Form EX550: Affidavit of Service for Court Orders

At a glance

• What EX550 is: A sworn affidavit required by CPR 71.5 to prove that an order to attend court for questioning, or a suspended committal order, was personally served on the judgment debtor.
• Why it is sworn evidence: Because non-compliance can lead to contempt of court — including imprisonment — the court demands an affidavit, not merely a certified statement.
• Personal service requirement: CPR 71.3(1) requires the order to be served personally on the debtor, not less than 14 days before the hearing, unless the court orders otherwise.
• What the affidavit must cover: Part A (how and when it was served), Part B (the balance still owed under the judgment), and Part C (the travel-expenses position) — plus a jurat where the deponent swears or affirms the contents.
• Travel expenses: Under CPR 71.4, if the debtor requests travel expenses within 7 days of service, the creditor must pay them. A debtor who was refused a legitimate request cannot be held in contempt for non-attendance.
• Authorised officers: The affidavit must be sworn before a practising solicitor, an authorised barrister, a commissioner for oaths, a notary public, or a court officer — not a party or someone with an interest in the case.
• Consequence of non-compliance with the underlying order: Where CPR 71.4 and 71.5 are satisfied, a judge may hold the debtor in contempt and impose a fine, a (suspended) committal order, confiscation of assets, or other lawful punishment (CPR 71.8).

This guide covers England and Wales only. It is general information, not legal advice.

What Form EX550 is and what it does

Form EX550 is an HMCTS court form for England and Wales, titled "Affidavit (order to attend for questioning and suspended committal order)". It performs a single, load-bearing function in the CPR Part 71 enforcement process: it is the sworn statement that proves the judgment debtor was personally handed the order, records the debt still outstanding, and confirms the travel-expenses question was handled correctly.

Two types of order can be evidenced by EX550:

1. An order to attend court for questioning — sometimes called an "order to obtain information from a judgment debtor" (CPR 71.2). This order compels the debtor to attend a county court hearing centre and answer questions about their means and assets so the creditor can identify the most effective method of enforcement.
2. A suspended committal order — made because the debtor has already failed to comply with an order to attend, and suspended under CPR 71.8(3) on condition of future compliance. Practice Direction 71, paragraph 7.2, confirms that the service rule (CPR 71.3) and the affidavit-of-service parts of CPR 71.5 apply to a suspended order "with the necessary changes" — service of that order must also be evidenced before the suspension can be discharged and the punishment activated.

The single EX550 form is drafted to cover both scenarios, with bracketed options in Part A to delete or complete as appropriate.

An affidavit is sworn evidence — the deponent signs it in front of an authorised officer and, in law, attests that every fact stated is true. Making a false statement in a sworn affidavit used in judicial proceedings can constitute perjury, a criminal offence under section 1 of the Perjury Act 1911. This reflects the seriousness with which the courts treat the Part 71 process: the downstream consequence of a debtor's non-compliance is potential loss of liberty.

How EX550 fits into CPR Part 71

CPR Part 71 contains the rules governing orders to obtain information from judgment debtors. Understanding where EX550 sits requires a brief map of the process.

Step 1 — Obtaining the order (CPR 71.2)

A judgment creditor applies to the court for an order requiring the debtor (or a director or officer of a corporate debtor) to attend court and be questioned about their finances. The court issues the order; it is sealed by the court and specifies the hearing date and location — the county court hearing centre serving the debtor's home or business address, unless a judge decides otherwise.

Step 2 — Serving the order (CPR 71.3)

The order must be served personally on the individual named, not less than 14 days before the hearing, unless the court directs otherwise. Personal service means physically handing the document to the debtor. Postal service, leaving it at an address, or serving a solicitor is not sufficient unless the court has expressly permitted it. If the judgment creditor is responsible for service, CPR 71.3(2) also requires the court to be told at least 7 days before the hearing if service has not been possible.

The person carrying out service must be able to confirm — in Part A of the EX550 — how they identified the individual as the person named in the order.

Step 3 — Travel expenses (CPR 71.4)

Within 7 days of being served, the debtor may ask the creditor to pay a sum reasonably sufficient to cover travel expenses to and from court. If such a request is made, the creditor must pay it. This is not a discretionary step. Part C of EX550 records whether a request was made and, if so, whether it was paid.

The consequence of getting this wrong is significant: CPR 71.8(2) only allows the judge to treat non-attendance as contempt where the creditor has complied with CPR 71.4. A debtor who requested reasonable travel expenses and was refused cannot be held in contempt for failing to attend the hearing. An EX550 that is silent on Part C, or that records a refused request, will undermine any subsequent committal application.

Step 4 — Swearing and filing the affidavit (CPR 71.5)

The judgment creditor must file an affidavit by the person who served the order — this is the EX550 — unless service was effected by the court. CPR 71.5(1) requires the affidavit to state:

• The details of how and when the order was served (Part A).
• How much of the judgment debt remains unpaid (Part B).
• Either that the debtor has not requested travel expenses, or that the creditor has paid the amount requested (Part C).

