What is a bank arrestment in Scotland?

A bank arrestment is a form of diligence (debt enforcement) in Scots law that freezes money held in a debtor's bank account. A sheriff officer serves a schedule of arrestment on the bank (the arrestee), which freezes the funds in the debtor's account above a protected minimum balance at the moment of service. It is the Scottish equivalent of a third party debt order in England and Wales, but the procedure and terminology are different. A creditor can only arrest if they already hold authority to enforce — usually a court decree, but also a summary warrant (for taxes and council tax) or a registered document of debt.

Do I need a court decree before arresting a bank account in Scotland?

Yes. You must already have authority to enforce the debt before you can arrest — normally an extract decree from the Sheriff Court (obtained by suing successfully, often through Simple Procedure for claims of £5,000 or less), or a summary warrant or a registered document of debt that authorises arrestment. You cannot freeze someone's account without that authority. Importantly, unlike an earnings (wage) arrestment, a bank arrestment does NOT require you to serve a prior charge for payment or a Debt Advice and Information Package first — you can arrest directly on the extract decree.

How much money is protected from a bank arrestment in Scotland?

A protected minimum balance of £1,000 applies to funds held in a bank or building society account: only the balance above £1,000 can be arrested. In addition, the amount caught is limited to the lesser of the funds the bank holds for the debtor and the total sum due to the creditor including interest and expenses. Certain funds such as some benefits may also be protected even if they are in the account. The arrestment only catches the balance present at the moment the schedule is served; money paid in later is not caught by that arrestment.

What is the procedure and timeline for a bank arrestment?

First the creditor obtains a decree (or holds a summary warrant or document of debt). Then they instruct a sheriff officer to serve a schedule of arrestment on the bank, which freezes the account (above £1,000) immediately on service. Within three weeks the bank must send a form of disclosure to the creditor and debtor stating what has been caught. Unless an objection is lodged with the sheriff, the arrested funds are automatically released to the creditor 14 weeks after the date of arrestment. The debtor can also sign a mandate authorising the bank to release the funds sooner.

What documents and forms are needed for a bank arrestment?

You need the authority to enforce — an extract decree, or a summary warrant or registered document of debt. The sheriff officer prepares and serves the schedule of arrestment, which is the form that actually freezes the funds. The bank then issues a form of disclosure within three weeks. Optionally, the debtor may sign a mandate to release funds early, and any party may lodge a notice of objection with the sheriff. A charge for payment and Debt Advice and Information Package are needed for earnings arrestment, but not for a bank arrestment.

My bank account has been frozen by an arrestment — what can I do?

Do not ignore it, because funds are released automatically after 14 weeks unless someone objects. Check the bank's disclosure to see how much has been caught, and confirm the £1,000 protected minimum balance has been applied and that no protected funds such as benefits have been frozen. You can lodge a notice of objection with the sheriff on grounds such as the funds not being yours, the funds being protected, or the arrestment causing undue harshness, and a hearing will be held. You may also be able to apply for a moratorium on diligence under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016, or, if you have a serious mental health crisis, a mental health moratorium under the Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024. If you dispute the underlying debt — for example you never received the court papers — you may be able to apply to recall the decree. Get advice quickly.

Does bank arrestment apply in England, or only Scotland?

Bank arrestment is a Scots law diligence and applies only in Scotland. In England and Wales the equivalent way to freeze and recover money from a debtor's bank account is a third party debt order, which has a different procedure, thresholds and terminology. Northern Ireland has its own system again. So it is important to identify which jurisdiction governs the debt and the debtor before choosing an enforcement method, and not to mix the two systems up.

Bank Arrestment in Scotland — Complete Guide: Procedure, Documents, Forms, Costs, Timeline, £1,000 Protected Balance, and What Debtors Can Do

Q: How much does a bank arrestment cost?

The main costs are the sheriff officer's fee for serving the schedule of arrestment, typically around £60 to £80, and the court fee for raising the action to obtain the decree (lower for Simple Procedure claims of £5,000 or less). Sheriff officer and messenger-at-arms fees are set centrally by the Court of Session and cannot be discounted, and these costs are usually added to the debtor's outstanding balance. If you need to investigate which bank the debtor uses or trace assets first, that is an additional cost. Always confirm current fees, as the official fee tables are updated from time to time.

📌 Key Takeaways

Bank arrestment is a form of diligence (debt enforcement) under Scots law — it freezes money held in a debtor’s bank account. It applies only in Scotland; the equivalent in England and Wales is a third party debt order (see our article on tracing and debt recovery in the UK).

