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- What does expiry actually change?
- Which types of diligence become competent once the charge expires?
- How long can a creditor rely on an expired charge?
- How much can an earnings arrestment take from your pay?
- What happens to money in your bank account?
- Can sheriff officers take your belongings once the charge has expired?
- What can you still do after the charge has expired?
- Related guides
- Frequently asked questions
Once the 14 days run out, the creditor can execute diligence: an earnings arrestment, a bank arrestment, attachment of goods outside your home, or an application for an exceptional attachment order. The expired charge stays usable for those steps for two years from the date it was served.
A charge for payment is a formal demand served by sheriff officers under s.90 of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, and it is the last warning before enforcement. Our guide to what a charge for payment is covers what the document looks like and who serves it.
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
Charge for payment about to run out? Get free advice before the first deduction.
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The period to pay is 14 days if you are in the UK, and 28 days if you are abroad or your whereabouts are unknown. How long you have to respond to a charge for payment sets out how those days are counted.
Expiry changes what a creditor is allowed to do, not what is certain to happen.
What does expiry actually change?
It makes diligence competent. No enforcement step happens by itself on day 15, nothing is added to the debt by the calendar alone, and no further hearing takes place.
Competent is not the same as automatic
Competent is the legal word for permitted. The charge does not instruct anyone to act, it removes the obstacle to acting.
A creditor still has to pick a route and pay for the step.
What expiry does and does not mean
| What you are asking | The answer once the 14 days have gone |
|---|---|
| Does something happen on day 15? | No. Nothing is triggered by the date itself, and a creditor has to instruct a step before anything moves |
| Does the debt go up because the deadline passed? | Not because of the calendar. Sheriff officer fees are set by the court and added to what you owe as steps are actually taken |
| Is there a hearing once the days run out? | No hearing follows expiry. Diligence is executed rather than applied for, with the exceptional attachment order as the single exception |
| Is the charge used up once it expires? | No. It stays valid for diligence for two years from the date it was served |
| Can you still pay or reach an arrangement? | Yes. Nothing about expiry closes off paying, negotiating or applying for a statutory debt solution |
| Can you be imprisoned for council tax arrears? | No. Non-payment of council tax cannot lead to imprisonment in Scotland, because it is a civil debt and the committal power in England and Wales does not apply in Scots law |
Which types of diligence become competent once the charge expires?
Four routes open up: an earnings arrestment against your wages, a bank arrestment against your account, attachment of goods outside your home, and an application to the sheriff for an exceptional attachment order.
Diligence is the Scottish legal word for enforcement. Each route reaches something different, and each has to be instructed separately.
The four routes side by side
| Route | What it reaches | What has to be in place first |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings arrestment | Net pay from one employer, deducted by payroll under the statutory tables | An expired charge for payment, or a summary warrant for council tax, plus the creditor knowing who employs you |
| Bank arrestment | Funds in a personal account above the protected minimum balance of £1,000 | An expired charge for payment on an ordinary court decree, plus the creditor knowing where you bank |
| Attachment of goods | Goods outside a dwelling, for example in a garden, a driveway or business premises | An expired charge for payment. It reaches nothing inside your home |
| Exceptional attachment order | Non-essential goods inside a home, and it is the only route to reaching goods inside one | An application to the sheriff, who must be satisfied there are exceptional circumstances. These orders are rare |
Only one arrestment can hit your wages at a time
Only one diligence against earnings can operate against the same employment at a time. A second ordinary creditor has to apply instead for a conjoined arrestment order, administered by the sheriff clerk.
A current maintenance arrestment can run alongside one. Everything else has to queue.
Why a council tax reader may never see this clock
Council tax collected under a summary warrant works differently. The council can move to an earnings arrestment without first serving a charge for payment, so the 14 days never run at all.
That is why deductions can start with no charge in the post beforehand. Our guide on what to do if you receive a summary warrant covers that route.
How long can a creditor rely on an expired charge?
A charge remains valid for diligence for two years from the date it was served. After that, a creditor who still wants to enforce has to instruct a fresh charge and start the 14 days again.
The two-year window
The clock runs from service, not from the day the 14 days ended. A charge served in March is good until March two years later.
Silence is not the same as the matter going away, so keep the date of service.
What happens when the two years run out
The debt does not disappear. What lapses is the charge, so a new one has to be served before diligence can run again.
A fresh charge means fresh fees, set by the court and added to what you owe. It also hands you another 14 days, so read the guidance on debts and decrees before that closes too.
