Form N245: Suspend a Warrant or Vary a County Court Payment Order

At a glance

• What Form N245 does: lets a county court debtor ask the court to suspend a warrant of control and/or reduce (vary) the instalments payable under a CCJ.
• Who uses it: the person who owes the money — no solicitor required.
• Court fee: £15 to apply to vary a judgment or suspend enforcement (EX50, civil enforcement applications — check GOV.UK for the current figure as fees change).
• Help with Fees: available via form EX160 if you are on a low income or qualifying benefits — can remove or reduce the fee entirely.
• Statement of truth: you sign the form with a statement of truth; figures must be accurate.
• After filing: the creditor is given the opportunity to respond; the court usually decides on paper without a hearing.
• England and Wales only: High Court writs of control are subject to a different procedure.

This guide provides general information about how Form N245 works. It is not legal advice on your specific situation.

What Form N245 is and who needs it

A county court judgment (CCJ) is an order made by the County Court in England and Wales requiring a debtor to pay a sum of money to a creditor. The original judgment will usually include either a direction to pay the full amount immediately or a schedule of instalments spread over time.

Form N245 — formally titled Application to suspend a warrant or vary payments made by a court order — is the document a debtor uses when that original arrangement has broken down. It covers two distinct but related situations, and can address either or both in a single application:

1. A warrant of control has been issued. If you miss payments under a CCJ, the creditor can apply to the court for a warrant of control (previously called a warrant of execution). This instructs county court enforcement agents (bailiffs) to attend your address to collect the debt or seize goods that can be sold to pay it. The N245 asks the court to suspend that warrant — pausing enforcement — while the court considers your offer of payment.

2. The instalment order needs changing. Even without a warrant, if your financial circumstances have changed since the original judgment and you can no longer afford the monthly amount, you can use the N245 to ask the court to vary the instalment order to a figure you can genuinely sustain.

The form is published by HM Courts and Tribunals Service and is available as a free PDF download from GOV.UK.

How a warrant of control works — and why timing matters

Understanding the enforcement process helps explain why acting quickly with an N245 matters.

Once a CCJ is in place and payments are missed, the creditor can apply to the court for a warrant of control using form N323. The court issues the warrant and sends it to an enforcement agent. The agent must give the debtor a notice of enforcement (at least seven clear days before attending, under the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013), and will then visit the property if the debt is not paid. At that visit the agent can take control of goods — meaning they are recorded and can be removed and sold if the debt remains unpaid.

Filing an N245 asks the court to suspend the warrant before or during this process. Suspension is not automatic on filing, but it halts the enforcement process while the court considers the application. The sooner the form is filed after a warrant is issued — ideally before the first visit — the more effective the protection. Once goods have been removed and are being prepared for sale, options narrow.

The income-and-expenditure statement: why accuracy matters

Most of Form N245 is occupied by a financial statement. This is not bureaucracy for its own sake — the court uses it to judge whether your proposed payment is realistic and whether enforcement is proportionate given your means.

The statement covers:

• Personal details and dependants. Your household composition, whether you own or rent your home, and the number and ages of people financially dependent on you. These figures affect how the court assesses what counts as reasonable essential spending.
• Income. Every regular source: wages or salary (after tax), self-employment income, benefits and tax credits, pension income, maintenance or child support received, and contributions from others in the household. All sources must be disclosed.
• Essential outgoings. Rent or mortgage, council tax, utilities (gas, electricity, water), food and housekeeping, travel costs, childcare, and insurance. The court looks at the gap between income and necessary spending to determine what is realistically left to pay a creditor.
• Priority debts and arrears. These are debts where non-payment carries particularly serious consequences — rent or mortgage arrears, council tax arrears, gas and electricity arrears, and any other court fines. They appear separately on the form because priority creditors have stronger enforcement options than ordinary judgment creditors.
• Other court orders. If you are already paying under another county court judgment or order, you must disclose it. The court will take competing obligations into account.
• Other debts. Credit cards, personal loans, catalogues, buy-now-pay-later accounts, and similar unsecured borrowing. Listing these helps the court understand the full pressure on your budget and explains why the existing instalment was unaffordable.

The form is signed with a statement of truth. This means the figures you give carry legal weight — deliberately providing false or misleading information is a contempt of court. Equally, figures that are too low (understating income) or too high (exaggerating outgoings) can result in an offer being challenged by the creditor and an unfavourable decision by the court.

