enforcement agent receives the instructions. This is charged once per debt regardless of how many creditors are being pursued.

Enforcement stage: £247 plus 7.5% of the debt over £1,900. Charged from the agent’s first visit to the premises. For a £10,000 debt, this adds £247 plus £607.50, or £854.50 on top.

Sale or disposal stage: £116 plus 7.5% of the debt over £1,900. Charged from the visit to remove goods for sale, or when preparation for a sale on the premises begins. For the same £10,000 debt, this adds £116 plus £607.50, or £723.50.

HCEOs enforcing a High Court writ use a different scale. The first enforcement stage is £200 plus 7.5% of the debt over £1,200 if you pay or agree terms at the first visit. If you do not, or you later breach the agreement, a £520 second enforcement fee applies. The sale or disposal stage is £550 plus 7.5% of the debt over £1,200. The effect is that fees stack quickly once an agent has attended.

We see this catch directors out more than any other single cost surprise in enforcement. Here is what a £12,000 HMRC debt actually looks like under the fee schedule:

• Compliance stage (notice issued): £79 added → debt now £12,079
• Enforcement stage (agent first attends): £247 + 7.5% of £10,100 = £1,004.50 added → debt now £13,083.50
• Sale stage (goods removed): £116 + 7.5% of £10,100 = £873.50 added → debt now £13,957

The original £12,000 has become £13,957 by the time goods leave the premises, an effective surcharge of about 16% funded entirely by waiting.

Of the directors who call us within the notice window, the majority avoid the enforcement-stage fee by paying or agreeing terms with the creditor before the agent attends. The ones who don’t, pay the surcharge.

What to Do When Bailiffs Send a Notice

The notice usually lands in the morning post on a Monday or a Tuesday, addressed to the director by name. The reception staff opens it, recognises what it is, and the company suddenly has a little over two weeks to act before the agent can arrive. We see this scenario every week in our caseload.

We handle enforcement calls from directors every week. The ones who come through this cleanest do three things on the day the notice arrives.

Read the notice carefully. Confirm the creditor, the amount claimed, the debt it relates to, and the judgment reference. If you don’t recognise the debt, there may be grounds to apply to set aside the judgment.

Move exposed assets legitimately, not deceptively. Goods that were already subject to hire purchase, retention of title, or leasing agreements need to be flagged, and the paperwork to prove it needs to be ready.

Do not move company assets off-site to hide them. The agent can apply for a warrant if they suspect concealment, and doing so may constitute a criminal offence.

Make contact. Either pay the debt in full, agree a payment arrangement directly with the creditor, or call a licensed insolvency practitioner. The voluntary window is narrow. Once the agent attends and levies fees, the cost has already escalated.

Options to Pause or Stop the Bailiffs

Enforcement is not irreversible. Several options exist, and the right one depends on the nature of the debt and the state of the company. We usually walk directors through these in the order that preserves the most control.

Pay or agree a payment plan directly with the creditor. The cheapest option. If you can negotiate a repayment schedule and the creditor accepts, the enforcement agent stands down. Get any agreement in writing before the visit date.

Apply to set aside the judgment. If the judgment was obtained by default because you didn’t receive the claim form or didn’t defend the claim, you can apply to the court to set it aside. If the judgment is set aside, enforcement under it must stop and the claim goes back to be decided. The court may attach conditions, such as paying money into court.

Apply for a stay of execution. If the judgment is correct but you can show grounds for delay, such as a pending appeal or a genuine inability to pay that you can remedy, the court can order a temporary stay.

Enter a formal insolvency procedure. The most serious option and the one we advise directors on most often when the enforcement pressure is sustained. Each procedure has a different effect on enforcement:

• Administration triggers an immediate moratorium under Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986. Enforcement action cannot proceed against the company without the administrator’s consent or the court’s permission. This is the strongest protection available.
• Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation (or compulsory liquidation) normally ends enforcement by individual creditors. A creditor who has not completed enforcement before the liquidation starts usually cannot keep the benefit of it, and the agent must hand goods to the liquidator if asked. In a compulsory liquidation, enforcement needs the court’s permission.
• Company Voluntary Arrangement does not automatically stop enforcement but provides a framework to agree a restructured payment that creditors, including the enforcement creditor, may accept.

Do not use any of these tactically without advice. Each has downstream consequences for the director, and our guide to a director’s position in liquidation sets those out in full.

How Insolvency Affects Bailiff Enforcement

The moment formal insolvency proceedings begin, the enforcement agent’s position changes.

Under the Insolvency Act 1986, the liquidator becomes the person responsible for realising company assets for all creditors. An enforcement agent taking individual goods for one creditor ahead of the collective process is exactly what insolvency law is designed to prevent.

A creditor frustrated by enforcement can also escalate in a different direction. Instead of pursuing goods, they can petition the court directly: our guide on winding-up petitions explains that route, and a supplier owed money may go further still, as we cover in being forced into liquidation by a supplier.

We see two common misconceptions in calls from directors.

That entering liquidation hides assets from enforcement. It doesn’t.

The liquidator investigates every disposal in the run-up to insolvency, and any unusual transfers to avoid enforcement can be unwound as preferences, transactions at undervalue, or transactions defrauding creditors under sections 238, 239, and 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

That an administration moratorium protects the director personally. It doesn’t. The moratorium protects the company from enforcement, but it does nothing about personal guarantees the director has given to the creditor.

A PG holder can still pursue the director personally even while the company is in administration. See our guide on director personal liability.

FAQs on Bailiffs and HCEOs