County Court Judgment (CCJ) Statistics

Last updated: 30 October 2026 · Latest data: Ministry of Justice April to June 2026 (provisional, published 3 September 2026); Registry Trust July to September 2026 · Compiled by IVA Advice Online

A county court judgment (CCJ) is a court order telling someone to repay money they owe. This page brings together the official figures on how many claims and judgments the county courts in England and Wales handle, how many end in default judgments, the size of typical CCJs, and how creditors enforce them.

County court judgments: the latest figures

• County courts in England and Wales made 367,953 judgments in April to June 2026, up 26% on the same quarter of 2025. That's the highest quarterly total since the series started in 2009.¹
• 346,257 of them (94.1%) were default judgments, made because the defendant didn't respond to the claim.¹
• Over the 12 months to June 2026 there were 1,315,589 judgments, up 15% on the previous 12 months. (IVA Advice Online calculation from the quarterly figures.)¹
• Creditors started 495,234 money claims in April to June 2026 (up 13%). The Ministry of Justice says the rise is mostly claims under £500, likely driven by claims to recover money for parking on private land.¹
• Registry Trust registered 354,751 new judgments in England and Wales in July to September 2026, worth a total of £761 million, 12% more than a year earlier.²

County court judgments by year

Source: Ministry of Justice, Tables 1.2 and 1.4.¹ Judgment figures start in 2009. (p) provisional, (r) revised. The figures for October to December 2025 and January to March 2026 were revised in this release to include judgments that had been left out.

• The most judgments in a single year were in 2019 (1,323,750). Numbers fell sharply in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and have risen since, to 1,202,109 in 2025.¹
• The default share has climbed from 89% in 2019 to 93% in 2025.¹ (IVA Advice Online calculation.)

Types of county court judgment

Source: Ministry of Justice, civil workload CSV.¹ Shares are an IVA Advice Online calculation. Default: the defendant didn't respond. Admission: the defendant admitted the debt. Determination: the court set the repayment terms after a part admission or an offer. Consent: both sides agreed. Judge: decided after a hearing.

Money claims by amount claimed

Source: Ministry of Justice, civil workload CSV.¹ Bands include the upper amount, so "£300 to £500" means over £300 and up to £500.

Claims for £500 or less made up 49% of all money claims in April to June 2026 (244,659), up 21% on a year earlier.¹ Over the 12 months to June 2026, creditors issued 1,738,809 money claims.¹ Most claims are processed by the Civil National Business Centre rather than a local court, so the Ministry of Justice doesn't publish meaningful figures by area.

CCJs on the Register of Judgments

Registry Trust runs the statutory Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for England and Wales on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. Its figures count judgments added to the register, so they differ a little from the court figures above.²

• 315,250 new consumer judgments (against individuals) were registered in England and Wales in July to September 2026, 13% more than a year earlier. Their total value was £577 million.²
• The median new consumer judgment was £604 and the most common amount was £285. 45% were for less than £500, and 13% were for more than £3,000.²
• 39,501 new commercial judgments (against businesses) were registered in the same quarter, worth £184 million in total.²
• In 2025 as a whole, Registry Trust recorded 996,261 new consumer judgments in England and Wales (11.8% more than in 2024) and 167,642 commercial judgments.³
• At the end of September 2026 there were 5,726,216 judgments for England and Wales on the register, including 5,070,969 consumer judgments.²

Registry Trust's quarterly statistics don't include a breakdown by local area, so we haven't been able to show CCJs by council. Registry Trust figures are quoted with attribution and aren't included in our CSV download.

How CCJs are enforced

If a judgment isn't paid, the creditor can go back to court to enforce it. The most common route is a warrant of control, which lets county court bailiffs visit and take goods to sell. Creditors can also apply for an attachment of earnings order (payments taken from wages), a charging order (secures the debt on property), or a third party debt order (freezes money in a bank account).

Source: Ministry of Justice, Tables 1.7 and 1.8.¹ Warrant numbers are driven by a small number of bulk users, so they can swing sharply from quarter to quarter.

There were 59,336 warrants of control in April to June 2026, up 44% on a year earlier, and 8,481 enforcement-related orders (down 17%).¹ If a creditor or debt collector is chasing you, see our guides to dealing with debt collectors and bailiffs, including your rights with bailiffs.

CCJs and your credit file

A judgment stays on the register for six years, unless you pay the full amount within one month of the judgment date. While it's there, it can make it harder to get credit.⁴ If you pay after the first month, the entry is marked as satisfied but stays for the six years. Formal debt solutions also appear on your credit file; our guide to your credit score after an IVA explains how that works.

About the data

• Ministry of Justice figures count judgments made in the county courts of England and Wales, by the quarter they were made. They include judgments in all types of claim, but almost all are in money claims.¹
• Registry Trust counts judgments added to the register, and splits them into consumer and commercial. It uses its own reporting periods and processing dates, so its totals won't match the court figures exactly.²
• April to June 2026 court figures are provisional and may be revised. Registry Trust's latest quarter (July to September 2026) is more recent than the latest court figures.¹²
• Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate court systems and aren't included in the court figures.

Common questions

How many CCJs are there each year?

County courts in England and Wales made 1,202,109 judgments in 2025, of which 1,118,041 were default judgments (Ministry of Justice). Registry Trust, which keeps the official register, recorded 996,261 new consumer judgments and 167,642 new commercial judgments in England and Wales in 2025.

Are county court judgments increasing?

Yes. There were 367,953 judgments in April to June 2026, up 26% on the same quarter of 2025 and the most in any quarter since the quarterly series began in 2009. The Ministry of Justice links the rise to more money claims, especially small claims to recover money for parking on private land. Source: Ministry of Justice.

What is the average CCJ amount?

Registry Trust says the median new consumer CCJ in England and Wales in July to September 2026 was £604, and 45% were for less than £500. The most common amount was £285. The mean is higher, about £1,830 (IVA Advice Online calculation), because a small number of large judgments pull it up.

What is a default judgment?

A default judgment is made when the person being sued doesn't respond to the court claim in time, so the court decides without hearing their side. 94% of county court judgments in April to June 2026 were default judgments. Source: Ministry of Justice.

How long does a CCJ stay on your credit file?

Records of judgments are kept for six years, unless you pay the full amount within one month of the judgment. A CCJ can make it harder to get credit. If you pay later, you can ask for it to be marked as satisfied. Source: GOV.UK.

Can a CCJ lead to bailiffs?

Yes. If a judgment isn't paid, the creditor can ask the court for a warrant of control, which lets county court bailiffs visit and take goods to sell. There were 59,336 warrants of control issued in April to June 2026. Read our bailiffs guide for your rights.

Using these statistics

Sources

1. Ministry of Justice, Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2026 (main tables 1.2, 1.4, 1.7 and 1.8, and the civil workload CSV), published 3 September 2026. Figures for April to June 2026 are provisional.
2. Registry Trust, Q3 2026 Summary and Q3 2026 Quarterly Statistics Book (October 2026). Registry Trust data is not published under the Open Government Licence; headline figures are quoted here with attribution.
3. Registry Trust, Q4 2025 Summary (including totals for 2025).
4. GOV.UK, "County court judgments for debt", checked 30 October 2026.

This page provides general information, not advice about your circumstances.