Timing: CPR 71.4(1) gives the debtor 7 days from service to request travel expenses, and the affidavit's Part C statement is only reliable once that window has closed — so as a matter of practice, affidavits are not sworn before it. CPR 71.5(2) then requires the sworn affidavit to be filed with the court at least 2 days before the hearing date, or produced at the hearing if it has not been filed in advance.

Step 5 — The hearing and consequences of non-attendance (CPR 71.8)

At the hearing, the questioning is conducted by a court officer unless the court has ordered a judge to preside. If the debtor fails to attend, refuses to take the oath, or otherwise fails to comply, CPR 71.8(1) requires the court to refer the matter to a High Court judge or Circuit Judge. Provided the creditor has complied with CPR 71.4 (travel expenses) and CPR 71.5 (the EX550 affidavit), that judge may hold the debtor in contempt of court. The available sanctions under CPR 71.8(2) are:

• A fine.
• Imprisonment.
• Confiscation of assets.
• Any other punishment permitted by law.

Under CPR 71.8(3), any such punishment order must itself be suspended, on condition the debtor attends a further hearing and complies with its terms — which is why a second EX550 (for the suspended committal order) may be needed if the debtor is served with that further order and still fails to comply.

The EX550 is the creditor's evidence that the preconditions to these sanctions have been met. Without it — or with a defective one — the court cannot proceed to contempt.

The three parts of Form EX550 — plus the jurat

The official form (available from GOV.UK or any court office) is structured in three lettered parts, followed by an attestation clause.

Part A — Service

Part A records the name, address, and description of the person served, and asks how the server identified that person as the individual named in the order. The form's own options are: that the server already knew the person served, or that the person served admitted their identity, or another method the server completes in their own words. For service to be reliable, the identification section must be completed accurately and specifically — a vague or incomplete answer is a weak foundation for contempt proceedings.

Part B — Continuing debt

Part B is where the deponent — the judgment creditor personally, or someone speaking to the creditor's knowledge and records — confirms the balance still due under the judgment. This directly answers the requirement in CPR 71.5(1)(c) that the affidavit state how much of the judgment debt remains unpaid. It is easy to overlook this part when focusing on the mechanics of service, but an incomplete Part B leaves the affidavit non-compliant with CPR 71.5.

Part C — Travel expenses

Part C is where the creditor confirms what happened with the travel-expenses request under CPR 71.4. The two possible positions are:

• The debtor did not ask for travel expenses (record this explicitly).
• The debtor asked for travel expenses and the creditor paid the amount requested (state the sum and how it was paid).

There is no third option where expenses were requested and refused. If that happened, the EX550 cannot honestly be completed in a way that satisfies CPR 71.5, and committal proceedings may not be available. Take legal advice if this applies to your situation.

The jurat (swearing or affirming)

At the foot of the form is the formal attestation clause, known as the jurat. This is where the authorised officer records:

• The place and date on which the oath was administered.
• Their name, signature, and capacity (e.g. "solicitor" or "commissioner for oaths").

The deponent signs in the presence of the authorised officer. The oath or affirmation is the formal act that converts the document into sworn evidence. Anyone with a conscientious objection to swearing an oath may affirm instead, with the same legal effect.

Form EX550 versus Form N215: when each applies

A common point of confusion is the difference between EX550 and Form N215, the general certificate of service used across civil proceedings.

| Feature | Form N215 (certificate of service) | Form EX550 (affidavit of service) | |---|---|---| | Legal basis | CPR Part 6 | CPR 71.5 | | Type of evidence | Statement of truth | Sworn affidavit | | Signed before | No authorised officer required | Solicitor, commissioner for oaths, or court officer | | Used for | Most civil court documents | Orders to attend court (Part 71) and suspended committal orders | | Consequence of non-filing | Procedural irregularity, remediable under CPR 3.10 | Bars contempt proceedings under CPR 71.8 |

Form N215 is filed after serving the vast majority of civil court documents. It is verified by a statement of truth but is not sworn. EX550 is required specifically where the order being served can lead to committal, because the stakes demand the higher standard of sworn evidence.

How EX550 fits within the wider law of proving service

EX550 is a narrow, specialised form. It only exists to evidence service of the two order types described above. Most proof of service in civil litigation — including possession claims — happens under a different, general regime, and it helps to see how they connect.

CPR Part 6 is the default rule for proving service. Under CPR 6.1, Part 6 governs service of documents generally "except where another Part, any other enactment or a practice direction makes different provision" — and the rule expressly notes that Part 55 (Possession Claims) is one such example. For most documents, deemed-service dates are fixed by rule rather than left to argument: a claim form is deemed served on the second business day after the relevant step is completed (CPR 6.14), while any other document — orders, applications, witness statements, correspondence in the proceedings — is deemed served on the day set out in the table at CPR 6.26, which varies by method (post, DX, personal delivery, fax, or electronic transmission). Where a certificate of service is required, CPR 6.29 sets out exactly what details must be certified for each method. None of this ordinary Part 6 machinery involves an affidavit — a certificate under a statement of truth is enough.

