Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Third party debt order definition

What does Third party debt order mean? A third party debt order is a post-judgment enforcement method that compels a third party (most commonly a bank or building society) that owes money to the judgment debtor to pay the judgment creditor instead. In England and Wales it is a court order under CPR Part 72 (formerly the garnishee procedure). The creditor obtains an interim order, served on the third party, which freezes the debt up to the judgment sum and costs at the time of service; after a hearing, the court may make a final order directing payment. It typically attaches cleared funds...

Third Party Debt Orders in England and Wales: Identifying, Timing and Evidencing Opportunities for Effective Judgment Enforcement

Published by a LexisNexis Dispute Resolution expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note aims to help identify opportunities to Use a Third party debt order (TPDO) to enforce a Money judgment. For procedural guidance and answers to common queries, see the following Practice Notes:

How to apply for a third party debt order (TPDO)
Third party debt orders—flowchart
Third party debt orders—frequently asked questions

Is a TPDO worth the effort?

Once a money judgment has been obtained, if it is not paid the creditor can take enforcement steps. The choice of enforcement method rests entirely with the creditor (see CPR 70.2(2)). TPDOs are the least commonly used route. This is probably because the creditor must present the court with evidence of their knowledge or belief that a third party is inDebted to the debtor (CPR PD 72, para 1.2(7)), which can be difficult. Ministry of Justice statistics for 2024 indicate that, of the total judgments made by county courts in England and Wales, the proportion that are default judgments is consistently just above 90%...

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Phil Roberts

Clarke Willmott

Phil began his career in debt recovery over 20 years ago and went on to join national law firm Clarke Willmott LLP in 2004. He is now a partner in the firm and jointly leads the firm's Debt Recovery team. The team is one of the largest in the UK, and its client base includes government departments, local authorities, utility companies, insurance companies, commercial businesses and FCA regulated companies. Phil leads on all complex cases and technical queries and manages a personal caseload of bespoke, complex recovery actions. He has particular expertise in insolvency action (defended and undefended), all forms of debt litigation (volume, defended and undefended), enforcement, judicial review, complex orders for sale and leasehold recoveries. The Debt Recovery team is ranked in tier 1 by the Legal 500 and Phil has been recognised by clients previously in the directory for...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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