If you’ve been served with a court judgment over an unpaid debt, your details will be added to a public database known as the official statutory Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. It’s often referred to as the CCJ Register, as your details will be added if you’re served with a County Court Judgment (CCJ).
The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines can be accessed by anyone, but it is usually only used by individuals or companies who have a reason to check your insolvency status, such as a prospective lender, an employer, or a landlord.
What is the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines?
The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines is an online database containing details of all individuals in insolvency solutions in England and Wales. It is maintained by the Registry Trust Limited, which is a not-for-profit company, on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and in agreement with relevant authorities in other parts of the UK.
Scotland and Northern Ireland maintains similar registers, known as the Register of Insolvencies and the DRO and BRO Register respectively. These registers usually require a fee to access, which ranges from £0 to £10 depending on how much information you require.
The information contained on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines is publicly available and can be accessed by anyone as long as they have the name and address of the debtor. Despite this, it is usually only used by lenders, employers, and landlords when they need to verify details of your insolvency.
If you’ve been served with a County Court Judgment (CCJ) or High Court Judgment (HCJ), your details will be added to the register and it will become public information that you are in debt and legal action has been taken against you due to continuous non-payment.
How much debt do you have?
What information is added to the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines?
The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines is designed to provide a well-rounded view of your financial situation so lenders can determine your creditworthiness and decide whether or not to enter into a credit agreement with you.
It should list your:
- Full name
- Main address
- Date of birth
- Judgment date
- Claim number
- Money owed
- Court name
- Judgment status
However, while it will contain a wide range of information about you and your debts, it won’t contain any claimant data. The only way to obtain information about either the claimant or the company they work for is to contact the court that issued the judgment.
How long are details visible on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines?
The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines will hold your details for a total of six years. This means that, if you’ve been served with a court judgment in the last six years, your details will likely still be visible and you might struggle to get a lender to approve you for credit.
However, if you’re able to repay a CCJ within one month of being served with the judgment and send the court proof of payment from your creditor, the main credit reference agencies will be informed and your details will be removed from the register.
How can my information being on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines affect me?
Having details of your financial situation publicly available can have a significant impact on you in a number of ways. Here are some of the ways you’ll be affected:
Your creditworthiness
When you apply for credit, lenders can check the register to find out if any court judgments have been issued against you in the last six years. They will then use this information, alongside the information on your credit report, to decide whether to let you borrow credit.
It’s not uncommon for people to find out they have a default judgment for the first time after being refused for credit.
Your home
Sometimes, landlords and mortgage lenders will check the register to find out if you have any court judgments that would potentially make it difficult for you to afford your rent or mortgage payments.
It’s still possible to rent a property with a court judgment in your home but it might take longer and you might have to use a specialist lender.
Your job
In most cases, employers won’t check the register when deciding whether to hire prospective employees. However, some companies within the legal and financial sectors have rules that prevent employees from being insolvent or having a poor credit record and will use the register to find this information out.
It’s always advised to be open and upfront about your financial history with an employer – especially if the court judgment is recent and for a particularly large or serious debt.
“No fuss, just simple, honest advice. Communication is good and they make the process as easy as they can.”
Can I remove my details from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines?
There are several instances in which you might be able to get your entry removed from the register. We’ve outlined each below:
If you repay the debt within one month
If you’re in a position to do so, you might be able to get your details removed from the register if you repay the debt listed on the court judgment in full within one month of receiving it.
However, you’ll need to prove to the court that the debt has been paid by sending a copy of your bank statement and ‘certificate of satisfaction’, which is done by completing and returning a ‘form N344’. This will serve as evidence that the debt has been repaid and the court will contact the Registry Trust who will remove your details from the register.
It’s still possible to repay the debt after one month, but your entry won’t be removed from the register. Instead, it will get the judgment marked as ‘satisfied’, which shows lenders that it has been repaid in full and can make it easier to get approved.
There is a fee to apply for a certificate of satisfaction (currently £15), but this can be reduced or waived altogether if you’re on a low income.
If you get it set aside
If you don’t think you should have received the court judgment, you can apply to have it ‘set aside’ or cancelled.
This is done by completing a returning a ‘form N244’. However, you’ll need to prove that you were either unaware of the judgment, it was issued in error, or you had a valid reason for ignoring it to have a chance of it being set aside.
It’s important to note that getting your entry set aside only removes it from the register and doesn’t cancel the debt. This means that, you’ll still need to find a pay to pay your creditor what they’re owed and they can still chase you for payment.
If they apply for another court judgment against you, it’s advised to deal with in a different way to prevent the same situation from happening again.
If you wait six years
If you’re not in a position to pay the debt in full, the only other way to get your entry removed from the register is by waiting six years until your details automatically expire.
Once six years have passed since you were issued with the judgment, it should be automatically removed from both the register and your credit report. However, it’s worth noting that it can take slightly longer for credit reference agencies to update your account and your credit rating will still be damaged.
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Conclusion
The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines is a public database containing details of all individuals with court judgments issued against them. This includes County Court Judgments (CCJs) and High Court Judgments (HCJs).
It can be accessed by anyone for a small fee (between £6 and £10) and is primarily used by lenders, employers, and landlords when they want to check your credit history. It can, however, be accessed by anyone as long as they know your name and address.
The only way to get your entry removed from the register is to pay the debt in full within one month of receiving the judgment, applying to get it set aside because you don’t owe the debt, or waiting six years for it to be automatically removed.