Prerequisite: a court decree (or equivalent authority) must already exist — either a decree from a Scottish court, a summary warrant (for tax or council tax debts), or a registered document of debt authorising enforcement. There is no bank arrestment without a decree.

⚠️ Important: a bank arrestment does NOT require a prior charge for payment — the creditor may arrest directly on an extract decree. (By contrast, an earnings arrestment requires a charge for payment to be served first, together with a Debt Advice and Information Package (DAIP), before the waiting period of 14 days expires.)

Procedure: the creditor instructs a sheriff officer to serve a schedule of arrestment on the bank (the arrestee) — the funds above £1,000 in the account are frozen at the moment of service.

£1,000 protected minimum balance: the first £1,000 in a bank account is protected and cannot be arrested; only the balance above £1,000 is caught; and the amount arrested cannot exceed the total sum owed to the creditor (principal, interest, and expenses).

Bank must disclose within 3 weeks: within three weeks of service the bank must send written disclosure to the creditor and debtor stating what has been caught and for how much.

Timeline — automatic release at 14 weeks: unless an objection is lodged, the arrested funds are automatically released to the creditor 14 weeks after the date of service; the debtor may also sign a mandate to authorise earlier release.

Costs: the sheriff officer’s fee for serving the schedule of arrestment is typically around £60–£80 (fees are set centrally by the Court of Session and cannot be discounted; they are added to the debtor’s account); court filing fees also apply (Simple Procedure for claims of ≤ £5,000).

What a debtor can do: lodge an objection with the sheriff (e.g. if the funds are not the debtor’s, are protected, or the arrestment would cause undue harshness); apply for a moratorium on diligence; the Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024 introduced a mental health moratorium, during which no diligence may be executed.

Protected funds: certain benefits and other payments that happen to be in the account are normally protected — if they are arrested the debtor should raise this promptly.

Jurisdiction: this article covers Scots law only; the position in England and Wales, and in Northern Ireland, is different.

Chinese members of the community in Scotland — whether owed money and wishing to enforce, or having had a bank account frozen by a creditor — may encounter a bank arrestment. It is a distinctively Scottish form of debt enforcement, using terminology and a procedure that differs from England’s (Scotland uses the terms diligence, decree, sheriff officer, arrestment, and so on).

This article sets out clearly the matters most likely to concern you: procedure, documents, forms, costs, and timeline, together with the £1,000 protected balance, bank disclosure, automatic release, and what a debtor should do if an account is arrested. All statutory references include links to legislation.gov.uk or mygov.scot.

⚠️ This article is about Scots law: if the debt or debtor is in England or Wales, please refer to our article on tracing and debt recovery in the UK (including third party debt orders) instead.

Principal legislation:

Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (charge for payment, earnings arrestment, and related provisions)
Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Act 2007 (arrestment reforms — £1,000 protected minimum balance, disclosure obligation, 14-week automatic release)
Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 (moratorium on diligence — s.197)
Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024 (Royal Assent 2024-07-15 — mental health moratorium and other reforms, coming into force in stages from 2025-01)
mygov.scot — court decrees · Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) · Scottish Courts — court fees

1. What is bank arrestment — a form of diligence under Scots law

Diligence is the collective term in Scots law for compulsory debt enforcement; arrestment is one type, used to freeze money or moveable property belonging to the debtor but held by a third party;
Where that third party is a bank and the thing arrested is money in the account, the diligence is called a bank arrestment;
The parties are: the arrester (the creditor seeking to enforce), the arrestee (the bank), and the debtor;
Service is carried out by a sheriff officer (in proceedings at Sheriff Court level) or a messenger-at-arms (in proceedings at Court of Session level).

📌 The English and Welsh equivalent: in England and Wales, the procedure for freezing money in a debtor’s bank account is a third party debt order — the procedure, threshold, and terminology are quite different. Do not conflate the two systems.

2. Prerequisites and required documents — a decree must already exist

Arrestment requires authority to enforce. The core documents are:

Document / authority required	Explanation
Extract decree	A decree of a Scottish court (most commonly the Sheriff Court) — obtained by winning contested litigation or by the defender failing to respond
Summary warrant	Used for tax and council tax debts — authorises arrestment without the need for ordinary litigation
Registered document of debt	A debt document registered in the Books of Council and Session (or equivalent) that contains a consent to registration for execution
Schedule of arrestment	The prescribed statutory form prepared and served on the bank by the sheriff officer, based on one of the above authorities — service of this document is what actually arrests the funds

📌 Obtaining a decree first: for claims of ≤ £5,000, the Scottish Simple Procedure is relatively straightforward and quick; larger claims proceed as Ordinary Cause. See mygov.scot for guidance on raising an action.