Where prescription fits in
Charge validity is a different thing from prescription. Most consumer debts are extinguished after five years under s.6 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 with no claim, payment or written acknowledgement.
Council tax is excluded by Schedule 1 paragraph 2(fd) and falls under the 20-year prescription in s.7. Executing diligence is a relevant claim under s.9, which since 28 February 2025 extends that period until the claim is finally disposed of rather than restarting it.
A payment or a written acknowledgement does not affect the 20-year period at all, and s.13A presumes an obligation extinguished unless the creditor proves otherwise. The five-year rule in s.6 is unchanged.
How much can an earnings arrestment take from your pay?
Deductions come off net earnings after tax, National Insurance and pension contributions, using the statutory tables. Monthly net pay up to £750.00 is protected in full.
The current tables were set by the Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 and have applied since 6 April 2025.
The monthly deduction table
| Monthly net earnings | Deduction |
|---|---|
| Not exceeding £750.00 | Nil |
| Over £750.00 but not over £1,500.00 | £10.00 or 15% of the excess over £750.00, whichever is greater |
| Over £1,500.00 but not over £2,500.00 | £112.50 plus 20% of the excess over £1,500.00 |
| Over £2,500.00 but not over £3,750.00 | £312.50 plus 25% of the excess over £2,500.00 |
| Over £3,750.00 | £625.00 plus 50% of the excess over £3,750.00 |
Worked examples
- Monthly net pay of £1,800.00: £172.50 a month.
- Monthly net pay of £2,200.00: £252.50 a month.
- Monthly net pay of £749.00: nil, because it sits under the £750.00 protected band.
- Weekly net pay of £400.00: £36.85 a week.
There is no affordability discount on these figures. Our wage arrestment calculator works out your own number from your payslip.
What your employer has to do
Your employer has to operate the arrestment once the schedule is served, and refusing makes them liable for what they should have deducted. They may take £1.00 per deduction as an administration charge on top.
Get free, confidential help after a charge for payment has expired
What happens to money in your bank account?
A bank arrestment freezes what sits in the account above a protected minimum balance of £1,000.00. The frozen money goes to the creditor 14 weeks after execution unless you object or sign a mandate first.
The protected minimum balance applies to personal rather than business accounts, and it is set at £1,000.00 by s.73F(3)(a) of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987. An arrestment can attach only the balance above that figure.
Objecting to a bank arrestment
A notice of objection has to be lodged within four weeks of execution. That is a much shorter window than the 14 weeks before release, so it needs attention early.
There is also an unduly harsh application under ss.73Q and 73R, made in Form 63G under rule 69E. The sheriff must order release of the funds where satisfied the arrestment is unduly harsh to you or a dependant.
It reaches a council’s bank arrestment too. There is no equivalent hardship route against an earnings arrestment.
Benefits and joint accounts
Benefits and tax credits should not be arrested where they are clearly identified in the account. Banks do not always identify them, so you may need to raise it with evidence.
Joint accounts are messier. The bank usually freezes the balance above the protected minimum even where one holder is not the debtor, and that holder’s claim is slow.
Can sheriff officers take your belongings once the charge has expired?
Not from inside your home under an ordinary attachment, which reaches only goods outside a dwelling. Reaching goods inside your home needs an exceptional attachment order from the sheriff, and those are rare.
The creditor instructs a sheriff officer firm, and the firms working for Scottish councils include Scott & Co, Stirling Park, Walker Love and Alex M Adamson.
They are officers of the court appointed by the sheriff, not bailiffs. Their fees are set by the court and added to what you owe.
What an ordinary attachment reaches
Attachment reaches only goods outside a dwelling, so a garden, a driveway or business premises are in scope and the inside of your house is not. An item inside the house is out of its reach.
A car may be exempt where it is reasonably required and of modest value, and a money adviser or the officer’s inventory can confirm the current threshold. Our guide to what powers sheriff officers have sets out the wider limits.
The exceptional attachment order test
The sheriff has to be satisfied there are exceptional circumstances. That means a charge served and expired, less intrusive diligence tried or plainly not enough, and reasonable attempts to negotiate.
Non-essential goods also have to stand a realistic prospect of raising enough at auction. The sheriff considers whether you have sought money advice and whether a Debt Arrangement Scheme application is under way.
Entry cannot be attempted where only children under 16, or someone unable to understand the proceedings, are present.
Goods that cannot be attached
The Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 protects a long list of household essentials from attachment altogether.
- Clothing, beds and bedding, household linen, and food.
- Medical aids, a fridge, heating and lighting appliances, and cleaning and laundry equipment.
