The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 state the permitted hours for enforcement visits as 6am to 9pm. No day of the week is excluded. A Sunday visit within those hours is lawful in exactly the same way as a Monday visit. The Do bailiffs work on Sundays? page covers this question from the other direction, for anyone who found this through a slightly different search.
The permitted hours
- Permitted hours
- 6am to 9pmAny day of the week, including Sundays
- Minimum notice before a first visit
- 14 clear daysSundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day are not counted in those 14 days
- Extended notice (if a debt adviser requests it)
- 28 clear daysMust be requested before the first 14 days expire
A visit before 6am or after 9pm on any day, including a Sunday, falls outside the permitted hours. That applies equally on weekdays and weekends. If an agent attends outside those hours, a complaint can be made to the enforcement firm and, if the response is unsatisfactory, to the Enforcement Conduct Board. The process is described at how to complain about a bailiff.
How Sundays affect the notice period — but not visits
Although agents can visit on Sundays, Sundays play a different role when the notice period is counted. Before a first visit the enforcement firm must send a Notice of Enforcement and allow at least 14 clear days to pass. Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day are all excluded from that count. Saturdays are included as normal days.
Because Sundays are skipped over in the count, the calendar time before the earliest lawful visit is longer than 14 days in most cases. The day after the 14th counted clear day is the earliest an agent can attend — and that day can itself be a Sunday. The Notice of Enforcement date checker does the calculation automatically.
How the count works
The day the notice is delivered is not counted, nor is the day of the visit itself. There must be 14 full clear days in between, with Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day left out of those 14. Saturdays count as normal days in the sequence.
What an agent can do on a Sunday visit
The rules on what agents may and may not do are the same on a Sunday as on any other day. The threshold below sets them out. Full detail is at what bailiffs can and cannot do.
Permitted on a Sunday visit
- Attend between 6am and 9pm
- Enter peacefully through an unlocked door or if someone lets them in
- Clamp or remove a vehicle on a drive or on a public road
- List goods and offer a controlled goods agreement
- Add the statutory fees at each stage
Not permitted on a Sunday visit
- Attend before 6am or after 9pm
- Force entry to a home on a first visit for most debts
- Take goods belonging to someone else in the household
- Take essential household items or work equipment worth up to £1,350 in total
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The fees apply regardless of the day
The day of the week has no effect on what fees are added. With a car or without one, for most debts £79 is added when the notice is sent and £247 on the first visit. 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. On the standard scale the fixed fees are £79 at the notice, £326 once an agent has visited and £442 if goods are removed for sale, before any percentage fee on a larger debt. Full detail on how fees build up is at bailiff fees.
What happens in practice
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.
Magistrates’ court fines: a different rule
For magistrates’ court fines, the agents collecting them have powers that differ from standard enforcement — including the ability to force entry in certain circumstances. The permitted hours and the exclusion of Sundays from the notice count apply in the same way. The differences are explained at magistrates’ court fine bailiffs.
Can bailiffs come to my door on a Sunday?
Yes. The law permits enforcement visits between 6am and 9pm on any day of the week. No regulation excludes Sundays from visits.
Do Sundays count toward the 14-day notice period?
No. Sundays are excluded from the clear-days count, alongside bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day. Saturdays do count. Excluding Sundays extends the calendar time before the earliest lawful visit date.
Can a bailiff clamp my car on a Sunday?
Yes. The rules on clamping apply on Sundays in the same way as any other day. A vehicle belonging to the person named on the enforcement power can be clamped on a drive or on a public road, and removed after it has been clamped for at least two hours.
What if a bailiff comes before 6am or after 9pm on a Sunday?
A visit outside the 6am to 9pm window on any day, including a Sunday, falls outside the permitted hours set by the regulations. A complaint can be made to the enforcement firm and then to the Enforcement Conduct Board if the response is unsatisfactory.
Can the earliest visit date after a Notice of Enforcement fall on a Sunday?
Yes. The day after the last counted clear day is the earliest a visit can take place, and that day can itself be a Sunday. Sundays are only excluded from the count of clear days in the notice period, not from visits themselves.
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Sources
- Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulations 12 and 13 (days and hours)
- Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 6 (minimum period of notice)
- Taking Control of Goods (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/366)
- GOV.UK: Bailiff powers when they visit your home
- Enforcement Conduct Board: Insight Report 2026 (data for January to June 2025)