Certificated Enforcement Agent Register

What the HMCTS register is for

The public service can be searched by an agent's name or employer. A result may show certificate or application information and the County Court connected with the record.

The register is useful, but no search result should be treated as a guarantee of accuracy or completeness. Names can be entered differently, an application or renewal may be in progress, and the person at the door may be acting in a role that uses a different appointment or authorisation route.

Check the person and the instruction separately

1. Ask for the person's full name and employer. If someone is at your home, you can ask to see identification without opening the door.
2. Open the HMCTS service directly and search the name. Try the employer search if the individual search is unclear.
3. Read the status, court and any dates shown. Do not rely on a screenshot or certificate number sent in a message when the live service can be checked.
4. Contact the employer using details from its own established website or from the original notice, not a number supplied only in an unexpected call or text.
5. Contact the named council, court or creditor independently and ask it to confirm the company, reference and current instruction.
6. Confirm payment details before sending money. A register match does not validate a bank account or payment link.

What a match does not establish

A matching register entry does not decide:

• whether the debt belongs to you
• whether the balance or fees are correct
• whether a warrant, writ or liability order is valid
• whether the named agent is assigned to your case
• whether conduct during a visit complied with the rules
• whether an unexpected payment request is genuine.

Those questions depend on the underlying documents, the creditor's records and what happened in the individual case.

If no result appears

No result is a reason to check further, but it is not automatically proof of fraud or unauthorised enforcement. Check the spelling, any middle name, the employer search and whether the person is a different type of court or enforcement officer.

Until the identity and instruction are verified, do not rely on an unexpected caller's payment details. Contact the stated employer and creditor through independently obtained details. If you suspect impersonation or fraud, keep the messages and report the matter through the appropriate police or fraud-reporting route.

A certificate complaint is a specific court procedure

The Certification of Enforcement Agents Regulations 2014 allow a person who considers that a certificated agent is not fit to hold a certificate to submit a written complaint to the County Court. No filing fee is payable under regulation 9, but the complaint must explain the conduct and why it bears on the person's fitness to hold a certificate.

Use Form EAC2 and follow its current instructions. The HMCTS register can help identify the court connected with the certificate.

Under regulation 10, after the required process and a hearing, the judge may cancel or suspend the certificate if not satisfied that the person remains fit and proper. Regulation 10 does not itself say that this certificate procedure decides the debt, recalculates enforcement fees or awards compensation.

An EAC2 complaint does not automatically pause enforcement. A request for a hold, a dispute about the debt or fees, and any urgent court application may need to be dealt with separately.

Keep a clear verification record

Record the date and time of the search, the spelling used, what the live service displayed and who confirmed the instruction. A current note is more useful than assuming that a past search will remain accurate after a certificate, employment or case status changes.

This page covers the HMCTS certificated enforcement agent system in England and Wales.