How to remove a CCJ from your credit file

A county court judgment (CCJ) is a court order that might be registered against you if you don’t repay money you owe.

You can get them in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the equivalent process is called enforcing a debt by diligence.

A CCJ stays on your credit file for six years from the date of the judgment.

It is occasionally possible to get a CCJ removed from your credit file before the six years are up. This guide looks at why a CCJ might be removed from your credit file and what you need to do to get it removed.

Is it possible to get a CCJ removed from my credit file?

You may be able to get a CCJ removed from your credit file early for two reasons:

if a mistake has been made
if you pay what you owe within a month of the judgment

If a mistake has been made

If a mistake has been made in the CCJ process, the court may agree to cancel it. This is known as setting aside.

If your CCJ is set aside, it will be removed from your credit file.

To get a CCJ set aside, you’ll need to fill in an N244 form and return it to the court. There’s a £303 fee but, if you’re on a low income, you may be able to get help paying this fee.

How to get a CCJ set aside

You may be able to get a CCJ set aside if it was made without your response being taken into account. This might happen if:

You didn’t receive the claim form because of problems with the post.
The claim form was delivered to an old address.
The lender ignored your response to the claim form or asked for a judgment too early.

As well as this, you’ll need a defence stating why you don’t owe the money. Possible defences include:

The debt was taken out over six years ago. After this length of time, you can’t be asked to pay most debts. This is known as a statute barred debt.
The debt was paid in full before the judgment was raised.
Information on the CCJ is inaccurate e.g. the amount you’re being asked to pay has been worked out incorrectly.

What happens if a CCJ is set aside?

If a CCJ is set aside:

the judgment is cancelled
the CCJ is removed from your credit file

This doesn’t mean the debt is written off or that court action necessarily stops. You and the lender are put back in the position you were before the CCJ was made.

If you have a defence against the claim you didn’t get to raise during the original CCJ process, you’ll get another chance to do this.

If you pay off your CCJ in full within a month of the judgment, the CCJ is discharged. You can apply to have a discharged CCJ removed from your credit file.

Paying off a CCJ within a month of the judgment

If you pay off your CCJ in full within a month of the judgment, the CCJ is discharged. You can apply to have a discharged CCJ removed from your credit file.