Are there bailiffs in Scotland?

There are no bailiffs in Scotland. Debts are enforced by sheriff officers, and by messengers-at-arms for orders of the Court of Session. They are officers of the court employed by private firms, and they can only act once a creditor has a decree (a court order to pay), a summary warrant or a similar legal document. Bailiffs and enforcement agents from England and Wales have no powers here.

Why are there no bailiffs in Scotland?

Scotland has its own legal system and its own rules for enforcing debts. The Scots law word for debt enforcement is diligence: the legal steps a creditor can take, through sheriff officers, to recover money you owe.

The laws that give bailiffs their powers in England and Wales do not reach Scotland:

• Enforcement agents, the modern name for most bailiffs in England and Wales, take control of goods under Part 3 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The Act says that part extends only to England and Wales.
• High Court enforcement officers act under the Courts Act 2003. That Act also extends only to England and Wales, with a short list of exceptions that do not include their enforcement powers.

Citizens Advice Scotland says bailiffs from other parts of the UK cannot enforce debts in Scotland. A creditor from elsewhere in the UK has to go through a Scottish legal process and instruct a Scottish officer.

Who does the job of bailiffs in Scotland?

Sheriff officers enforce orders of the sheriff court. Messengers-at-arms do the same for the Court of Session, Scotland’s supreme civil court. Both are employed by private firms, not by the courts or the police.

Every sheriff officer carries a red identity book with their photograph, and must show it to you if you ask. You can also look up an officer by name using the SMASO officer search run by the Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers.

Sheriff officers cannot act just because a creditor asks them to. They need legal authority first, usually:

• a decree, the court order that says you must pay (see what a decree is)
• a summary warrant, which councils use for council tax arrears without a court hearing
• a document registered for execution

Before most kinds of enforcement, you will also be served with a charge for payment, which usually gives you 14 days to pay. The full rules on what officers can and cannot do, including when they can enter your home, are in sheriff officers: your rights.

What do the English terms mean in Scotland?

If you have lived in England or read advice written for England, the words can be confusing. This table gives the nearest Scottish term.

The Scottish rules often give you different protections from the English ones. For example, sheriff officers can only take belongings from inside your home under an exceptional attachment order, which a sheriff grants only in exceptional circumstances.

Can English bailiffs collect a debt from someone in Scotland?

No. But that does not mean a judgment from elsewhere in the UK can be ignored. The Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 lets a creditor enforce the money part of a judgment from England, Wales or Northern Ireland in Scotland by registering it:

1. The creditor asks the court that gave the judgment for a certificate.
2. The certificate must be registered in the Court of Session within six months of the date it was issued.
3. Once registered, it has the same force as a judgment of the Court of Session. The creditor can then use Scottish diligence, carried out by Scottish officers under Scottish rules.

Because Scottish rules then apply, so do Scottish protections, such as the protected balance on a bank account and the right to ask the court for time to pay. Are there CCJs in Scotland? explains how CCJs and Scottish decrees compare.

What about debt collectors who mention bailiffs?

Debt collectors are firms that chase debts for a creditor, or that buy debts and collect them in their own name. They have no special legal powers in Scotland. They cannot force their way into your home, take your belongings, or take money from your wages or bank account.

Firms collecting consumer credit debts must follow Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. Those rules say a firm must not misrepresent its authority or the legal position, for example by claiming to act for the courts when it does not. If a letter talks about bailiffs or ‘enforcement’ and you live in Scotland, you can ask the firm to explain in writing what legal authority it has.

Read more in debt collectors in Scotland, and see how to check a debt company is legitimate if you are not sure who you are dealing with.

What should you do if someone comes about a debt?

• Ask who they are. A sheriff officer must show you their red identity book if you ask. If someone will not show one, do not assume they are a sheriff officer.
• Ask what they are acting on. A sheriff officer should have a decree, summary warrant or other legal document. Read any deadline on the paperwork, such as the 14 days on a charge for payment.
• Stay calm. Do not physically stop a genuine sheriff officer, as that could lead to a breach of the peace charge. You can still ask questions and take notes.
• You do not have to let a debt collector in. They have no power of entry and must leave if you reasonably ask them to.
• Keep everything. Letters, envelopes, names, dates and times all help an adviser check what is happening.
• Get advice early. An adviser can check the paperwork, help you ask for time to pay, and explain every option for dealing with the debt, from informal arrangements to formal debt solutions.

Official sources

• Citizens Advice Scotland: powers of sheriff officers
• mygov.scot: sheriff officer powers and your rights
• Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, section 147 (extent)
• Courts Act 2003, section 111 (extent)
• Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, Schedule 6 (enforcing UK judgments in another part of the UK)