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- How long is the period, and when is it 28 days instead of 14?
- When does the clock start and how are the days counted?
- What should you do on each day of the 14 days?
- What can you actually do inside the window?
- Can the period be paused or extended?
- What happens if the 14 days have already expired?
- What if no charge for payment ever arrived?
- Related guides
- Frequently asked questions
You have 14 days from the date of service if the person served is within the United Kingdom, and 28 days if they are outside the UK or their whereabouts are unknown. The period is set by section 90 of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987.
A charge for payment is a formal demand served on you by sheriff officers, and it is the step a creditor holding a court decree has to take before executing diligence. Our guide to what a charge for payment is covers the document itself and who can serve one.
Part of your pay is protected by law
The deduction is set by statutory tables, not the creditor
An arrestment can be stopped or replaced
Counting down the 14 days? Get free advice before the period runs out.
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Fourteen days is not long, and an envelope that went to an old address can arrive with a week already gone.
What follows is where the clock starts, how the days are counted, what you can do with the time, and what changes once the period runs out.
How long is the period, and when is it 28 days instead of 14?
It is 14 days where the person served is within the UK and 28 days where they are outside the UK or their whereabouts are unknown. Both periods come from section 90 of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987.
The source is section 90 of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, which is the statute that governs charges for payment and the diligence that can follow one.
The three positions the statute recognises
The period printed on your own charge is the one that governs. It does not change what a creditor can do once it runs out.
| Your position when the charge was served | Time to pay | What the period runs from |
|---|---|---|
| The person served is within the United Kingdom | 14 days | The date of service printed on the charge |
| The person served is outside the United Kingdom | 28 days | The date of service printed on the charge |
| The whereabouts of the person served are unknown | 28 days | The date of service printed on the charge |
Why the 28-day version matters
Working abroad, a posting or a move nobody told the creditor about can all put you in the second row of that table. If that is your position, the period on your charge should be the longer one.
Check what the document says before you assume either figure. If it shows 14 days and you were outside the UK when it was served, put that to a money adviser quickly.
If the charge reached an old address
Tell the creditor and the sheriff officer firm your current address in writing and keep a copy. An address nobody has corrected keeps sending documents to a place you will never see them.
The firms instructed by Scottish creditors and councils include Scott & Co, Stirling Park, Walker Love and Alex M Adamson, and our sheriff officer advice pages explain how each one works.
When does the clock start and how are the days counted?
The period runs from the date of service printed on the charge, not from the day you opened it or the day you understood it. Work to the date on your own document, because that is the one every other date in the process hangs off.
Finding the date of service
Find the date of service before you do anything else, because every other date in this process hangs off it.
That date also starts the two-year period during which the creditor can rely on the charge. So it matters long after the 14 days have gone.
Put the deadline somewhere you will see it
Write the deadline down the day the charge arrives and take it to any advice appointment. The date of service is what any application will be worked out from.
Counting from the day you opened the envelope rather than from the date of service can cost you days you still had. Check the date of service twice before you work anything out from it.
Work to your own document
The date shown on your charge governs your case rather than any figure you read online. If the date of service is unclear or looks wrong, ask the firm to confirm it in writing.
Plain-English background on decrees and diligence is published at mygov.scot, which is a useful check on anything you have been told verbally.
What should you do on each day of the 14 days?
Treat the window as three phases: get the facts straight on the day it lands, get advice and a decision inside the first week, and get everything confirmed in writing before the final days. The table below sets out a plan you can work to.
A day-by-day plan for the window
Day ranges here are a working plan rather than anything in the legislation. The only date fixed by law is the end of the period.
