Serving a Statutory Demand

Personal service of statutory demands, UK-wide

A statutory demand against an individual should be served personally wherever possible, and the debtor's deadlines run from the date of service, so how and when it is served matters. If the debt is not paid or agreed within 21 days of service, a creditor can present a bankruptcy petition (for debts over £5,000) or a winding-up petition against a company. An individual has 18 days from service to apply to set the demand aside.

 

ASH (UK) Process Servers serves statutory demands for solicitors, insolvency practitioners, businesses and individual creditors across the UK, and gives you the evidence of service you will need for any petition.

 

Serving an individual or sole trader

The rules expect you to do everything reasonable to bring the demand to the debtor's attention, ideally by handing it to them in person. Our process servers attend at varied times, including out of hours, to achieve personal service. If personal service is not possible, our detailed record of each attempt supports any alternative service.

 

Serving a company

A statutory demand on a registered company is normally served by leaving it at the company's registered office. We attend, confirm the address is the current registered office, deliver the demand and record who received it.

 

How our service works

1. Complete the quote form below. We confirm the fee and timescale, usually within the hour during office hours, and send full instructions on how to get the signed statutory demand to us.

2. Send us the statutory demand as instructed.

3. We make the first attendance within 3 working days, or sooner with our Urgent Service.

4. We make up to 3 attendances, including at least one out of hours.

5. We send you a statement of service confirming the date, time, place and method, so you can calculate the 18-day and 21-day deadlines accurately.

 

Statutory demand FAQs

Can a statutory demand be served by email? Not as the first method. A demand on an individual should be served personally where possible.

 

What if the debtor is avoiding service? We vary our attendance times and record each attempt in detail. If the debtor has moved, our Trace service can find a current address.

 

Do you serve bankruptcy and winding-up petitions too? Yes, we serve petitions and other insolvency documents across the UK.

 

How much does it cost? Every job is quoted individually at a fixed fee. Complete the quote form below and we will reply within the hour during office hours.