A county court judgment against you: can it be set aside or removed?
By Matthew Adeola, founder of Docketory. Law (Honours) graduate who has represented himself in civil proceedings, CCJ removal, and consumer disputes. Not a solicitor.
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Related service: CCJ Assessment & Removal
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The short answer
For anyone in England and Wales with a county court judgment (CCJ). Paid in full within one month, it is cancelled; paid later, it is marked satisfied. The court can also set a default judgment aside. Docketory drafts the application and witness statement for you to file; it does not file anything or speak for you at the hearing.
A county court judgment (CCJ) is the County Court's order that you owe money. It goes on a public register for six years, which banks and lenders check. It comes off early in two ways. Pay it in full within one month, or persuade the court to set it aside, which needs a reason the rules recognise. This guide covers England and Wales.
If you have a claim form and no judgment yet, respond in time, and no judgment can be entered against you by default. A parking company has taken you to court sets out those deadlines, which are the same for any money claim.
What is a county court judgment?
A CCJ is a court order that you owe a sum to the person or company that sued you. Many are entered by default, because no response reached the court in time; others follow an admission or a hearing. The judgment is entered on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, where it stays for six years from the judgment date.
Banks and loan companies use the register to decide whether to lend. Anyone can search it at trustonline.org.uk, for £6 to £10 a search.
Many people first learn of a judgment from a refused credit application or a letter about enforcement. Whatever the route, GOV.UK's warning holds: do not ignore it, or you can be taken back to court and made to pay.
Can a judgment be removed if I pay it?
Yes, if you pay in full within one month of the judgment date: the register regulations say the entry is cancelled. Pay after one month and the entry stays for the six years, marked "satisfied", so anyone searching sees you paid. Pay the claimant, not the court, and keep proof of the payment.
Then ask the court for a certificate of satisfaction or cancellation of the entry. The fee is £19 (court fees EX50, updated 13 July 2026).
How much does it cost to apply?
The court fee for an application on notice is £321 (EX50, updated 13 July 2026). A set-aside application is usually on notice, because the claimant must be told and can object. Help with Fees is GOV.UK's scheme for people with little in savings and a low income or certain benefits.
If you lose, the fee is gone and the judgment stands. GOV.UK adds one more cost of getting it wrong. If you do not go to the hearing, the application is rejected and you have to pay the amount in the judgment. The fee buys a hearing you must attend.
What happens at the hearing?
GOV.UK says you will have to go to a private hearing at the court to explain why you do not owe the money. In practice it is a short hearing before a district judge, in a room rather than an open courtroom.
Three outcomes are common. The judgment is set aside and the court gives a date for your defence. The claim then carries on as if the judgment had never been entered. The judgment is set aside on a condition, which rule 3.1(3) allows, such as a sum paid into court first. Or the application is refused and the judgment stands, with its date unchanged. A set-aside judgment is cancelled on the register.
What if the application is refused?
The judgment stands, the six years run from its original date, and the claimant can enforce it. You can still pay it and have the register marked satisfied. An appeal against the refusal is a different thing from a second application.
Under Part 52 an appeal needs the court's permission, and the notice is filed within 21 days of the decision unless the judge set another period. Ask Citizens Advice or a solicitor before taking that step.
What to do next
Find the judgment: the claim number, the court, the date, and the amount, from the letter or a register search.
If you are not sure whether your judgment can be removed, set aside or marked satisfied, read which word applies to your judgment first.
Docketory's CCJ assessment and removal service, from £129, checks the dates and the register entry. It drafts the N244, the witness statement, and the draft defence for you to file. It does not attend the hearing for anyone. Where a solicitor is needed for the filing or the hearing, it refers you to one, with their fees separate. It does not suit a judgment that is years old with no reason for the delay. Nothing here promises that a judgment will be set aside; that is the court's decision on your evidence. If the claim behind the judgment is a parking charge, start with check your ticket free.
Sources
- Civil Procedure Rules, Part 13
- Civil Procedure Rules, Part 3
- Civil Procedure Rules, Part 52
- Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005, regulation 11
- Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005, regulation 26
- GOV.UK: County court judgments for debt
- GOV.UK: Pay the judgment if you do owe the money
- GOV.UK: Cancel a county court judgment
- GOV.UK: CCJs and your credit rating
- GOV.UK: Civil court fees (EX50)
- GOV.UK: Get help paying court and tribunal fees
Docketory publishes general information based on real disputes. Identifying details are changed and patterns from multiple cases may be combined. This is not legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, contact a solicitor or Citizens Advice.
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CCJ removal or set aside: what the words mean and what works
Removal is a sales word. A judgment leaves the register three ways: paid within a month, set aside by the court, or six years passed. What each one takes.