The Notice of Enforcement and the 14 clear days

Checked 22 July 2026 · How we check our figures

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What it is

A Notice of Enforcement is the statutory warning that an enforcement agent has been instructed over an unpaid debt, court fine, liability order or penalty charge and intends to take control of goods; most people just call it the bailiff letter. It is not the visit, and it is not the London bus lane Enforcement Notice, which is a different letter entirely. It opens the compliance stage of the procedure in Sch 12 Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and since 1 May 2026 it must be given at least 14 clear days before the agent may take control of goods, reg 6 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013. The fees it starts are priced by stage, and the stages are exactly what the bailiff fees calculator counts.

Reading the notice

The sum demanded normally already carries the compliance stage fee on top of the debt itself; the fee ladder behind it sits in the bailiff fees calculator

The pay-by date is what sets the clock: at least 14 clear days from the notice; clear days exclude both end days, and reg 6(2) drops Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day from the count

The creditor and reference lines say who instructed the agent, a court, a council or a private creditor, and which debt this chain belongs to

The decision in front of you

Payment in full within the notice window closes the matter at the compliance stage: no visit, no enforcement stage fee, and the stage prices sit in the calculator

A payment arrangement made and kept during the notice period can hold the case at the compliance stage; the 2026 reform was designed to settle cases before a visit (MoJ consultation response, gov.uk)

A request by a debt advice provider before the deadline stretches the minimum notice to 28 clear days, reg 6(1A), unless the debt is what the regulations call non-eligible business debt, reg 6(1B)

Where the debtor is a vulnerable person, enforcement stage fees and their disbursements are not recoverable unless, before removing goods, the agent gave an adequate opportunity to get assistance and advice, reg 12 of the 2014 Fees Regulations; and where only a child or vulnerable person is present, control may not be taken at all, reg 10 of the 2013 Regulations

Doing nothing is the option with a price list attached: once the clear days run out the enforcement stage can begin, the visit fee lands, and goods can be taken into control under Sch 12

What happens next

If nothing settles, the enforcement stage follows the notice: a visit, taking control of goods, usually a controlled goods agreement, with the sale or disposal stage as the end of the ladder

Taking control runs between 6 am and 9 pm, reg 13, with exceptions for a court order, business premises open outside those hours and finishing a job already begun, and control must be taken within 12 months of the notice, reg 9

Cases where enforcement began before 1 May 2026 stay on the previous fee scale, SI 2026/366 reg 1(3)

An unpaid court fine and an unpaid penalty charge are the two ladders on this site that end at this letter; the guides for the Further Steps Notice and the charge certificate lead here

The numbers

Minimum notice: 14 clear days, or 28 on a debt advice provider's request (reg 6 Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, in force 1 May 2026; legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-07-22)

Stage fees and the percentage above the threshold are movable: see the bailiff fees calculator at /fines/bailiff-fees, figures dated there

The vulnerable debtor protection covers the enforcement stage fees and their disbursements (reg 12 Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014)

The deadlines

The agent may not take control before 14 clear days from the notice, 28 after a debt advice provider's request, reg 6

Control must be taken within 12 months of the notice, reg 9

Taking control runs between 6 am and 9 pm, subject to the reg 13(2) exceptions

What people get wrong

Treating the letter as the visit: the notice is the compliance stage, the visit is the enforcement stage, and the larger fee sits on the second, not the first

Counting calendar days: clear days exclude the first and last day, and reg 6(2) drops Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day from the count

Assuming vulnerability is a fixed list: the regulations deliberately name no definition, so the reg 12 protection turns on the facts of the person, not a category (MoJ review, gov.uk)

Authority

Sch 12 Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

reg 6 Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, SI 2013/1894, as amended by SI 2026/366

regs 11 and 12 Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, SI 2014/1

MoJ, Taking Control of Goods consultation response, gov.uk