A statutory demand is a demand for payment of a debt over £750. It’s also a warning that your creditor may start bankruptcy proceedings against you if you don’t pay within 21 days. A creditor does not need to get the court involved to serve a statutory demand.
It’s worth noting that no-one can push for bankruptcy unless you owe them £750 or more. So if you receive a statutory demand, you could consider paying enough of the debt to bring the total under that minimum. This isn’t the best way of managing your debt – and you’ll still need to deal with the remaining debt – but at least you’ll no longer face the immediate threat of bankruptcy.
Dealing with a statutory demand
If you receive a statutory demand, you can:
Setting aside a statutory demand
You can apply to have the statutory demand set aside if:
If you decide to apply to have the statutory demand set aside, you’ll have 18 days to do so. You’ll need forms 6.4 and 6.5 from the County Court.

Gregory Pennington are founder members of DEMSA (Debt Managers Standards Association).
DEMSA are the first trade body within the finance industry to successfully secure approval for its code of practice under the OFT Consumer Codes Approval Scheme (CCAS).