3. Procedure step by step

Step	What happens
① Obtain a decree	Raise proceedings in the Sheriff Court and obtain an extract decree (or hold a summary warrant or registered document of debt)
② Instruct a sheriff officer	Instruct the sheriff officer to prepare a schedule of arrestment
③ Service on the bank (arrestee)	The sheriff officer serves the schedule of arrestment on the bank — at the moment of service the funds in the account above £1,000 are frozen
④ Bank disclosure	Within 3 weeks the bank must send written disclosure to the creditor and debtor stating how much has been arrested
⑤ Release	If no objection is lodged, the funds are automatically released to the creditor 14 weeks after the date of service; alternatively the debtor may sign a mandate to authorise earlier release

⚠️ Key point: bank arrestment does not require a prior charge for payment — the creditor may arrest directly on an extract decree. This differs from earnings arrestment: an earnings arrestment requires prior service of a charge for payment together with a DAIP (Debt Advice and Information Package), followed by a waiting period of 14 days.

4. Forms and documents checklist

Form / document	Who produces it / purpose
Schedule of arrestment	Prepared and served on the bank by the sheriff officer — the core statutory form; service is what creates the arrestment
Extract decree (or summary warrant / document of debt)	The authority required to enforce; must be in place before arrestment
Form of disclosure	Issued by the bank within 3 weeks; states the nature and amount of what has been arrested
Mandate (optional)	Signed voluntarily by the debtor; authorises the bank to release the arrested funds to the creditor before the 14-week period expires
Notice of objection	Used when the debtor, bank, or an interested third party wishes to lodge an objection with the sheriff
Charge for payment + DAIP	Required for earnings arrestment only; not needed for a bank arrestment

5. The £1,000 protected minimum balance and the limit on the sum arrested

Rule	Explanation
Protected minimum balance	£1,000 in the account is protected and cannot be arrested; only the balance above £1,000 is caught by the arrestment
Cap on sum arrested	The sum arrested is the lesser of: ① the arrestable balance the bank holds for the debtor; and ② the total sum due to the creditor (principal + interest + expenses)
Point-in-time snapshot	The arrestment freezes only the balance in the account at the moment the schedule is served; funds paid in afterwards are not caught by that arrestment (a further arrestment would be needed)

📌 Example: the account holds £3,000; the debt (including expenses) is £1,500. The protected amount is £1,000, leaving an arrestable balance of £2,000; but the cap is the debt of £1,500 → the sum actually arrested is £1,500, and £1,500 remains freely available to the debtor.

6. Timeline at a glance

Point in time	Event
Day 0	Sheriff officer serves the schedule of arrestment on the bank — account is frozen immediately (the balance above £1,000)
Within 3 weeks	Bank must issue a form of disclosure setting out details of the arrestment
After 14 weeks	If no objection has been lodged, the funds are automatically released to the creditor
At any point	The debtor may sign a mandate to authorise early release; or may lodge an objection before the 14-week period expires to prevent automatic release

7. Costs

Cost item	Approximate amount (subject to official fee tables)
Sheriff officer’s fee for serving the schedule of arrestment	Typically around £60–£80 (fees are set centrally by the Court of Session and cannot be discounted; normally added to the debtor’s outstanding balance)
Court filing fee	Charged on a sliding scale by value (Simple Procedure filing fees are lower — see the Scottish Courts fee table)
Tracing / investigation costs	If it is necessary first to identify which bank the debtor uses or to trace assets, that is an additional expense

📌 You need to know the debtor’s bank: a bank arrestment is normally served on a named bank. If you do not know where the debtor banks, it may be necessary first to carry out a compliant asset or account investigation (see our article on tracing and debt recovery).

