Administration Orders

If one or more of your creditors has obtained a county court judgment against you, the county court may make an Administration Order. Administration is a court-based procedure where you make regular payments to the court towards the total sum you owe your creditors.

Your total debts must not be more than £5,000 and you will need enough regular income to make weekly or monthly repayments. You do not have to pay a fee for an Administration Order but the court will take a small percentage towards its costs from the money you pay. If you don’t pay regularly, the court may cancel the order and your creditors will be able to take action against you separately to get back what you owe them.

If your circumstances change and you cannot pay as ordered, you can apply to the court to change the order. The court that made the order will tell you what to do. Your local county court can give you details of Administration Orders.

How does an Administration Order work?

The first step in an Administration Order is to apply to the court. For information on how to do this, you can contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau, and further guidance is available from the Courts Service website - look for form N270 under “forms and guidance”. You will need to show that you cannot pay your debts and that you have a county court judgment against you. The court will make an order based on what you can afford, it will state how much you are to pay each month and how long the arrangement will last. Often the court states that you must go on paying until your debts are cleared in full, although some orders ask you to repay only a percentage of your debt.

The order may also state that the amount you repay each month must be reviewed from time to time. You make monthly payments to the court and the court distributes the money to your creditors.

The court charges you for this service – the fee may be up to 10% of your total debt. The court takes a percentage of the court fee every time it pays a share to the creditors.

Admin Order Advantages

• You only have to make one monthly payment to court.
• The payment you make is based on what you can afford.
• Once the order is in place, your creditors cannot take any action against you without first asking the court.

Admin Order Disadvantages

• If you miss a payment, the arrangement may fail.
• You can apply for an order only if you owe less than £5,000 and have a county court judgment against you.
• Administration orders are registered in the Register of County Court Judgments. This will make it difficult for you to get credit. When the order is paid in full you can ask the court to mark the entry in the register as ‘satisfied’ and give you a certificate proving you have paid. You must pay a fee for this.

For further information, complete the contact form on the right.