Can bailiffs clamp a car?

Clamping is often the first action an agent takes, because it does not require entry to a building and can be done whether or not anyone is at home. This page covers where a vehicle can be clamped, the wait before removal, which vehicles are protected, and what fees follow.

Where an agent can clamp a car

An enforcement agent can take control of a vehicle in two places: on premises they have power to enter, and on a highway. In practice that covers most places a car is likely to be parked.

A closed door does not stop the costs. For most debts the £247 enforcement stage fee is added from the first visit whether or not anyone answers, and a vehicle outside can still be clamped.

The clamping sequence

1. The clamp is fitted

   A vehicle found on a highway must be secured with an immobilisation device unless the keys are handed over voluntarily.

2. A written warning is fixed to the vehicle

   It must state that the vehicle has been immobilised and why, the date and time, a reference number, and a telephone number for enquiries available 24 hours a day.

3. At least 2 hours pass

   The vehicle must remain immobilised where it is positioned for a period of not less than 2 hours, unless the sum is paid or an agreement to release it is made within that time.

4. The vehicle can be removed to storage

   After the 2-hour minimum the agent may remove the vehicle to storage. Storage costs that are reasonably and actually incurred can be added to the debt. The agent must keep the vehicle in the condition it was found.

5. Sale, if nothing changes

   A removed vehicle cannot be sold for at least 7 clear days, and at least 7 clear days’ notice of the sale must be given. The sale stage fee of £116 applies from the point goods are collected for sale.

Vehicles that cannot be clamped

Some vehicles are exempt from being taken under the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013. The main exemptions are:

• Blue Badge vehicles. A vehicle on which a valid disabled person’s badge is displayed because it is used to carry a disabled person is exempt.
• Vehicles needed for work or study, where the vehicle is necessary for the debtor’s own use in their job, trade or education and falls within the £1,350 overall limit for work equipment. A car worth more than that is not covered by this exemption.
• A vehicle that is someone’s only or main home, such as a campervan lived in full time.
• Emergency vehicles and vehicles showing a valid health emergency badge.

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The fees that follow clamping

With a car or without one, for most debts £79 is added when the notice is sent and £247 on the first visit. If the vehicle is then removed and sold, a further £116 sale stage fee applies. These are the figures from 1 May 2026 on the standard scale.

Compliance fee (Notice of Enforcement)

£79

Enforcement fee (first visit)

£247

Sale or disposal fee

£116

Minimum wait before removal

2 hours

Minimum notice before sale

7 clear days

Each fee is charged once per stage, not once per letter or per visit. A stage fee is payable in full once that stage has started, even if the debt is paid before the stage ends. Storage costs and auction fees can be added on top of the fixed stage fees. The bailiff fees calculator works out the total on a specific debt, including any percentage fee that applies above £1,900.

Where a debt exceeds £1,900, an additional 7.5% of the amount above that threshold is charged at the enforcement stage and again at the sale stage. Full details of how each fee is triggered are on the bailiff fees page.

How common is removal compared with clamping?

Goods are taken away in a small share of cases: 2,624 of almost 3.7 million in January to June 2025, most often a clamped vehicle. What happens far more often, with a car or without one, is cost. Of the cases that ended in payment in that period, 64% were paid at the enforcement stage or later, after an agent’s first visit had added the larger fee. The average fee collected on a case paid in full was £201, on the lower fees then in force.

Getting a clamped vehicle released

The notice left on the vehicle must say it will be released on payment in full, or may be released on part payment where the agent agrees. Paying the whole amount at any point before sale means the vehicle must be made available for collection and no further steps can be taken.

Where a vehicle was exempt or belongs to someone else, the route is a claim to the enforcement firm with supporting evidence, a complaint to the creditor, and if necessary an application to the court. The wider process for how to complain about a bailiff is set out separately.

If the bailiff stage ends without resolution, the debt itself is not cancelled. It goes back to the creditor, who has other ways to collect it.