- Furniture reasonably required for storage, seating and dining, plus curtains and floor coverings.
- Articles for a child’s upbringing, education or health, and children’s toys.
- Tools, books and equipment reasonably required for work, trade or education, up to a total value of £1,000, plus computers and telecoms equipment reasonably required by the household.
Money in the home cannot be attached at all, apart from antique or collector’s coins.
What can you still do after the charge has expired?
A Time to Pay Order, the Debt Arrangement Scheme, a protected trust deed, sequestration and a statutory moratorium are all available after expiry. Several of them stop diligence that is already running.
The five routes side by side
| Route | What it does to enforcement | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Time to Pay Order | Where the sheriff grants one, the sheriff must recall any existing earnings arrestment. For other diligence the sheriff only may recall | Competent against a summary warrant. The debt outstanding has to be £25,000 or less, excluding interest |
| Debt Arrangement Scheme | An approved Debt Payment Programme stops an existing earnings arrestment and blocks new diligence | You repay in full, with interest, fees and charges frozen. Current-year council tax has to keep being paid |
| Statutory moratorium | Stops service of a charge for payment, stops new diligence and stops creditor petitions for sequestration | Six months, one per rolling 12 months. Interest and charges keep accruing |
| Protected trust deed | An earnings arrestment ceases on the date of protection, not on the date you sign | Formal insolvency, recorded on the public Register of Insolvencies |
| Sequestration | An earnings arrestment ceases on the date of sequestration, by operation of law | The Minimal Asset Process counts as sequestration for this purpose |
A Time to Pay Order
A Time to Pay Order is applied for after decree and is competent against a summary warrant. Where the sheriff grants one, the sheriff must recall any existing earnings arrestment, and only may recall other diligence.
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 not available against summary warrant debt, because a direction answers a court action.
It is not settled whether an earnings arrestment alone satisfies s.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 competency on your facts.
The Debt Arrangement Scheme
Once a Debt Payment Programme is approved under the Debt Arrangement Scheme, an existing earnings arrestment stops and creditors cannot start new diligence. It is run by the Accountant in Bankruptcy through the DAS Administrator.
You repay in full over an agreed period, with interest, fees and charges frozen and written off on completion. The average programme runs about six years.
Council tax arrears can go into a programme, and your current-year bill cannot. That has to keep being paid alongside.
A moratorium and the formal solutions
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 does not stop an earnings arrestment that was already running. Section 197(5)(d) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 lets a creditor carry on executing an earnings arrestment, a current maintenance arrestment or a conjoined arrestment order that came into effect before the moratorium began.
A protected trust deed ends an earnings arrestment on the date of protection, not on signing, under s.173 of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016. Sequestration ends one on the date of sequestration under s.72(2), and the Minimal Asset Process counts as sequestration.
Money already deducted before any of those bites is credited against the debt rather than refunded. Check the position with the creditor.
Talking to the creditor is still open
Talking to the creditor stays open at every stage, and an offer in writing is worth putting. Our council tax debt advice page covers what to ask a recovery team for.
Once the right to instalments has gone, ask the council about a special payment arrangement covering the whole remaining balance. Reinstating instalments is at the council’s discretion rather than a right.
Frequently asked questions
What happens on day 15 after a charge for payment?
Nothing is triggered by the date itself. Expiry makes diligence competent, and a creditor still has to instruct a step before any money moves.
How long is a charge for payment valid once the 14 days expire?
Two years from the date it was served. After that a creditor who still wants to enforce has to have a fresh charge served and start the 14 days again.
Do you get another charge for payment before an arrestment starts?
Not if the existing charge is still inside its two-year validity. For council tax under a summary warrant, no charge is needed at all before an earnings arrestment.
Can they take everything in my bank account?
No. A protected minimum balance of £1,000 is left untouched on personal accounts under s.73F(3)(a) of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987.
How long do I have to object to a bank arrestment?
A notice of objection has to be lodged within four weeks of execution. Funds are otherwise released to the creditor 14 weeks after execution.
Can sheriff officers come into my home after the charge expires?
Not under an ordinary attachment, which reaches only goods outside a dwelling. Reaching goods inside your home needs an exceptional attachment order from the sheriff, and those are rare.
How soon after expiry will money come out of my wages?
There is no fixed lead-in. Once an arrestment schedule reaches your employer, the deduction normally starts on your next full pay period.
Can I be imprisoned for council tax arrears?
No. Non-payment of council tax cannot lead to imprisonment in Scotland, and it is a civil debt with no criminal record attached to it.
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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.