Overview
If you receive a County Court Judgement and your circumstances change, it’s always best to try and get the court order changed rather than falling behind with payments.
To ask the court to change the outcome you can make a request to vary the judgement
Varying the payment is at the court’s discretion. The court will decide if changing the payment is fair to both you and the creditor. The court will only vary the payments if you cannot afford the payments you have been asked to make.
You will have to pay a fee to apply for a variation, unless you qualify for help.
You could try negotiating directly with your creditor to see if they will accept reduced payments without going back to court. Send them a copy of your summary budget. This could save you paying the fee to the court. However, remember that if you don’t pay what the court originally told you to pay, the creditor could still choose to take enforcement action.
Vary using form N245
You can apply for a variation using form N245 if:
- you did not reply to the claim form;
- you replied admitting the claim, but did not make an offer to pay;
- you replied admitting the claim, and the creditor accepted your offer of payment; or
- you defended the claim but lost.
You will need to pay a court fee currently £15.00
Vary using form N244
You can apply for a variation using form N244 if you admitted the claim and:
- the rate of payment was set at a hearing;
- the rate of payment was set by redetermination; or
- you could have applied for a redetermination, but have run out of time.
You will need to pay a court fee currently £15.00
However, you will normally only be allowed to vary the payment if your circumstances have changed since the original decision was made. For example, the court might accept your application if your income has reduced because you have lost your job.
Last Updated on June 10, 2026 by Ashford Advice