DMBM667540 - Enforcement action: county court proceedings: attachment of earnings orders (AEOs): types of attachment of earnings orders

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Priority orders

Priority orders take precedence over other AEOs. A priority order is made to secure payment of, for example, maintenance, a fine, or legal help (formerly known as legal aid contributions).

Non-Priority orders

Non-priority orders are made to secure payment of a judgment debt, or payments under an Administration Order.

An AEO to secure payment of a debt payable to HMRC will always be a non-priority order.

Consolidated orders

Where two or more judgment debts are owing by the same judgment debtor (it does not matter that the judgments may be payable to different creditors), either party (you or the judgment debtor) may apply for a single non-priority order to cover all the judgment debts. This is known as a ‘consolidated AEO’.

You can find further information about consolidated orders at DMBM667640.

The court may also make a consolidated order of its own volition.