How To Remove a CCJ From Your Credit Report?
Written by, Marija Petkova
Updated September, 19, 2022
Having a CCJ (Country Court Judgement) on your credit record will lower your credit score and impact your ability to borrow money or get credit.
Here’s how to remove a CCJ from your credit report, when you can do that, and how.
Let’s dive in.
CCJ Removals: How To Remove a CCJ From Your Credit Report?
There are several ways you can remove a CCJ from your credit file.
Paying off the CCJ within one month
If you manage to pay what you owe within 30 days after you’ve received a CCJ, you can apply to have it removed from your credit report and the public register.
The first step to getting your CCJ removed involves applying for a ‘certificate of cancellation’ from the Country Court centre that issues the judgement. You’ll need to provide proof that you’ve paid your debt and pay a £14 court fee (it’s free for people who have an income that’s below a certain threshold).
After the court has evidence that you’ve paid the CCJ in fewer than 30 days, they will reach out to the Registry Trust and remove the judgment from the public register.
Waiting for 6 years
If you pay off your debt after more than 30 days, you can only remove the CCJ from your report after 6 years.
If you decide to wait for the 6 years to pass, the CCJ will drop off your report automatically, even if you don’t pay off your debt in that time.
If you do pay it off during this period (but after 30 days), you can apply for a ‘certificate of satisfaction’. It will not remove the CCJ from your credit file but will show to anyone who checks on the register that the debt was ‘satisfied’.
You may be interested in: How to get a mortgage with a CCJ?
Applying to have the CCJ set aside
If you receive a CCJ you don’t agree with, you can apply to cancel it with an N244 form. You’ll be required to pay a court fee, but if your application is successful, you’ll be reimbursed.
Note that you can only set aside a CCJ in certain situations, including:
- If the form was posted to the wrong address.
- If you weren’t home at the time, the papers from the court were sent.
- You have a real prospect of successfully defending your case.
- You’ve paid the whole amount claimed.
Once your CCJ has been set aside, the court will contact the Registry Trust so they can remove it from your records. However, if this doesn’t happen, you can contact the Registry Trust yourself and send them evidence of the court’s decision.
Obtaining an IVA
Removing a CCJ can be done through an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) if you include your CCJ debt in your IVA proposal. If approved, your creditors will receive their money from your single monthly payments, and they won’t be allowed to chase you for the debt outside the IVA agreement.
IVA proposals are only approved if at least 75% of all creditors agree.
You may be interested in:
Methods That Won’t Remove a CCJ
If you’ve received a CCJ from a creditor, it is crucial to respond within the given timeframe. Ignoring a CCJ puts you at risk of further actions being taken against you.
A timely response to the CJJ will give you enough time to dispute the judgement and come to an arrangement to pay off what you can afford.
This way, you might be able to avoid a CCJ’s footprint on your credit file and keep your credit score.
How Long Does a CCJ Take To Be Removed From Your Credit File?
Unless you’ve paid the full amount of the debt within one month of the judgement and had the CCJ removed from your credit file, it will stay on your credit report for the next 6 years.
This will negatively affect your credit score and make it more difficult to get a mortgage, a credit, or a loan, even though there are lenders that offer loans to people with a CCJ.
Your CCJ will be added to a public database called the Register of Judgements, Orders and Fines, which is operated by the Registry Trust and can be accessed by anyone willing to pay a 4£ fee, including potential lenders.
Bottom Line
Removing a CCJ from your credit file is not always possible but can be done if you can afford to pay your debt within a certain timeframe or in cases where the CCJ was unfairly applied.
Alternatively, you could wait for 6 years, and the CCJ will be automatically removed. However, the CCJ will affect your credit score and ability to take out a loan during this time.
Frequently Asked Questions And Their Answers
How do I remove a CCJ before 6 years?
You can either pay the debt in full within a month after you receive it or apply to the court for your CCJ to be set aside. Obtaining an IVA could also remove your CCJ from the register.
Do I still have to pay a CCJ after 6 years?
The CCJ will be removed from your credit file and the public register, but the debtor can still chase you for the debt and take action to recover what you owe.
Are CCJs ever written off?
You may get some of your debt written off if it’s unlikely that you can afford the debt.
How to remove a CCJ from your credit report if you’ve paid off the debt after one month?
If you paid off your CCJ after one month, you won’t be able to remove it from your credit report or the public register.
My name is Marija, and I'm a financial writer at DontDisappointMe. Although finance might not be everyone's cup of tea, my 10+ years of working in one of the biggest banks in my country, and my interest in extensive research on everything finance/investment-related, have made me somewhat of an expert in the field (if I do say so myself). No longer having the passion to work in a corporate setting, I decided that I couldn't let all of this knowledge go to waste so I started writing. And, here I am! Today I try to share my knowledge with my audience in the hopes of making this topic as simple and interesting as possible. In my leisure time, I like spending time with my family and travelling to new locations.