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Worried about an attachment of earnings?

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i The advice on this page applies to people living in England and Wales.

What is an attachment of earnings order?

An 'attachment of earnings order' allows money to be taken from your wages to pay a debt. Your employer sends the money to the court that made the order. Then the court sends this money to the people you owe.

This is different from a 'direct earning attachment' (DEA).


  • A DEA is for benefits, tax, or tax credits overpayments
  • You do not need to attend court for it to be made

Attachment of Earnings Order
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If a council is taking money to pay council tax arrears, there are different rules about how it works.

Can council tax be taken from your wages?

Yes, if you miss payments. Your local council must have a ‘liability order’ allowing them to take from your wages. And they should contact you to try and arrange a payment plan before they start applying for any orders. This is a way for you to pay what you owe in a more manageable way, such as a set amount each week or month.

How much can they take?


  • Up to two council tax debts can be taken from your wages at the same time
  • It is a fixed percentage of your wages
  • The more you earn, the higher percentage can be taken
  • A larger amount might be taken if you have arrears from two years’ worth of council tax
  • They will send you a notice in the post telling you how much they will take
  • This ranges from 3% to 17% depending on how much you earn

Read our guide to liability orders to find out more about how it works and how to deal with them.

How can I stop an attachment of earnings order for council tax?

Once an attachment of earnings order for council tax has been sent, it cannot be stopped unless the amount owed is paid in full.

Your employer must make deductions when the order starts. If they don’t, the council can take them to court and give a fine.

Councils can reduce or stop orders if you can prove that it will cause you hardship. If this is the case, you should write to the council and include:


  • A copy of your budget and a list of people you owe
  • Quote Regulation 41(2) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992
  • Ask the council to stop the attachment of earnings, or
  • Ask them to reduce the amount they take from your earnings to an amount you can afford
  • If you have two attachments, you can also ask for one of them to be stopped

It is important you show the council evidence that the order is causing you serious financial hardship.

If you are struggling to pay your council tax, contact us for free debt advice you can trust.

Can bailiffs use attachment of earnings orders?

No, bailiffs cannot use attachment of earnings orders to take money from your wages or benefits. Only the person who is owed the debt can apply to the court for an order.

Bailiffs may be used to try and recover the debt when the people you owe money to apply for a ‘liability order’.

Find out what to do if bailiffs visit your home.

What happens when you get an attachment of earnings order?

The County Court will write to tell you someone applied for an attachment of earnings order.

Do not ignore this letter.

The order can only be allowed by the court if:


  • You work for someone else
  • You are taxed on a PAYE (‘pay as you earn’) basis
  • You get an occupational pension

How to respond to an attachment of earnings order notification:

The letter will include an N56 form or ‘statement of means', for you to respond with:


  1. Complete this form
  2. Attach a copy of your most recent wage slip
  3. Return them both to the court within eight calendar days

If you do not reply:


  • You might get a summons to go to court for questioning
  • You can be prosecuted if you continue ignoring them

You can later ask the court to pause the order.

Beware of scam emails

Some emails titled LEGAL NOTICE OF ATTACHMENT OF EARNINGS are fake.

The writer may claim to be a bailiff, the FCA, or a 'credit investigator'.

Use this checklist:

1. Does the email include details of the debt?

The email should explain:


  • What the debt is and how much is owed
  • Who you owe the money to

2. What address was the email sent from?

It is likely fake if:


  • The email address does not match the company they say they are
  • It is from a personal account like Google or Hotmail
  • The address is quite long and full of numbers and random letters

3. Does the company have a website?



4. Are there red flags in how they talk about money?


  • Do they want a referral fee?
  • Do they want a large lump sum?
  • Are they asking you for personal details like bank account or card details?

A debt advisor can tell you if this email is real.

Get debt advice now

How much you will pay

The court will set how much will be taken by an attachment of earnings.

They will set a ‘protected earnings rate’. This is a minimum amount of income you must get each month before earnings are taken from you.


  • The attachment will only come from earnings over this protected amount
  • You cannot get an attachment of earnings order if you are paid below this rate

You must tell the people you owe if you stop working or change jobs.

Worried about debts?

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CCJs and attachment of earnings orders

If you do not pay what you owe through a CCJ, your creditor can apply for an attachment of earnings.

Ignoring a letter could lead to getting a court summons or even prosecution.

Learn more about dealing with County Court judgments (CCJs).

How to stop an attachment order from a CCJ

You can do three things.


  1. Pay the debt in full
  2. Ask for the order to be ‘suspended’ (stopped)
  3. Make an offer of what you can afford to pay before the order is made

1. If you pay the debt in full

The attachment of earnings order will be stopped.

2. If you ask the order to be suspended

You will need to fill in an N56 form and send it to the court.

In the ‘Offer of payment’ section:


  • Tick the box to ask for a ‘suspended order’
  • This means you are asking to stop money being taken from your wages
  • Write your reasons why you want to stop this
  • This could be reasons like you won’t be able to pay bills, or you might lose your job

You still need to pay the people you owe if the order is stopped. If you miss payments, they can apply again for an order to take money from your wages.

3. If you make an offer of what you can afford to pay

You make an offer of payment to the people you owe before an order is given.


  • Work out what you can afford to pay each month by making a budget and send this to them
  • You could also start making payments towards the debt to show you are willing to pay something

You can make this offer directly to the people you owe, or by filling in the N56 form and showing how much you can afford in the ‘Offer of payment’ section.

How attachment orders affect debt solutions

If you are on a debt management plan (DMP):

Get in touch with your DMP provider. This can affect how much you have in your budget to pay your debts through your DMP.

Your DMP provider will need to:


  • Review your budget
  • Make sure your monthly payment is still realistic
  • See if there are any steps you can take to stop or lower the order

If you have an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA):

For included debts:


  • Your creditors should not try to get this order
  • Contact your IVA supervisor to tell them to stop

For debts not included:


  • Contact your supervisor so that they can look at options
  • You may be able to reduce your monthly payments

If you have gone bankrupt:

Contact your trustee (usually the official receiver or Accountant in Bankruptcy).

They can stop the order and discuss your options with you.

If you have a debt relief order (DRO):

Check if the debt is included in your DRO.

If it is:


  • Send a copy of your DRO to the creditor
  • They should stop the attachment of earnings order

If it is not:


  • Contact the Insolvency Service
  • Your DRO may be cancelled if your overall debt level is above £20,000

Child maintenance arrears: deduction from earnings order

Child maintenance arrears use a different order. This is the deduction of earnings order (DEO).

This is set by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), not the court.


  • They will set a ‘protected’ minimum amount of income
  • Payments will only come from earnings above this amount

You do not need to be in arrears for CMS to enforce a DEO.

Ongoing payments can be taken by DEO if you do not pay the correct amount or do not pay on time.

Magistrates' court fines and paying in instalments

Criminal fines from a magistrates’ court can be taken from your wages.

The amount will be a set percentage of your income. The more you earn, the higher the amount taken.

If you have a summons to attend court:


  1. Go to the hearing
  2. Take a copy of your budget
  3. Give the court details of your income and expenses
  4. Explain what you can afford
  5. Ask to pay the fine in instalments

The court may still make the order, especially if you have missed payments in the past.

Help and advice

Try speaking to your trade union rep, or the ACAS helpline.

You may also want to check your employment contract to understand your employer’s policy towards a member of staff who receives an attachment of earnings order.

If you are dealing with attachment of earnings orders it is a sign that debt advice could help take some of the stress away. Start our free online advice and support service.

Our expert advisors will:


  • Put together a personal budget
  • Give you advice on your situation
  • Explain your rights

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