Making your offer

At the end of the financial statement, you state the monthly amount you are proposing to pay. This is your offer to the creditor. There is no prescribed formula — the court expects you to work out what is left after essential spending and priority debts, and offer that.

A realistic offer — one that you can genuinely sustain month after month — is more valuable than a high offer you will not be able to keep. If you offer too little, the creditor may object and the court will decide on the papers. If you offer a figure that is obviously too low given your disclosed income, the court officer is likely to set a higher amount. Either way, the income-and-expenditure figures you provide are the core evidence.

The court fee and Help with Fees

There is a court fee to file Form N245. As set out in the civil court fees schedule (EX50) published by HMCTS, the fee for an application to vary a judgment (or order) or suspend enforcement is currently £15. Fees change from time to time — always check GOV.UK for the current figure before submitting.

If paying the fee would be difficult, you may qualify for Help with Fees under the fee remission scheme. You apply using form EX160 (available online or from your local court), which can be submitted at the same time as your N245. The remission can reduce the fee to zero depending on your financial position.

You may qualify if:

• you receive income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Universal Credit (with earnings below £6,000 a year), or Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit); and
• you have savings below the threshold (usually up to £4,250 for fees at this level).

Income-based remission may also be available even if you do not receive benefits, depending on your monthly income and household size. Full eligibility details and the online application are at GOV.UK — get help paying court and tribunal fees.

What happens after you file

Once the form and fee (or Help with Fees application) are received, the court typically:

1. Sends a copy to the creditor. The creditor is given the opportunity to agree or object to your proposed payment. If the creditor accepts, the court usually makes a new order at the amount offered and the warrant (if one exists) is suspended.
2. Considers the matter on paper. If the creditor objects or does not respond, a court officer will usually determine the appropriate instalment by looking at the income-and-expenditure statement. This is done without a hearing in most cases.
3. Issues a new order. The outcome will be a court order varying the original instalment and, where applicable, suspending the warrant on condition that the new amount is paid. Both sides are notified.
4. Either side can seek reconsideration. If either party is unhappy with the officer's decision, they can request that a district judge reconsider it. A short hearing may be listed in that case.

Timescales vary between court offices. A complete application with clear financial figures is processed more quickly because the court does not need to come back to you for missing information.

The Breathing Space scheme and its interaction with N245

If you are under significant debt pressure, you may be eligible for the Debt Respite (Breathing Space) scheme. This gives you up to 60 days of legal protection from creditor action — during a standard breathing space, creditors cannot take enforcement action, and the court will not issue or continue enforcement proceedings including warrants of control.

A breathing space is not the same as an N245 application. Breathing Space is a temporary protection arranged through a debt adviser; Form N245 is a court application for a permanent variation to your payment terms. The two can be relevant at different stages, and for those with multiple debts, a debt adviser can help you work out which route is more appropriate first. Guidance on the Breathing Space scheme for debtors is available at GOV.UK — debt respite scheme.

What happens if a new order is made and you miss payments again

A suspension of a warrant is usually conditional on the new instalment being paid. If you miss the varied payments, the creditor can apply to lift the suspension and the warrant becomes live again. A further N245 is possible — and the court has no fixed limit on the number of applications — but repeated defaults weaken any future application and increase the risk that the court declines to vary again.

If your circumstances change materially after a new order is made, filing a further N245 promptly — before arrears accumulate under the new order — gives the best chance of a further variation being granted.

Practical steps before you file

1. Download the current form from GOV.UK. The N245 PDF is published by HMCTS and is free. Do not use old copies — verify you have the current version before completing it.
2. Gather your financial documents. Recent payslips or self-employment accounts; bank statements for the past two or three months; benefit award letters; your tenancy agreement or mortgage statement; utility bills; letters from other creditors. Having documents in front of you means your figures will be accurate and will stand up to scrutiny.
3. Work out your true monthly surplus. Total monthly income minus total monthly essential spending minus priority-debt payments. That surplus — or a realistic proportion of it — is the basis of your offer.
4. Check whether Help with Fees applies. If in doubt, complete the EX160 anyway — the court will assess it.
5. Send to the right court. The N245 must go to the court that issued the warrant or made the original judgment. Check your court paperwork to confirm the address. Include the case number on all correspondence.
6. Keep copies of everything. Keep a copy of the completed N245, proof of postage or submission, and any response from the court or the creditor.

Last reviewed: June 2026. This page reflects the law and fees applicable in England and Wales as at that date. Court fees are subject to change — always verify the current fee on GOV.UK before filing.