| Where you are in the period | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The day it arrives | Find the date of service on the document and put the deadline in your calendar | Every date that follows is counted from that one, so nothing else can be worked out without it |
| Day one to day two | Check the sum charged against your own records, including the fees and expenses added to it | A figure that was never correctly due is worth querying before you find the money for it |
| Day one to day three | Book a free money advice appointment and take the charge with you | An adviser can apply for a moratorium or start a Debt Payment Programme on your behalf |
| Day three to day seven | Decide between paying in full, offering an arrangement, or a statutory route | Deciding early leaves time for paperwork to be prepared and sent before the period ends |
| Day five to day ten | Put any offer to the creditor or the sheriff officer firm in writing and ask for a written reply | An arrangement holds only if the creditor accepts it, and you need proof that they did |
| Day ten to day twelve | Chase anything you have not had confirmed and tell your adviser the deadline is close | Applications take time to process, so a late start can run past the window |
| The last two days | Pay what you can, keep the receipt, and get the position confirmed in writing | A part payment does not stop the charge expiring by itself |
| Day fifteen onwards | Carry on with the same routes, because expiry closes none of them | The charge stays valid for diligence for two years from service, so the risk period is long |
The day it arrives
Do two things on day one: find the date of service, and check the amount. Both take minutes and both shape everything after.
If a wage arrestment is what you are worried about, our wage arrestment calculator shows the deduction from your own net pay, and the day you receive a wage arrestment notice guide covers the same first-day discipline.
The middle of the window
This is where advice belongs. A free money adviser can prepare a budget, put an offer to the creditor, or start a statutory application while the charge is still live.
Keep a note of who you spoke to and when. If a creditor agrees to hold action while an application is processed, ask for that in an email.
As the window closes
Chase anything unconfirmed and tell your adviser exactly how many days are left. A deadline flagged early is easier to work to, so put it in writing in every message.
Get free, confidential help before your charge for payment expires
What can you actually do inside the window?
Pay or settle, ask the creditor for time, get free money advice, apply for a Time to Pay Order, or apply for a statutory moratorium. Paying in full is the only one that does not depend on somebody else agreeing or a sheriff deciding.
The routes side by side
| Route | What it does inside the period | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Paying the sum charged | Ends the matter outright, covering the debt plus the fees and expenses shown on the charge | Ask for written confirmation that the account is settled |
| A payment arrangement | Can persuade a creditor to hold off, but it depends entirely on the creditor agreeing | Get any agreement by email or letter |
| Free money advice | Gets a budget built and an application moving before the deadline | Take the charge to the appointment so the adviser has the date of service |
| A Time to Pay Order | Where the sheriff grants one, the sheriff must recall any existing earnings arrestment | The debt outstanding has to be £25,000 or less, excluding interest |
| A statutory moratorium | Six months of protection, applied for through the Accountant in Bankruptcy | One per rolling 12 months, so use it to put a longer-term plan in place |
| The Debt Arrangement Scheme | An approved Debt Payment Programme freezes interest, fees and charges | Current-year council tax still has to be paid alongside any arrears included |
Paying, settling or asking for time
Paying the full sum charged ends the matter, and that sum includes the fees and expenses on the document. Sheriff officer fees are set by the court and added to what you owe rather than set by the firm.
Anything short of payment in full needs the creditor to agree, so put the offer in writing and ask for a written answer. Our guide to negotiating a payment arrangement covers what to offer and what to have in front of you, and a council may instead set up a special payment arrangement.
A Time to Pay Order
A Time to Pay Order is the court route, and where the sheriff grants one the sheriff must recall any existing earnings arrestment. For other diligence the sheriff only may recall.
The debt outstanding has to be £25,000 or less, excluding interest, and the test is what is reasonable in all the circumstances. A Time to Pay Direction is a different thing and is not available against a summary warrant, because a direction responds to a court action.
It is not settled whether an earnings arrestment on its own satisfies the conditions in section 5(1)(b), so treat this as a route to check rather than an entitlement. A money adviser or the sheriff clerk at your local sheriff court can confirm whether an application is competent on your facts.
Free money advice and the statutory solutions
Advisers at Citizens Advice Scotland, StepChange, Money Advice Scotland and National Debtline can build a budget and put an application in, and so can your council’s own money advice team. Several can also start a Debt Arrangement Scheme application, which stops an existing earnings arrestment once a Debt Payment Programme is approved.
A protected trust deed ends an earnings arrestment on the date of protection rather than on signing, under s.173 of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016. Money already deducted before that date is credited against the debt rather than refunded.
Can the period be paused or extended?
There is no extension to ask for on the charge itself. What can protect you inside the window is a statutory moratorium, which is applied for through the Accountant in Bankruptcy.
