Form N56 UK: Reply to an Attachment of Earnings Application

At a glance

• What it is: Form N56 is the County Court's official reply form — also called a 'statement of means' — for an attachment of earnings application under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971.
• Deadline: 8 days from service of the notice of application and Form N56 (CPR Part 89, rule 89.5(3)).
• What the court decides from it: the protected earnings rate (what you need to live on) and the normal deduction rate (what comes off your pay) — Attachment of Earnings Act 1971, s.6(5).
• Minimum debt: no order can be made to secure a judgment debt of less than £50 (CPR Part 89, rule 89.7(14)).
• Box 10: lets you ask for a 'suspended order' — an offer to pay the creditor directly instead of your employer deducting your wages.
• If you don't reply: the case still proceeds, but a District Judge decides it without your figures, and continued non-compliance with a follow-up court order can — as a last resort — lead to a fine or committal.
• Coverage: this guide covers England and Wales; the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 extends to England and Wales only.

What is Form N56 and when will I receive it?

An attachment of earnings order is a way of enforcing a County Court judgment (CCJ) by instructing your employer to deduct a fixed amount from your wages each pay period and pay it into court, which then forwards it to the creditor. The Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 is the Act that consolidates the law on this method of enforcement.

You receive Form N56 because a creditor with an unpaid judgment against you has applied to the court for an attachment of earnings order. Under CPR Part 89, rule 89.5(1), it is the court, not the creditor, that serves the notice of application together with Form N56 on you. The notice must instruct you to complete and file the reply form within 8 days of service — an instruction that itself counts as a formal requirement under section 14(4) of the 1971 Act (rule 89.5(2)).

The application is made to the Civil National Business Centre, and since 6 April 2016 this procedure has run under CPR Part 89 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, which replaced the earlier CCR Order 27 process.

The two figures the court sets: protected earnings rate and normal deduction rate

Everything you enter on Form N56 feeds into two figures that the court fixes under section 6(5) of the 1971 Act:

• The normal deduction rate — the amount per week, month or other period that the court thinks it reasonable for your earnings to be applied towards the debt.
• The protected earnings rate — the amount, having regard to your resources and needs, below which the court thinks your take-home pay should not be reduced.

How the deduction is actually calculated each pay day

Schedule 3 to the 1971 Act sets out the mechanics. Your attachable earnings on a pay day are your earnings after income tax, primary Class 1 National Insurance contributions and any pension/superannuation deductions have already come out. For an order securing a judgment debt:

• If your attachable earnings exceed your protected earnings rate, your employer deducts the excess or the normal deduction rate — whichever is lower.
• If your attachable earnings are at or below your protected earnings rate, no deduction is made that pay day at all.

For orders securing a judgment debt specifically, a missed or reduced deduction is not carried forward and collected later — it is simply not made up. (This differs from attachment orders securing certain other liabilities, such as maintenance, where shortfalls can be carried forward under a separate rule in the same Schedule.)

Worked example: Priya's protected earnings and normal deduction

Priya, a fictional debtor, has a protected earnings rate of £280 a week and a normal deduction rate of £30 a week.

• In a week where her attachable earnings are £320, the excess over her protected earnings rate is £40 — more than the £30 normal deduction rate, so her employer deducts the lower figure: £30.
• In a quieter week her attachable earnings fall to £295. The excess is only £15 — less than the £30 normal deduction rate, so her employer deducts just £15. Because this order secures a judgment debt, that £15 shortfall is not made up on a later pay day.
• In a week where her attachable earnings drop to £260 — below her £280 protected earnings rate — no deduction is made at all.

This is why the figures you give the court on Form N56 matter: an accurate, well-evidenced picture of your income and outgoings is what allows the court to set a protected earnings rate you can actually live on.

Completing Form N56: what each section asks for

Form N56 asks for full details of your circumstances so the court can make a fair order without a hearing wherever possible.

Boxes 1 to 9: your circumstances, income and existing debts

• Box 1–2: your personal details and any dependants you look after financially.
• Box 3: your employment status — employed, self-employed, unemployed, or a pensioner — with details of your employer or, if self-employed or unemployed, how long that has been the case.
• Box 4: your bank account and savings position.
• Box 5: your total income, including take-home pay, tax credits, a partner's income, benefits, pension and any other income.
• Box 6: your regular expenses — mortgage or rent, council tax, utilities, housekeeping, travel, children's clothing and similar outgoings.
• Box 7: priority debts, meaning arrears only (rent, mortgage, council tax, utilities, maintenance) — not the regular payments already listed in box 6.
• Box 8: instalments and arrears under any other court orders.
• Box 9: loans and credit card debts, and any arrears on them.