CPR Part 81 has its own, separate affidavit requirement for contempt applications generally. Unlike EX550, which is confined to Part 71, CPR 81.4(1) requires that "every contempt application must be supported by written evidence given by affidavit or affirmation," unless the court directs otherwise. CPR 81.4(2)(c) further requires the application to confirm that any order allegedly breached was personally served, and the date it was served, unless the court or the parties dispensed with personal service. This is the general rule that underpins committal applications outside Part 71 — for example, contempt proceedings for breach of an injunction. It uses its own supporting affidavit prepared for that application (HMCTS also publishes a separate general-purpose form, PF141, for proving personal service of a judgment or order), not Form EX550, which is form-specific to the two Part 71 order types.

Possession claims and their enforcement sit in the same layered structure. A standard possession claim is served, and its service proved, in the ordinary way under CPR Part 6 — typically a certificate of service (Form N215) or a statement of truth — read alongside the specific rules in CPR Part 55. Where the claim is against trespassers whose names are unknown, CPR 55.6 sets out an alternative service method (attaching documents to the property or fixing them to stakes on the land) rather than personal service on a named individual. None of this requires a sworn affidavit. Sworn evidence only re-enters the picture if enforcement escalates into a contempt application — for instance, where a party breaches an injunction connected to the possession proceedings, or unlawfully re-enters land after an order — because that engages CPR 81.4 in the same way any other contempt application does. Enforcing a possession order itself (via a warrant or writ of possession) is a further, separate administrative step governed by CPR Part 83, which does not itself call for an affidavit of service.

The common thread is that CPR treats proof of service as proportionate to what is at stake: a statement of truth suffices for the ordinary run of civil documents, but wherever the process can end in imprisonment — Part 71 committal, or a Part 81 contempt application arising from any type of proceedings, including possession — the rules step up to sworn affidavit evidence and, usually, proof of personal service.

Who is authorised to take the oath on an EX550

"Administration of oaths" is a reserved legal activity under section 12(1)(f) of the Legal Services Act 2007, defined in Schedule 2, paragraph 8, by reference to the powers conferred on a commissioner for oaths by the Commissioners for Oaths Acts 1889 and 1891. Only an "authorised person" under section 18 of the 2007 Act may lawfully carry it out. In practice, that means:

• Practising solicitors. Section 81 of the Solicitors Act 1974 gives every solicitor who holds a practising certificate in force the powers of a commissioner for oaths under the Commissioners for Oaths Acts 1889 and 1891. Section 81(2) prohibits a solicitor from exercising those powers in a proceeding in which they act for a party or have an interest.
• Barristers authorised to administer oaths by the Bar Standards Board, as a relevant approved regulator under the Legal Services Act 2007.
• Commissioners for oaths appointed under the Commissioners for Oaths Act 1889.
• Notaries public.
• Court officers authorised to take affidavits at the relevant court office.

The Commissioners for Oaths Act 1889 also requires the authorised person to state truly, in the jurat, the place and date on which the oath or affidavit was taken — the same requirement reflected in EX550's jurat.

A practical note: if you plan to file the EX550 at the court office on the same visit, it is worth asking whether a court officer can administer the oath there and then, which avoids an additional appointment elsewhere.

What happens if service was defective

If the affidavit cannot honestly state that the order was personally served at least 14 days before the hearing, and that the travel-expenses and continuing-debt positions are accurate, the Part 71 process is at risk.

CPR 3.10 gives the court a general discretion to remedy an error of procedure — such as a failure to comply with a rule — where it makes an order to that effect; the error does not otherwise invalidate a step taken in the proceedings. However, relying on this discretion for defective service of a Part 71 order is risky: because the process can end in imprisonment, courts scrutinise service closely, and CPR 71.8(2) only permits contempt findings where the judgment creditor has properly complied with CPR 71.4 and 71.5. Courts are unlikely to proceed to committal where there is genuine doubt about whether the debtor received proper notice.

If there was a problem with service, the usual course is to apply for a fresh order, re-serve correctly, and file a new EX550 based on the later service. Taking legal advice before the hearing is strongly recommended if service was irregular in any way.

Practical checklist before swearing EX550

Use this list before taking the form to an authorised officer:

1. Part A is complete. Full name, address and description of the person served; the method of identification completed accurately; the date, time, and place of service recorded.
2. Part B states the true outstanding balance of the judgment debt, per CPR 71.5(1)(c) — do not leave this blank.
3. At least 7 days have passed since the date of service, so the travel-expenses window under CPR 71.4(1) has closed before you swear the affidavit.
4. Part C reflects the true position on travel expenses — either no request was made, or a request was made and paid in full.
5. The order served was the correct, sealed version — not a draft or an unsealed copy.
6. The authorised officer is independent — they must not be a party to the case or have any interest in it.
7. Filing timing is achievable — the affidavit must reach the court at least 2 days before the hearing, or you must be in a position to produce it at the hearing itself.

This guide is general information about how Form EX550 works in England and Wales. It is not legal advice. If your situation involves a dispute about service, defective service, or a debtor raising objections to contempt proceedings, seek advice from a qualified legal professional.

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