What a moratorium does
A statutory moratorium gives six months of protection and you get one per rolling 12 months. It stops service of a charge for payment, stops new diligence and stops creditor petitions for sequestration.
It does not stop a creditor obtaining a decree, and interest and charges keep accruing throughout.
It is applied for through the Accountant in Bankruptcy, usually via a money adviser, and the six-month period was made permanent by section 23 of the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022.
Using the six months properly
Because it is limited to one per rolling 12 months, a moratorium is best spent putting a longer-term solution in place. Using it simply to postpone the problem wastes the one you get.
A narrow exception applies to certain former joint applicants to the Debt Arrangement Scheme. Ask an adviser whether it touches your case before you assume it does.
What happens if the 14 days have already expired?
The creditor can execute diligence, which means an earnings arrestment, a bank arrestment, attachment of goods, or an application for an exceptional attachment order. Expiry does not close the routes above, and it does not mean anything happens the next morning.
What expiry opens up
The charge stays valid for diligence for two years from the date of service, so the risk period is far longer than the fortnight. Our guide to what happens after the 14 days expire sets out the sequence in detail.
On monthly net pay of £1,800.00 an earnings arrestment takes £172.50 a month, and on £2,200.00 it takes £252.50. The tables were set by the Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 and have applied since 6 April 2025.
What is still open to you
A payment arrangement, a Time to Pay Order, the Debt Arrangement Scheme and a statutory moratorium all survive expiry. None of them depends on the 14 days still running.
So a missed deadline is a worse position rather than a closed one. The sooner you act, the fewer of those routes have been overtaken by events.
What if no charge for payment ever arrived?
For council tax collected under a summary warrant, the council can move to an earnings arrestment without first serving a charge for payment. A charge is required for ordinary court decrees, which is why the two situations feel so different.
The council tax position
A summary warrant is granted by the sheriff court on the council’s application supported by a certificate, with no hearing and no chance to contest liability at that point. A 10% statutory surcharge is added to the outstanding council tax when it is granted.
That is why council tax arrears can reach wages without a charge for payment first. Our council tax debt advice page covers what to ask a recovery team for.
If you think a charge was served but never reached you
Write to the creditor and the sheriff officer firm with your current address and ask for a copy of the charge and the date of service. Keep the copy, because the date on it decides everything else.
Then take it to a money adviser and ask about the position on service. That question is worth putting to somebody who can see the document.
Frequently asked questions
How long do you have to respond to a charge for payment in Scotland?
You have 14 days from the date of service if the person served is within the UK, and 28 days if they are outside the UK or their whereabouts are unknown. Section 90 of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 sets both periods.
What if you cannot tell when the charge was served?
Ask the sheriff officer firm named on the document to confirm the date of service in writing. Work to your own document rather than to any figure you have read elsewhere.
When does the 14 days start running?
From the date of service printed on the charge, not from the day you opened it or the day you first understood it. Work to the date on your own document rather than any figure you read elsewhere.
Can you get an extension on a charge for payment?
There is no extension to request. A statutory moratorium is the mechanism that protects you, it lasts six months, and you get one per rolling 12 months.
Does paying something stop the charge expiring?
A part payment does not stop the period running out by itself. Any agreement to hold action has to come from the creditor, so get it confirmed in writing.
What happens if you miss the deadline on a charge for payment?
The creditor can execute diligence, including an earnings arrestment, a bank arrestment or attachment of goods. The routes out stay open, so a missed deadline is a worse position rather than a closed one.
Is a charge for payment served before a council tax wage arrestment?
Not necessarily. For council tax under a summary warrant, the council can move to an earnings arrestment without first serving a charge for payment.
Does a charge for payment stop being valid after 14 days?
The time you have to pay ends, but the charge itself stays valid for diligence for two years from service. That is the number worth writing down alongside the deadline.
Get free, confidential help with your charge for payment today
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Written as general information about Scottish debt law rather than regulated financial or legal advice, and your own circumstances may change the answer. Free, impartial help is available from Citizens Advice Scotland, StepChange, Money Advice Scotland and National Debtline.