The form itself suggests working out a realistic offer by adding up boxes 6, 7, 8 and 9 and subtracting the total from your box 5 income figure. It also recommends enclosing a copy of your most recent payslip if you can.

Box 10: your offer of payment and the suspended order option

Box 10 is where you state what you can afford to pay each week or month. If you would prefer to pay the creditor directly rather than have your employer make deductions from your pay, you can tick the box asking for a suspended order and give your reasons. If the court accepts this and you keep up the agreed payments, the attachment of earnings order remains suspended and your employer is not involved. If you fall behind, the creditor can ask the court to lift the suspension and activate the order.

The 8-day deadline — and what happens if you miss it

If you don't reply at all

If you do not file Form N56 within 8 days, the court cannot use the fast-track route in CPR Part 89, rule 89.7(1) to make an order straight from your reply. Instead, the application is referred to a District Judge, who can either decide it on the papers — usually with only the creditor's figures in front of them — or list a hearing, giving both sides at least 8 days' notice. Either way, not replying means losing your say over how the protected earnings rate is set.

Separately, the court can order you under section 14(1) of the 1971 Act to file a statement of your means, with any payments you make redirected through the court rather than paid to the creditor directly. Failing to comply with that order, or with the original 8-day requirement, is capable of being a criminal offence under section 23 of the 1971 Act — for the debtor, an offence under section 23(2)(c) or (d) can, in the most serious cases, lead to imprisonment for up to 14 days. In practice this follows a process: if you still do not comply, the case is transferred to your home court and you are given notice to show cause why you should not be imprisoned. Committal is a last resort for sustained non-cooperation, not an automatic result of a single missed deadline.

If you reply late

Rule 89.5(5) provides a safeguard: no prosecution for failing to reply on time can be brought unless the notice and reply form were served on you personally, or the court is satisfied they came to your attention in good time — and you still had not paid the creditor what you owe by the deadline. If you pay off the debt in full before the deadline, the creditor must tell the court, and the application does not proceed.

What happens after you send the form back

Once the court receives your completed reply, it sends a copy to the creditor. If the court officer considers your reply gives enough information, it can make the attachment of earnings order without a hearing, sending copies to you, the creditor and your employer. Either you or the creditor can then apply, within 14 days of being served the order and giving reasons, for a District Judge to reconsider it — the judge can confirm the order or set it aside and substitute a new one.

If the court officer decides there is not enough information to make the order on the papers, the application goes to a District Judge, who can determine it without a hearing or list one with at least 8 days' notice to both you and the creditor.

Varying or ending the order later

An attachment of earnings order is not fixed forever. Under section 9 of the 1971 Act, the court can vary or discharge it — for example if your income or outgoings change materially after the order is made. If the order is varied, your employer must apply the new figures once served with notice of the variation, though they are not liable for any delay in the first seven days after service.

If you move to a new employer, the order automatically lapses as against your old employer and has no effect until the court redirects it to your new one — so it is important to tell the court promptly about a change of job.

What to do if you have received Form N56

1. Read the notice of application carefully. Check the creditor's name, the judgment amount, and note the court's reference numbers and the exact deadline date.
2. Gather your paperwork. Pull together a recent payslip, bank statements, bills, and any benefit or tax credit award letters so your figures in boxes 5 to 9 are accurate.
3. Complete every section. Fill in your employment, income, outgoings, dependants and existing debts fully — the court cannot make a fair decision on gaps.
4. Work out a realistic offer. Use the form's own method: total boxes 6, 7, 8 and 9, then subtract that from your box 5 income to see what you can genuinely afford.
5. Decide on box 10. If you would rather pay directly than have your employer involved, tick the suspended order option and explain why.
6. Send the signed form back within 8 days, to the court office shown on the notice of application, and keep a copy of both the form and the notice.
7. Ask for help if your situation is complicated — for example if you are self-employed, dispute the debt, or already have another attachment order in place — from a free debt advice service or an experienced legal adviser.

This guide provides general information about Form N56 and attachment of earnings orders in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at August 2026 and is subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position.

Last reviewed: August 2026 · Next review due: August 2027 or on legislative change.