Bailiffs, Notice of Enforcement

A Notice of Enforcement is a statutory precondition to taking control of goods. Paragraph 7(1) of Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 provides that an enforcement agent may not take control of goods unless the debtor has been given notice.

Current minimum period

Regulation 6 of The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, as amended by The Taking Control of Goods (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026, ordinarily requires not less than 14 clear days between giving the Notice of Enforcement and taking control of goods.

• If a debt advice provider submits a qualifying request on the debtor's behalf before the original period expires, regulation 6(1A) of The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 extends the minimum period to 28 clear days.
• Regulation 6(1B) of The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 excludes non-eligible business debt from that extension.
• Under regulation 6(2) of The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, a Sunday, bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day within the period does not count.
• The court may order a shorter period only on the grounds specified in regulation 6(3) and regulation 6(4) of The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013.

Form, contents and delivery

Regulation 7 of The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 requires the notice to be in writing and to contain the prescribed debtor, debt, enforcement, payment, contact and deadline information. The current provision also requires information about free debt advice and the possible extension under regulation 6(1A) of The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013.

Regulation 8 of The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 permits notice by post, fax or other electronic communication, hand delivery through a letterbox, affixing it where there is no letterbox, personal delivery to an individual debtor, and the specified methods for a company, corporation or partnership. The notice must be given by the enforcement agent or the enforcement agent's office.

Evidence to request where notice is disputed

Ask for a copy of the actual Notice of Enforcement and the contemporaneous record showing:

• the debtor and address or electronic destination used;
• the date and method by which notice was given;
• postal dispatch records, electronic transmission records or attendance notes, as applicable; and
• the date on which the enforcement agent says the clear-day period expired.

The court determines a disputed question of notice from the admissible evidence. A missing Form N215 is not a substitute for that evidential assessment.

Twelve-month limit and remedies

Regulation 9 of The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 ordinarily prevents goods being taken into control after 12 months beginning with the date of the Notice of Enforcement. A qualifying repayment-arrangement breach changes the starting date under regulation 9(2), and the court may grant one 12-month extension on the conditions in regulation 9(3) and regulation 9(4) of The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013.

If goods were taken without the notice required by paragraph 7(1) of Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, consider the statutory remedy in paragraph 66 of Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and the application procedure in rule 84.13 of The Civil Procedure Rules 1998. A dispute about fees is separate: regulation 16 of The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 and rule 84.16 of The Civil Procedure Rules 1998 provide the court-assessment route. A notice defect does not automatically invalidate every fee or determine every remedy; the precise breach, loss, fee stage and evidence must be analysed.