A default judgment is the County Court Judgment you get when a debtor ignores your claim. They have 14 days from service to respond, or 28 if they acknowledge service. If that deadline passes in silence, you ask the court to enter judgment. There is no hearing.
You get a default judgment by waiting out the debtor’s response window and then asking for it. After the claim is served they have 14 days to admit it, defend it or acknowledge service. Acknowledging service moves the defence deadline to 28 days from service. If nothing arrives in time, you request judgment through Money Claim Online or on form N225.
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The clock runs from when the claim is served, not the day you submit it. Money Claim Online shows the date it is treated as served. What the debtor does in the first 14 days decides which deadline you are waiting for.
| What the debtor does | What happens next |
|---|---|
| Nothing within 14 days of service | You can request judgment in default. |
| Acknowledges service, then files no defence | Once 28 days from service have passed, you can request judgment in default. |
| Admits the claim | Not a default: you request judgment on the admission. |
| Files a defence | Not a default: the claim is defended, and the court sets the next steps, usually on the small-claims track for a debt up to £10,000. |
The claim gets to this point once it is issued, for example through Money Claim Online, with the amount set out on the claim form and Particulars of Claim.
For a specified sum it is an administrative step, not a hearing. You request it, and the court enters it.
An unpaid invoice is a specified amount, so once the deadline has passed you simply request judgment. Through Money Claim Online you use the ‘request judgment’ option; on paper you file form N225. You tell the court whether you want the full sum paid at once or by instalments. Judgment is entered for the debt, the interest you claimed and the court fee. The late payment interest calculator works out that interest to the day.
What you then hold is a County Court Judgment like any other. The CCJ guide covers the public register and what happens to the record once the debt is paid. A judgment does not collect the money on its own.
A default judgment is only as safe as the service behind it, so that is the step to get exactly right.
Yes. A debtor can apply to have a default judgment set aside. The court must set it aside if the claim was not properly served on the right address. It may set it aside if the debtor shows a real prospect of defending the claim or another good reason, and it expects them to apply promptly. A judgment that is set aside puts you back to square one, sometimes with a costs risk.
So serve the claim correctly, at the right registered or trading address, and keep a clean record of every step. If there is a genuine dispute, a default judgment is the wrong goal. A defended small claim is. New to the terms here? See the glossary, or read the full recovery process.
Once the claim is served, the debtor normally has 14 days to respond. If they file nothing in that time, you can ask the court to enter judgment in default. If they acknowledge service, they have 28 days from service to file a defence, and you wait for that deadline instead. How quickly the court then enters judgment varies.
Yes, if they then file no defence. Acknowledging service only buys the debtor time: it extends the deadline for a defence to 28 days from service. If that deadline passes with no defence and no admission, you can request judgment in default in the same way.
A default judgment is one way of getting a County Court Judgment. It is the route where the debtor did not respond, so there is no hearing. The result is a CCJ like any other, recorded on the public register. The County Court Judgment guide covers what that record means.
Then it is not a default. If the debtor admits the debt, you can request judgment on the admission, which ends the claim in a similar way. If they file a defence, the claim becomes defended and the court decides the next steps.
Yes. The court must set it aside if the claim was not properly served. It may set it aside if the debtor has a real prospect of defending the claim or another good reason, and it expects them to apply promptly. Correct service and a clean paper trail are your protection.
No. It confirms the debt and records it, and many debtors pay at that point to protect their credit. It does not move the money for you. If the debtor still does not pay, getting the judgment paid is a separate step you take through the court.
Silence is often how an undisputed claim is won. Start with a reminder while the debt is fresh, and keep a clean paper trail for the claim. RobinReturn is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
For undisputed invoices up to £10,000 owed by another business in England or Wales.
Related guidesWhat is a County Court Judgment (CCJ)? · Money Claim Online (MCOL): a step-by-step guide · The N1 claim form and Particulars of Claim · All guides