Form N316 UK: Order to Obtain Information Guide

At a glance

• What it does: Form N316 asks the court to order an individual judgment debtor to attend a hearing and answer questions, on oath, about their income, assets and outgoings — it does not itself recover any money.
• Individual vs company: Use N316 for an individual debtor. For a company or other corporation, use Form N316A to summon a named officer (usually a director) instead — Practice Direction 71 para 1.1.
• Legal basis: CPR Part 71 — orders to obtain information from judgment debtors — supplemented by Practice Direction 71.
• Court fee (July 2026): £69 to apply (fee 8.3). A further £139 applies if you ask the court bailiff to serve the order (fee 8A.1). Always check GOV.UK for the current figures.
• Service: The order must be served on the debtor personally, normally at least 14 days before the hearing (CPR 71.3).
• Non-compliance: Failing to attend, refusing the oath, or refusing to answer can lead to a suspended committal order — and ultimately contempt of court proceedings — under CPR 71.8.
• What comes next: The order issued by the court is Form N39; the debtor's answers are recorded on Form EX140 (or EX141 for a company officer).

What Form N316 does

When you have a County Court or High Court judgment and the debtor still hasn't paid, the practical problem is usually that you don't know what they own, what they earn, or where their money is. Form N316 exists to close that gap. It is the application a judgment creditor files under CPR 71.2(1) to ask the court to order the debtor to attend court and provide information — either about their means, or about "any other matter about which information is needed to enforce a judgment or order." In practice this covers most money judgments, but the rule isn't limited to debt cases.

If the court grants the application, it issues an order — Form N39 — which must be served on the debtor personally, not by post, at least 14 days before the hearing date (CPR 71.3). At the hearing, the debtor answers questions under oath about their income, outgoings, bank accounts, property, vehicles and any other assets, and is normally required to bring supporting documents such as payslips, bank statements and bills. Refusal to attend, to take the oath, or to answer can ultimately lead to committal proceedings for contempt of court.

What N316 is not: it is not itself an enforcement order, and the hearing does not produce a payment. It is an information-gathering step that positions you to choose the right enforcement route afterwards.

N316 vs N316A: individual debtors and company officers

Getting the right form matters — filing the wrong one can mean your application is rejected or delayed.

Individual debtors: Form N316

Use Form N316 where the judgment debtor is a natural person. The application notice must state their name and address, identify the judgment or order being enforced, and — if it's a money judgment — the amount currently outstanding (PD71 para 1.2).

Company or corporate debtors: Form N316A

Where the debtor is a company or other corporation, PD71 para 1.1 requires Form N316A. Because a company can't personally attend and answer questions, the application must name a specific officer of the company — typically a director — along with that person's position, and it is the named officer, not the company itself, who is ordered to attend (PD71 para 1.2(4)).

Both forms follow the same underlying procedure under CPR Part 71 once filed — the difference is who ends up in the witness chair.

The legal framework: CPR Part 71

The whole process is governed by CPR Part 71 and its supplementing Practice Direction 71. The key rules, in the order they apply:

• Rule 71.2 — you can apply without giving the debtor notice first, and the application notice must be issued in the court or County Court hearing centre that made the judgment you're enforcing, unless the case has since transferred elsewhere. The court can deal with the application without a hearing, and where the paperwork is in order it will simply issue an order to attend court.
• Rule 71.3 — the order must be served personally on the debtor at least 14 days before the hearing, unless the court directs otherwise. If you can't manage to serve it, you must tell the court at least 7 days before the hearing date.
• Rule 71.4 — the debtor can ask you, within 7 days of being served, to pay a sum reasonably covering their travel costs to attend, and you must pay it if asked.
• Rule 71.5 — before the hearing you (or whoever served the order) must file an affidavit confirming how and when the order was served, whether travelling expenses were requested and paid, and how much of the judgment debt remains outstanding.
• Rule 71.6 — the questioning is carried out by a court officer, unless the court has directed the hearing to be before a judge. You (or your representative) can attend and ask questions where a court officer is questioning; you must attend and conduct the questioning yourself if it's before a judge.
• Rule 71.8 — if the debtor fails to attend, refuses the oath, or otherwise fails to comply, the matter is referred to a High Court or Circuit Judge, who can hold them in contempt — though the resulting punishment order is normally suspended on terms that the debtor complies at a further hearing.

This is a legal requirement, not guidance — every step above is a Civil Procedure Rule, and missing one (particularly the 14-day service window) can hold up your application.

Step-by-step: how to apply

1. Confirm you have an enforceable judgment. You need a valid, unsatisfied money judgment (or other order) from the County Court or High Court. If it's old, or subject to a payment arrangement the debtor is honouring, review your position before applying — this is an enforcement step, so there must be something outstanding to enforce.
2. Complete Form N316 accurately. You'll need the claim number, the full names and addresses of both creditor and debtor, the amount presently outstanding, and — if relevant — whether you want the questioning conducted by a judge (with your reasons) and which specific documents you want the debtor to produce (PD71 para 1.2). Sign the statement of truth. An incorrect debtor address is one of the most common causes of a failed personal service later on.
3. File the application and pay the fee. File at the court or hearing centre that made the judgment you're enforcing (CPR 71.2(2)) — not automatically the County Court Money Claims Centre, unless that's where the judgment was made. As at July 2026 the application fee is £69 (check GOV.UK for the current amount); if you're on a low income you may qualify for help with fees.
4. Arrange personal service of the order. Once the court issues the order (Form N39), it must be served personally on the debtor — not by post — at least 14 days before the hearing (CPR 71.3). You can serve it yourself, use a process server, or ask the County Court bailiff to serve it for a further fee (£139 as at July 2026, fee 8A.1). If the debtor asks for travelling expenses within 7 days of being served, you must pay them (CPR 71.4).
5. File your affidavit of service. Before the hearing (or at it), file an affidavit confirming how and when the order was served, whether travel expenses were requested and paid, and the amount still outstanding (CPR 71.5).
6. Attend the hearing, or send a representative. The hearing takes place at the County Court hearing centre serving the debtor's home or business address (PD71 para 2.1). A court officer asks the standard questions; you can submit additional questions in advance or attend and ask them yourself. Use what you learn to decide your next enforcement step.

