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- What should you do in the first ten minutes?
- What should you actually say at the door?
- How do you check who is really at your door?
- What should you write down once they leave?
- What should you do in the 48 hours afterwards?
- Which routes actually stop the visits?
- What can you do if an officer behaved badly?
- Related guides
- Frequently asked questions
Stay behind the door, ask for the officer’s name, the firm and the authority they are acting under, and say you are taking free money advice this week. Agree nothing, sign nothing and pay nothing on the step.
A knock about a debt is horrible. Your heart goes, the right words vanish, and you replay it for a week afterwards.
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
Sheriff officers at your door? Get free advice before you agree anything.
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This page is for the next ten minutes. What to say, what to ask for, what to write down, and what to do once the visit is over.
Sheriff officers are officers of the court, appointed by and accountable to the sheriff. They are not bailiffs, and the powers that belong to that system do not exist here.
What should you do in the first ten minutes?
Work through eight things in order: stay behind the door, get the name and firm, get the authority, get the debt, give one calm answer, ask for the paperwork, write it all down, and file it with your other letters.
The doorstep sequence
You can run every step of this through a closed door. Nothing in it requires you to open anything or to decide anything today.
| Step | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The first minute | Stay behind the door. Talk through it, through a window, or take a moment before you say anything at all | Nothing about a debt obliges you to open a door, and the visit is not a deadline |
| 2. The identification check | Ask for the officer's name and the firm, and ask for identification to be held to the window or posted through | You are entitled to ask, and the answers go straight into the note you make afterwards |
| 3. The authority | Ask what authority they are acting under, and whether a court decree or a summary warrant sits behind it | It tells you which route the creditor took and which stage you have reached |
| 4. The debt | Ask which creditor, which debt and which financial years the visit covers | Wrong address, wrong person and long-settled years are all caught at this point |
| 5. Your answer | Say you are getting free money advice this week and will reply in writing | It is a complete answer, and it commits you to nothing |
| 6. The paperwork | Ask for anything they have to be posted or put through the letterbox | You need the document, not the conversation on the step |
| 7. Once they leave | Write down the name, the firm, the date, the time, what was said and what was left | A dated note made while it is fresh is what any later complaint rests on |
| 8. The same day | Photograph whatever was left and put it with your other letters in date order | An adviser can place your case from the letters, and not from memory |
What is not happening today
Sheriff officers cannot force entry to a home for ordinary council tax arrears, and forced entry is only available under a rare exceptional attachment order, which our guide to whether sheriff officers can force entry sets out in full.
So no door is coming off its hinges while you decide what to do. That fact is worth holding on to while you work out what to do next.
Two things worth putting down straight away
Non-payment of council tax cannot lead to imprisonment in Scotland, because it is a civil debt and the committal power that exists in England and Wales does not apply in Scots law. Council tax arrears are also not reported to credit reference agencies, so a summary warrant does not appear on a credit file.
Neither of those things is at stake here. Put both down before you think about anything else.
What should you actually say at the door?
Say who you are, ask who they are, and then say one sentence: you are getting free money advice this week and will reply in writing. That answer is complete, polite and binds you to nothing.
A script for the doorstep
Read it once now and it will come back to you at the door. The shape matters more than the exact wording.
| The moment | What you can say | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| They knock and ask for you by name | "That's me. I'd rather speak through the door, if that's all right." | Shows you are engaging without opening anything |
| You want to know who they are | "Could I have your name and the firm you work for, and see your identification?" | Gets the two details a complaint or a dispute later needs |
| You want to know why they are there | "Which creditor is this for, and which debt and years does it cover?" | Pins a vague doorstep visit to one identifiable account |
| You want to know what is behind it | "Is this on a court decree or a summary warrant?" | Tells you which route was used and what can follow |
| They ask to come in | "No, thank you. I'm not inviting anyone in today." | You are entitled to say it, and you do not need a reason |
| They ask for payment on the step | "I'm not agreeing any figure today. I'm getting free money advice this week." | Stops a promise made under pressure that collapses next month |
| They press, or say it will be worse | "I understand. I'd still rather put my position in writing once I've had advice." | Repeats one calm answer instead of starting an argument |
| They ask about your car or your belongings | "I'd rather not go through my belongings on the doorstep." | Nothing requires you to inventory your home for anyone |
| You want to end it | "Please put the paperwork through and I'll respond in writing. Thank you." | Closes the visit and leaves you holding the document |
If they press you
You do not have to justify taking advice, and you do not have to explain your finances on a doorstep. Say you will write, then write.
