CCJ register

What happens to a county court judgment after it is entered — the public record that follows the debtor, not the court process that created it.

What exactly is the CCJ register?

It is the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for England and Wales, run by Registry Trust Limited on behalf of HM Courts & Tribunals Service. Whenever a county court enters a judgment against someone, the court sends the details to Registry Trust, which adds it to the register. Credit reference agencies then pick up that record and show it on the person's credit file.

How long does a judgment stay on the register?

Six years from the date of the judgment, whether or not it has been paid, unless it is cancelled or set aside before then. A judgment that is paid in full still shows for the rest of the six years, though it is marked as satisfied once that is recorded — it does not simply disappear the moment the debt is cleared.

Can I get a judgment removed from the register once I have paid it?

Only if you pay the full amount within one calendar month of the date of judgment. In that case, you or the claimant can send proof of payment to the court, which notifies Registry Trust, and the entry is removed from the public register entirely. Pay after that one-month window and the judgment stays on the register for the full six years — the best you can then do is have it marked as satisfied.

What does marking a judgment as 'satisfied' actually change?

It records on the register that the debt has been paid, using Form N443, but it does not remove the entry or shorten the six-year period. A satisfied judgment generally has less impact on new credit applications than one shown as unsatisfied, because it shows the debt was eventually paid, but the judgment itself remains part of the public record until the six years expire.

Does the register ever give someone else power over my property?

No, not by itself. Being on the register just records that the judgment exists and its payment status. A creditor who wants to go further — for example, to get a charging order or a warrant of control — has to apply separately for that enforcement method; the register does not grant any extra power over the debtor's assets.

Can a company or organisation pay to have a CCJ removed early, outside the one-month rule?

No. Registry Trust is explicit that there is no legitimate way to remove a judgment from the register, apart from paying within one month, a successful set-aside application, or the six years running out. Be wary of any service that claims it can get a CCJ wiped from your record for a fee outside those routes — there is no such mechanism in the rules that govern the register.

The register is separate from the judgment itself

Getting a county court judgment and ending up on the CCJ register are two different events, even though they happen almost automatically back to back. The judgment is the court's decision that a debt is owed. The register is what follows that decision: every county court in England and Wales sends its judgment details to Registry Trust Limited, a not-for-profit company that has run the register since the 1990s on behalf of HM Courts & Tribunals Service. Credit reference agencies such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion take their CCJ data from that same register, which is why a judgment can affect mortgage and credit applications long after the court case itself is forgotten.

This matters because people sometimes assume that resolving the underlying dispute, or even paying the debt, automatically clears their record. It does not — the register runs to its own timetable, with its own narrow routes for early removal.

The three ways an entry stops showing

1 Paid within one month. If the full judgment debt is paid within one calendar month of the judgment date, the court can confirm this to Registry Trust and the entry is removed from the register entirely, as if it had never been there.
2 Set aside. If the judgment itself is set aside by the court — for example because it was entered in error or the debtor was never properly served — the register is updated to remove or correct the entry.
3 Six years pass. Whatever has happened to the debt, every entry drops off the public register automatically six years after the date of the judgment.

Paying later than one month does not trigger removal. It lets you apply, using Form N443, to have the judgment marked as satisfied — which records that the debt was paid, but leaves the entry visible for the rest of the six-year period.

Why this matters if you are the claimant, not just the debtor

Claimants sometimes focus entirely on getting judgment and overlook the register afterwards. If a debtor pays you late, it is in both your interests to deal with the N443 application promptly — an unsatisfied judgment that has in fact been paid can draw complaints and, in rare cases, legal challenge if a creditor delays confirming payment without good reason. Keeping the register accurate is a shared responsibility that outlasts the original court case.

A judgment for £2,400 is entered against a debtor on 3 March. The debtor pays the full amount on 20 March — within the one-month window — and sends the court proof of payment.

Removed from register

Because payment landed inside the calendar month, the court notifies Registry Trust and the entry comes off the register entirely rather than merely being marked satisfied. Had the same payment arrived on 5 April — five weeks after judgment — the debtor's only option would have been an N443 application to mark it satisfied, with the entry still visible for the remaining six years.

County Court Judgment

Registry Trust — What is a CCJ?

Form N443 — Certificate of satisfaction

CCJ Register — Small Claims Glossary

What the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines is, how long a CCJ stays on it, and the only ways an entry comes off early.