Certificate of Satisfaction and Certificate of Cancellation: How to Remove a CCJ After Payment

Jun 16, 2025

If you have paid off a County Court Judgment (CCJ), that’s a major step forward.

But many people are surprised to find the CCJ still sitting on their credit file after payment.

That’s because paying a CCJ alone is not enough — you need to make sure your credit record is updated correctly. The way to do this is by applying for the right certificate:

Certificate of Cancellation — if you paid the CCJ within one month of the judgment date. This removes the CCJ completely from your credit file.
Certificate of Satisfaction — if you paid the CCJ after one month. This marks the CCJ as Satisfied, improving how it looks to lenders.

If you don’t apply, the CCJ can stay on your credit file for six years, even though you have paid it — which can continue to damage your credit score unnecessarily.

Why do I need a certificate?

When you pay a CCJ, the court and credit agencies are not automatically notified. It is up to you to tell the court and apply for the correct certificate.

If you do not, the CCJ may remain showing as “Unsatisfied” on your credit report, even though you’ve paid it. This can badly affect your credit score and future credit applications, and lenders may wrongly assume you still owe the debt.

This situation happens more often than you might think — even to people who have paid their CCJ in full.

What is a Certificate of Cancellation?

If you paid the full amount of the CCJ within one month of the judgment date, you can apply for a Certificate of Cancellation.

This results in the CCJ being completely removed from your credit file, as if it never existed.

How to apply:

Complete form N443 or apply online.
Pay the fee (£19).
Provide proof of payment.
The court will issue the certificate and notify the Registry Trust and credit reference agencies.

You can read more and download the N443 form here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-n443-application-for-a-certificate-of-satisfaction-or-cancellation

What is a Certificate of Satisfaction?

If you paid the CCJ after one month, you cannot remove it entirely — but you can get it marked as Satisfied, which is much better for your credit file.

To do this, you apply for a Certificate of Satisfaction.

How to apply:

Complete form N443 or apply online.
Pay the fee (£19).
Provide proof of payment.
The court will update the Registry Trust and inform the credit reference agencies.

Once updated, the CCJ will still be visible for the remainder of the six years, but it will show as Satisfied, which helps your creditworthiness.

What happens if I don’t apply?

If you do not apply for the correct certificate:

The CCJ may show as “Unsatisfied” on your credit file, even though you’ve paid it.
Lenders may decline credit applications.
The incorrect data may remain on your file until the six-year mark.

We have seen this happen before — it is an easily avoidable mistake.

Shouldn’t the claimant or their solicitor tell the court I’ve paid?

In theory — yes. The claimant (or their solicitor) is supposed to inform the court once you have paid the CCJ in full.

But in practice, this often does not happen. Many creditors or their solicitors:

Fail to notify the court.
Don’t update the Registry Trust.
Leave the CCJ showing as “Unsatisfied” on your credit file, even though you’ve paid.

We have seen many cases where people assume paying the CCJ means the record will be updated automatically — and months later they discover it hasn’t.

This is why it is so important to apply for your own Certificate of Satisfaction or Cancellation. It ensures your credit file is accurate and up to date.

If you think your CCJ was wrongly issued, you can still apply to have it set aside, even if paid. See: Can You Remove a CCJ?

If your CCJ is approaching six years old, it will be removed automatically — but make sure your credit file reflects that. See: CCJ Removal After 6Years

Useful Links:

Final tip: Paying your CCJ is only the first step — don’t assume the system will update automatically.
Applying for the correct certificate protects your credit file and ensures your payment is properly recorded.