Refusing to let anyone in protects your possessions and stops nothing else, which is the point our guide to whether you have to let sheriff officers in deals with properly.
What not to do
- Do not be abusive or obstructive.
- Do not agree a monthly figure you already know you cannot keep to.
- Do not hand over card details or cash to settle the moment.
- Do not hide or move belongings.
- Do not throw the paperwork away, because fees set by the court are added to what you owe.
How do you check who is really at your door?
Ask for two separate things: identification, and sight of the document conferring authority to be there. Identification goes to who they are, and the authority goes to what can follow.
What to ask for at the door
Ask through the door and write the answers on the back of an envelope. You are asking questions rather than agreeing to anything.
| What to ask for | How to ask it | If you do not get it |
|---|---|---|
| The officer's name | Ask for the full name, and how it is spelled | Ask once more, then note in writing that it was not given |
| Identification | Ask to see it at the window, or to have it posted through the door | Agree nothing until you have seen or been sent it |
| The firm | Ask which firm they work for, and check it against the name on your letters | Ring the creditor's recovery team on a number you look up yourself |
| The creditor | Ask which council or company the visit is for | Say you do not recognise it and ask for everything in writing |
| The document conferring authority | Ask whether a court decree or a summary warrant sits behind the visit | Ask for a copy to be posted, then take advice on it |
| The debt and the years | Ask which account and which financial years are being pursued | Ask the creditor for a written breakdown year by year |
| What is being asked for | Ask whether this is about payment, service of a document, or something else | Take the document, agree nothing, reply in writing |
| What is being left | Ask what is being left with you, and what it is called | Ask for it to be posted, and keep the envelope it arrives in |
Decree or summary warrant?
A summary warrant is granted by the sheriff court on a council’s application supported by a certificate, with no hearing and no chance to contest liability at that point. The power is Schedule 8 paragraph 2 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, and it carries no time limit and no expiry.
A 10% statutory surcharge is added to the outstanding council tax when the warrant is granted. That sits in the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 1992, particularly regulation 30, alongside s.106 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975.
An ordinary court decree is different, because a court action came first. Our guide to what to do if you receive a summary warrant covers the council tax route from that point.
Knowing which one is behind the visit changes what happens next. For council tax under a summary warrant, the council can move to an earnings arrestment without first serving a charge for payment.
Which firm is at the door?
Firms instructed by Scottish councils include Scott & Co, Stirling Park, Walker Love and Alex M Adamson. If you have a letter in your hand, the name at the top is worth checking.
Knowing the firm tells an adviser a lot about where your case sits. Our sheriff officer advice hub covers each of them.
Get free, confidential help with sheriff officers at your door
What should you write down once they leave?
Five things: the officer’s name, the firm, the date and time, what was said, and what was left. Write them within a few minutes, because memory after a doorstep visit is unreliable.
The five-minute note
- The officer’s name, spelled as they gave it.
- The firm they said they work for.
- The date and the time they arrived and left.
- What was said, on both sides, as close to word for word as you can manage.
- What was left, and whether it was handed over, posted or put through the door.
Keep everything, including the envelope
Photograph or scan whatever was left on the same day. Then put the original somewhere you will find it again.
The paperwork tells you which stage of recovery you have reached, and it is the first thing an adviser will ask to see. Nothing else in the file replaces it.
What should you do in the 48 hours afterwards?
Three things: ask the creditor for a written breakdown, work out what a wage arrestment would take from your pay, and book one free advice appointment. Two days is enough for all three.
Ask for a breakdown in writing
Email or write to the council or creditor and ask for the balance broken down by financial year, with the surcharge and any fees shown separately. Our council tax debt advice page covers what to ask a recovery team for.
Payments are normally allocated to the oldest year of arrears first unless you say otherwise. If you want a payment credited to a particular year, put that in writing when you make it.
Work out what a deduction would cost you
Deductions come off net pay under Schedule 2 to the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, on tables in force since 6 April 2025. On monthly net pay of £1,800.00 that is £172.50 a month, and on £2,400.00 it is £292.50.
Run your own figure through our wage arrestment calculator before you speak to anyone. It turns an abstract worry into a number you can compare against an arrangement.
The deduction rate is fixed by statute and cannot be negotiated down. What you can change is whether an arrestment happens at all.
Book one free advice appointment
Citizens Advice Scotland, StepChange, Money Advice Scotland, National Debtline, Advice Direct Scotland and your own council’s money advice team all help free of charge. The Accountant in Bankruptcy publishes the statutory guidance behind most of the routes below.