8. What a debtor can do — if your account has been frozen

If you are the debtor whose account has been arrested:

Option	Explanation
Lodge an objection	You may submit a notice of objection to the sheriff on grounds such as: the funds are not yours, they are protected funds, or the arrestment causes undue harshness — the court will fix a hearing
Claim protected funds	Certain benefits and other payments are normally protected; the £1,000 minimum balance is also protected from the outset — if protected funds have been arrested in error, raise this promptly
Negotiate / sign a mandate	Negotiate a repayment arrangement with the creditor; signing a mandate can also bring matters to a quicker resolution (though it means consenting to the release of funds)
Apply for a moratorium on diligence	Under Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 s.197, a debtor may apply for a moratorium (breathing space) during which diligence may not be executed
Mental health moratorium	The Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024 (in force from 2025-01) introduced a mental health moratorium — during this period, diligence may not be executed against a debtor in serious mental health crisis, and interest and charges are frozen

⚠️ Do not ignore the arrestment notice: the 14-week window means any objection must be made promptly. If the arrested account contains wages, benefits, or funds belonging to someone else, act quickly to claim protection or lodge an objection — delay risks those funds being released to the creditor.

📌 Check whether the underlying debt is valid and whether any limitation point applies: the creditor must already hold a decree before arresting; if you dispute the original debt (for example, you never received the court papers or the amount is wrong), it may be possible to apply for recall (of the decree) — seek advice urgently.

9. Common scenarios and practical checklists

Scenario	Suggested steps
(Creditor) Owed money in Scotland and wishing to freeze the debtor’s account	Obtain a decree first (Simple Procedure for ≤ £5,000) → instruct a sheriff officer to serve a schedule of arrestment; you will need to know the debtor’s bank
(Debtor) Account suddenly frozen	Read the bank’s disclosure carefully; confirm the £1,000 protected balance has been applied and check whether any protected funds have been caught; if necessary, lodge an objection within the 14-week period
Wages or benefits in the account have been arrested	Claim protection of those funds; lodge an objection with the sheriff promptly or negotiate with the creditor
You dispute the underlying debt (e.g. you never received the court papers)	Consider whether it is possible to recall the decree; seek advice urgently
Serious mental health difficulties	Explore the mental health moratorium under the Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024 to seek temporary protection from diligence

Creditor’s practical checklist:

Obtain a decree (or summary warrant / document of debt).
Identify the debtor’s bank (carry out a compliant investigation if necessary).
Instruct a sheriff officer to serve a schedule of arrestment.
Await the bank’s 3-week disclosure → automatic release at 14 weeks (or obtain a mandate).
Note the costs (approximately £60–£80 service fee plus court fees), which will be added to the debtor’s balance.

Debtor’s practical checklist:

Do not ignore the notice — check the amount arrested and the 14-week deadline.
Verify the £1,000 protected balance and protected funds (such as benefits).
If you have grounds, lodge an objection with the sheriff promptly.
Consider whether a moratorium / mental health moratorium applies.
If you dispute the underlying debt → consider recall of the decree; seek advice from CVF or a solicitor without delay.

Circle Vision Foundation services

Circle Vision Foundation (CVF) provides assistance to Chinese residents in Scotland:

Creditors: assessing whether arrestment is available, assisting with obtaining a decree (Simple Procedure), and guiding you through the sheriff officer process and required documents
Debtors: explaining the arrestment notice and bank disclosure, checking the £1,000 protected balance and protected funds, and assisting with lodging an objection
Moratorium protection: assessing eligibility for a moratorium or mental health moratorium
Recall of decree: assessment and referral where the underlying debt is disputed
Negotiating repayment: Mandarin and Cantonese support in communicating with creditors and sheriff officers
Cross-jurisdiction guidance: clarifying the difference between Scots and English procedure to avoid choosing the wrong route

Email: [email protected]
Address: 5th Floor, 167-169 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PF
Website: circle-vision.org/contact-us

📌 Jurisdiction and currency note

Scope: this article covers Scots law (Scotland); the position in England and Wales (third party debt order) and in Northern Ireland is different.

Legislative basis: Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Act 2007, Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016, Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024 (reflecting the position as at June 2026).

Key figures: protected minimum balance £1,000; bank disclosure 3 weeks; automatic release 14 weeks; service fee approximately £60–£80; Simple Procedure applies to claims of ≤ £5,000. All amounts and fees are subject to official regulations and may be updated.

This article is not legal advice — it is an explanatory guide only; for specific cases please consult a solicitor practising in Scotland or contact Circle Vision Foundation (CVF).

Version and disclaimer:

Jurisdiction: Scotland
Sources: legislation.gov.uk (Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Act 2007, Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016, Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024) + mygov.scot + Accountant in Bankruptcy + Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
Last verified: 2026-06-01
Publisher: Circle Vision Foundation (England & Wales charity registration number 1209727)
Corrections: if you believe any rule is out of date or factually incorrect, please email [email protected] and we will verify and revise within 14 days.

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