Care and support

How do I ask for a composition order?

There is nowhere on the N92 application form for you to ask for a composition order. However, on the back page of the form there is a box where you are asked to give details of anything else you would like the court to take into consideration. A statement like “I would like the court to consider making a composition order of X% allowing me to clear my debts in 3 years” should be enough.

You can also ask for a composition order at any time while you have an administration order. Get form N244 from the court, to ask for the instalments you are making to be varied. There will be a £75 fee for this, unless you are on income support/income-based jobseeker’s allowance, the guarantee credit part of pension credit, or working tax credit with no child tax credit. You may have to show proof that you are receiving these benefits.

You can also be exempt from the fee if you have earnings below a set level. This depends upon the number of children you have and whether you are single or part of a couple. The table below gives more information.

Single:
Number of children Total gross income

0 £12,000
1 £14,735
2 £17,470
3 £20,205
4 £22,940

Couple:
Number of children Total gross income

0 £16,000
1 £18,735
2 £21,470
3 £24,205
4 £26,940


For additional children add an extra £2,735 for each child to the gross income figure for 4 children.

The court can also remit part of the fee if it would cause you financial hardship.

More information can be found in leaflet EX160A, available from courts.

What happens once I have put in the N92 application form?

Once court staff have decided on instalments, a notice of this is then sent to all the creditors listed on the application form. They have 14 days in which to object to the administration order. They might object to the instalment rate or to being included in the administration order. If they make any objections, you will have to go to a court hearing (see below).

What happens if there is a court hearing?

The hearing will be in front of a district judge. It is held in private (known as ‘in chambers’) and is relatively informal. The only people there will be you, the district judge and the creditor’s representative, if they send one. You can take someone to support you if you want to.

At the hearing, the district judge can make the administration order including all the creditors or excluding some of the creditors, and setting the repayment rate. S/he may not make an administration order at all. If the district judge does not want to make a composition order now, you can ask for a review date to be set, e.g., in a year’s time or the court may set a review date itself.

When the administration order has been made, a copy of the order will be sent to you and all the creditors on the order. The order tells you which creditors are included, the amount you have to pay each month and whether a composition order was made.

Does it make any difference if I am employed?

If you are employed, the court may order your employer to send money direct from your earnings to the court. This is called an attachment of earnings order. However, you may not want your employer to know that you have debts, if, for example, it may affect your chances of promotion or even lose you your job. You must tick the box in part C of the application form and the court may then decide to suspend the attachment of earnings order providing you voluntarily pay the instalments into court each month. If you do not pay, the attachment of earnings order can go ahead without the court telling you.