What is a decree in Scotland?

In Scottish debt cases, a decree is a formal court order saying you must pay money to a creditor. It is usually granted by a sheriff court, often without a hearing when the person being sued does not respond, which is called a decree ‘in absence’. Once a creditor has a decree they can use sheriff officers to enforce it, and under Scots law it can generally be enforced for up to 20 years.

What does a decree mean?

A decree is the court’s decision that you owe a sum of money and must pay it. It can include interest and the creditor’s court expenses as well as the debt itself.

Most debt decrees come from the sheriff courts:

• Simple procedure is used for claims of £5,000 or less. The sheriff’s decision is set out on a Decision Form. See simple procedure in Scotland.
• Ordinary cause is used for larger claims and is more formal.

Larger or more complex claims can also be brought in the Court of Session.

Decree in absence

Many debt decrees are granted in absence, because the person being sued did not take part. In simple procedure, if no Response Form or Time to Pay Application reaches the court by the last date for a response, the creditor can send an Application for a Decision within 2 weeks. The sheriff can then decide the claim without hearing from you. If the creditor does not apply within those 2 weeks, the sheriff must dismiss the claim.

A decree in absence can be enforced in the same way as any other decree.

How long does a decree last?

Most unpaid debts, such as credit cards and loans, are wiped out after 5 years without payment, written acknowledgement or court action. That 5-year rule does not apply to an obligation to obey a court decree: Schedule 1 to the 1973 Act excludes it. Instead, a decree falls under the 20-year rule in section 7, which says the obligation is extinguished 20 years after the date it became enforceable. Citizens Advice Scotland also says a creditor has 20 years to enforce a decree.

In practice, a decree lasts a very long time, so do not assume it will go away. Read more in statute-barred debt in Scotland.

How long a decree lasts is a separate question from how long it shows on your credit file. mygov.scot says it is noted there for six years from the date of the judgement. Are there CCJs in Scotland? explains the public register and how a decree can be marked as satisfied.

What can happen after a decree?

A decree gives the creditor the right to use diligence, the legal steps for enforcing a debt, carried out by sheriff officers. Usually the first step is a charge for payment, which gives you 14 days to pay, or 28 days if you are outside the UK or nobody knows where you are.

If the charge runs out unpaid, mygov.scot lists what can follow:

• earnings arrestment: money taken from your wages by your employer
• bank arrestment: money in your account frozen above a protected £1,000
• attachment: belongings kept outside your home taken and sold
• money attachment: cash, cheques or postal orders at your premises taken
• inhibition: you are stopped from selling or borrowing against property you own

An unpaid charge also counts in law as ‘apparent insolvency’, which a creditor owed at least £5,000 can use to petition for your sequestration (bankruptcy). Sheriff officer fees are usually added to what you owe.

Can you get time to pay after a decree?

Yes, in many cases. Once a charge for payment has been served or an arrestment made, you can apply to the sheriff for a time to pay order to pay by instalments or as a lump sum later. You cannot get one if you already had time to pay for the same debt, including a time to pay direction made when the decree was granted, and the debt must be within the £25,000 limit.

When a proper application is received, the sheriff makes an interim order that pauses some enforcement while the application is decided. For example, a new earnings arrestment cannot be served, and frozen bank money cannot be released to the creditor. Asking the court for time to pay explains how to apply.

Can a decree be recalled?

Sometimes. Recall means the court cancels its decision so the case can carry on and be decided properly. It is not a way to wipe out a debt you owe, but it gives you the chance to respond properly, for example if you never received the claim, had already paid, or do not owe the money.

In simple procedure cases

The Simple Procedure Rules say:

• you can apply to recall a decision the sheriff made in your absence
• you can apply at any time before the decision has been fully carried out
• you can only apply for recall once in a case
• you apply using an Application to Recall form, and if you want to dispute the claim you must include a completed Response Form
• if it is your first application, the sheriff arranges a discussion in court, and you must send a copy of your application to the creditor at least 5 days before it

If the sheriff recalls the decision, they give both sides orders setting out the next steps. A decree that is recalled is removed from the public register.

In other cases

For decrees granted in ordinary cause cases or in the Court of Session, a different and more formal procedure applies, with its own time limits. You are likely to need a solicitor. Get advice as soon as you learn about the decree.

Official sources

• mygov.scot: sheriff court decrees on debt
• Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 7 (20-year prescription)
• Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, Schedule 1 (obligations excluded from the 5-year rule)
• Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure) 2016, Schedule 1, Part 13 (recalling a decision)
• Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, including sections 5, 6 and 8 (time to pay orders and interim orders)