CCJ removal or set aside: what the words mean and what works

"CCJ removal" is a phrase that sells. The register has no removal service, and nobody can take off a judgment that is right and unpaid. A county court judgment (CCJ) leaves the register in three ways. It is paid in full within one month of the judgment date, set aside by the court, or six years old. This guide covers England and Wales.

Paid after the first month, the judgment stays for its six years, marked satisfied, which lenders read as paid. If you want the mechanics of a set-aside application and its hearing, our set-aside guide has them. This guide is about which word applies to you.

What does "CCJ removal" mean?

Removal is not a legal step. A judgment is cancelled, set aside, or satisfied, and each word means something different on the register. Cancelled and set aside take the entry off. Satisfied leaves it on, with a date showing you paid. Companies that sell "removal" can only do what you can do yourself.

The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines is kept by Registry Trust, a not-for-profit, from details the court sends it after judgment. Its rules say an entry is cancelled when the debt is paid within one month of the judgment date. It is also cancelled when the judgment is set aside or reversed. Paid later, the entry is marked satisfied instead.

Every entry goes after six years from the judgment date, paid or not. Citizens Advice warns against companies that claim they can clear debt records. They charge high fees, some encourage people to lie, and clearing the record is probably not possible anyway. The honest question is which of the three exits is open to you.

Can a CCJ be removed if I pay it?

Yes, if you pay the full amount within one calendar month of the judgment date. Send the court proof of payment, and the entry is cancelled. The court tells Registry Trust, which takes it off the register and asks the credit reference agencies to remove it. Pay on day 32 and the judgment stays for six years, marked satisfied.

Pay the claimant, not the court, and keep the proof. A signed statement from the claimant that you have paid is enough. If you cannot get one, the court can ask the claimant to confirm within a month. The certificate of cancellation, or of satisfaction after the first month, is applied for on form N443, with a £19 fee.

A certificate is only issued when the debt is paid in full. A part payment is not recorded. A reduced settlement earns a satisfied marking only if the claimant confirms the debt as settled.

What is a set aside, and when does a court grant one?

A set aside is the court cancelling the judgment, so the claim starts again as if it had never been entered. It is for a judgment that should not have been made, usually a default judgment entered because no response reached the court. The court must set aside some, and may set aside others; nobody else can.

Part 13 of the Civil Procedure Rules draws the line. The court must set aside a default judgment that was wrongly entered. That covers a judgment entered before the time to respond had run, or without proper service, or after the whole claim was paid. In any other case the court may set aside a judgment. It needs a real prospect of defending the claim, or some other good reason, and it looks at how promptly you applied.

The application is form N244 with a fee of £321, or £126 where the claimant consents, and a hearing you must attend. Granted, the judgment comes off the register. Refused, it stands from its original date. The evidence that supports an application, and the witness statement that carries it, are the work itself.

What if I never knew about the claim?

Many judgments are entered against people who never saw the claim, often because it went to an old address. The judgment is still real, and the register still shows it. The route is a set-aside application, made promptly once you learn of it. It gives the reason the claim never reached you and the defence you would have run.

GOV.UK puts it plainly: you can apply to have the judgment cancelled if you did not receive, or did not respond to, the original claim. Promptness counts from the day you found out, not the day of the judgment. Date that discovery: a refused credit application, a letter about enforcement, or a search of the register. A county court claim for a debt explains what you should have received and by when.

What happens to my credit file?

The credit reference agencies take the register's entries as the court supplies them, so your credit file follows the register. A cancelled or set-aside judgment is removed from both; Citizens Advice says that can take up to four weeks. A satisfied judgment shows as paid and stays until six years from the judgment date.

Experian says a judgment paid within one calendar month is never recorded. A judgment the court has cancelled or set aside can be removed from your report on proof. If your file still shows an entry the register has dropped, send the agency the certificate or the court's order.

Anyone can search the register at TrustOnline, for £6 to £10 a search. For judgments registered in England and Wales after 20 July 2026, the entry also names the claimant. That makes a judgment you do not recognise easier to trace. For older entries, the court holds the claimant's name under the case number.

Where do the free check and Docketory fit?

Docketory's CCJ Assessment & Removal service, from £129, starts with the dates. It reads the judgment, the register entry and the claim behind it. Then it says which exit is open: the one-month cancellation, a satisfaction certificate, or a set-aside application. Where an application is the route, it drafts the N244, the witness statement and the draft defence. You file them as a litigant in person.

The £179 option adds consent talks with the claimant. A judgment set aside by agreement is lodged as a consent order for a judge's approval. The court fee is separate, as is a solicitor's fee where one is needed for the filing. Docketory does not attend the hearing for anyone. Nothing here promises that a judgment will be set aside; that is the court's decision on your evidence.

Docketory does not suit a judgment that is right, unpaid and years old with no reason for the delay. There, the honest advice is to pay it and ask for the satisfied marking. If the claim behind the judgment is a parking charge, start with check your ticket free.

What to do next

Find the judgment: the court, the case number, the judgment date and the amount, from the letter or a register search. Count one month from the judgment date. Inside it, paying in full cancels the entry. Outside it, the choice is a satisfaction certificate or a set-aside application, and the application needs a reason the rules recognise.

Keep every letter, and the proof of any payment. If a judgment is being enforced, a bailiff at the door covers that stage. Free help is available from Citizens Advice.

Sources

• GOV.UK: County court judgments for debt
• GOV.UK: CCJs and your credit rating
• GOV.UK: Cancel a county court judgment
• GOV.UK: Apply for a certificate to show you've paid a court order, form N443
• GOV.UK: Civil court fees (EX50), updated 26 October 2026
• Civil Procedure Rules, Part 13
• Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005, regulation 11
• Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005, regulation 18
• Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005, regulation 26
• Registry Trust: county court judgments in England and Wales
• Registry Trust: CCJ help guide
• Experian: county court judgments and your credit file
• Citizens Advice: county court judgments and your credit rating

Last checked: 3 November 2026.

This is not legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, contact a solicitor or a free advice body such as Citizens Advice.