What happens at the questioning hearing

At the hearing itself, the debtor is questioned on oath — usually by a court officer, using the standard questionnaire set out in Practice Direction 71's appendices (Form EX140 for an individual debtor, Form EX141 for a company officer). You, or your representative, can attend and put further questions where a court officer is conducting the hearing; if you asked for — and were granted — a judge-led hearing, you must attend and conduct the questioning yourself, and the standard form questions aren't used (PD71 paras 4.1–5.2).

The officer makes a written record of the evidence (unless the hearing is tape-recorded), reads it back to the debtor at the end, and asks them to sign it. If the debtor refuses to sign, that refusal is simply noted on the record. Nothing about the hearing orders the debtor to pay you — it produces evidence you can act on afterwards.

If the debtor does not attend or refuses to cooperate

Non-compliance is taken seriously, but the process is deliberately graduated rather than immediately punitive:

1. If the debtor fails to attend, refuses to take the oath, or otherwise fails to comply, the court refers the matter to a High Court judge or Circuit Judge (CPR 71.8(1)).
2. That judge can hold the debtor in contempt of court and make an order imposing a fine, imprisonment, confiscation of assets, or other punishment — but only once satisfied you've complied with the service (rule 71.3/PD71 para 3) and affidavit (rule 71.5) requirements.
3. In practice, the punishment order is suspended: the debtor is given a further date to attend and comply, and the order only becomes enforceable if they fail to meet those terms too.
4. Before discharging the suspension, the judge must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the debtor failed to comply with both the original order and the suspension terms, and that both were properly served (PD71 para 8.5).

The threat of committal is often enough on its own to secure attendance at a rearranged hearing — actual imprisonment for non-compliance is a last resort, applied only after this multi-step process.

Worked example: chasing a debtor's means

Consider a fictional example. Priya obtained a County Court judgment for £6,200 against a former business contact who has ignored every request for payment. She has no idea whether he's employed, self-employed, or has savings, so an attachment of earnings order or a third-party debt order would both be guesswork at this stage.

Priya files Form N316 at the hearing centre that issued the judgment, pays the £69 fee, and asks for two additional questions to be put about a property she believes he owns. The court issues the order (Form N39) without a hearing. She instructs a process server, who serves it personally on the debtor 16 days before the listed hearing date — comfortably inside the 14-day minimum. She files her affidavit of service five days before the hearing, confirming service and that £6,200 remains outstanding.

At the hearing, the court officer questions the debtor under oath using Form EX140, covering his employment, income, bank accounts and property. He confirms he is employed and discloses a bank account. Priya now has enough information to apply for an attachment of earnings order against his salary, rather than guessing at an enforcement method that might return nothing.

Choosing your next enforcement step

The questioning hearing is a means to an end. Once you know what the debtor has, the usual next steps are:

| Enforcement route | Best suited to | |---|---| | Attachment of earnings order | Debtor is employed with identifiable, regular income | | Charging order | Debtor owns land or property with equity — see our guide on applying for a charging order on land | | Third-party debt order | Debtor holds funds in an identified bank or building society account | | Warrant or writ of control | Debtor has goods of realisable value and no better-suited route applies |

None of these follow automatically from a successful N316 hearing — you apply for the one that fits what the hearing revealed.

Common mistakes that delay or derail an application

• Filing at the wrong court. The application generally has to go to the court or hearing centre that made the judgment, not just whichever court is most convenient (CPR 71.2(2)).
• Getting the debtor's details wrong. An inaccurate name or address on the N316 can cause personal service to fail later, wasting the 14-day service window and forcing you to start again.
• Serving by post. Postal service does not satisfy CPR 71.3 — the order must be served personally, unless the court directs otherwise.
• Missing the 7-day notice-of-failed-service deadline. If you can't serve the order in time, you must tell the court at least 7 days before the hearing (CPR 71.3(2)) — leaving it later can mean the hearing goes ahead with no debtor present and no useful outcome.
• Forgetting the affidavit of service. Without it, the court may not be satisfied service was properly effected, which becomes critical if you later need to pursue non-compliance under CPR 71.8.
• Using N316 instead of N316A for a company debtor, or vice versa. The two forms serve different situations and naming the wrong respondent can mean the order is unenforceable against the right person.

What to do next

1. Check your judgment is still enforceable and outstanding. Confirm the balance owed before you spend on a further application.
2. Identify the right form and the right court. N316 for an individual, N316A for a company officer, filed at the court or hearing centre that made the judgment.
3. Budget for the full cost. The £69 application fee, plus service costs (a process server, or £139 for bailiff service), plus any travelling expenses the debtor validly requests.
4. Plan service carefully. Personal service, at least 14 days before the hearing, is where most N316 applications go wrong — build in a margin rather than cutting it fine.
5. Decide in advance what you want to ask. If there are specific documents or lines of questioning you need, put them on the application notice rather than hoping to raise them informally at the hearing.
6. Have your next enforcement step in mind before the hearing, so you can act quickly on whatever the debtor discloses.

This guide provides general information about applying for an order to obtain information from a judgment debtor in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and does not take account of your specific circumstances. The law and fees described were accurate as at July 2026 and are subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position before you apply.

Last reviewed: July 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: July 2027 or on legislative change.