Book one appointment, not five. Our guide to where to go for help compares what each service does, and mygov.scot sets out the official position on debts and decrees.
Tell the creditor in writing that an appointment is booked, and give the date.
Which routes actually stop the visits?
An accepted payment arrangement, a Time to Pay Order, an approved Debt Payment Programme, a protected trust deed, sequestration or a statutory moratorium. Each removes the reason for anyone to come back.
Which one fits depends on what else you owe and what you can pay. Our guide to stopping sheriff officer visits compares them on how quickly each one bites.
An arrangement with the creditor
An offer the creditor accepts is the quickest of these to arrange, though it is not the only route. A special payment arrangement covering the arrears is the one to ask a council about.
A Time to Pay Order, a Debt Payment Programme and the insolvency routes do not need the creditor’s agreement.
There is no statutory maximum period for spreading arrears. Councils commonly work to the current financial year and will consider longer where affordability is evidenced.
A Time to Pay Order
A Time to Pay Order is competent against a summary warrant, 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. It is not settled whether an earnings arrestment alone satisfies the conditions, so a money adviser or the sheriff clerk at your local sheriff court can confirm whether an application is competent on your facts.
A Time to Pay Direction is a different route and is not available against summary warrant debt, because a direction responds to a court action.
DAS, a trust deed and sequestration
Once a Debt Payment Programme is approved under the Debt Arrangement Scheme, an existing earnings arrestment stops and interest, fees and charges are frozen. Council tax arrears can go into a programme, though your current-year bill still has to be paid alongside.
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. Sequestration does it on the date of sequestration, and the Minimal Asset Process counts as sequestration.
Money already deducted before any of those dates is credited against the debt rather than refunded. That is worth knowing before you count on getting it back.
The statutory moratorium
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 buys breathing space while advice is taken, and it is applied for through the Accountant in Bankruptcy, usually by a money adviser. Our guide to the day a wage arrestment notice arrives covers the same first-48-hours approach for the stage after this one.
What can you do if an officer behaved badly?
Complain to the firm first, then to the Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers, then to the sheriff principal. Sheriff officers are regulated under the Act of Sederunt (Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers Rules) 1991.
SMASO maintains a code of practice for the profession, and the ladder runs in that order.
The three rungs, and what to send
| Stage | Where it goes | What to include |
|---|---|---|
| Before you start | Your own file | The note you made after the visit, anything left at the door, and any reply you have had |
| Step 1 | The firm's own complaints process, in writing | The date, the time, the officer's name, what was said and what was left |
| Step 2 | The Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers, which maintains the code of practice | A copy of your complaint to the firm, plus their response or the fact none came |
| Step 3 | The sheriff principal for the sheriffdom | The whole file in date order, with a short summary at the front |
This is where the note you made after the visit earns its keep. A complaint built on dates, times and names carries weight that a recollection does not.
What a complaint will and will not change
A complaint deals with conduct rather than with the debt. Deal with the money through one of the routes above.
Fees are set by the court and added to what you owe, so they are not something the firm chooses. Our guide to what powers sheriff officers have sets out where their authority begins and ends.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to answer the door to sheriff officers?
No. You can speak through the door or a window, and for ordinary council tax arrears you do not have to let anyone in.
What should you say to sheriff officers at the door?
Ask for their name, the firm and the authority they are acting under, then say you are getting free money advice this week and will reply in writing. That answer is complete and commits you to nothing.
Should you pay something on the doorstep?
You are not obliged to, and a payment made under pressure may not fit what you can afford. A written arrangement you can keep to is worth far more than a one-off figure agreed on the step.
What happens if you ignore a sheriff officer visit?
The creditor can move to other diligence, such as an earnings arrestment or a bank arrestment, and fees set by the court are added to what you owe. Free advice is available at any stage.
Can sheriff officers take your belongings on a first visit?
Ordinary attachment applies only to goods outside a dwelling, such as in a garden or driveway. Protected goods including clothing, beds, food and money in the home cannot be attached at all.
Are sheriff officers the same as bailiffs?
No. They are officers of the court, appointed by and accountable to the sheriff, while bailiffs and High Court Enforcement Officers operate in England and Wales under different law.
How do you complain about a sheriff officer?
Go to the firm first, then the Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers, then the sheriff principal. Put it in writing with the date, the time, the officer’s name and what was said.
Will a doorstep visit affect your job or your credit file?
A visit to your home has nothing to do with your employer, and council tax arrears are not reported to credit reference agencies. If an earnings arrestment follows, only payroll and whoever handles the paperwork need to know.
Get free, confidential help with sheriff officers 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.