Can bailiffs take tools of the trade?

Regulation 4 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 protects items a person needs for their own use in their job, trade, profession, business or study. The protection is not unlimited, and for some debts it does not apply at all.

What the law says

The regulations protect “items or equipment (for example, tools, books, telephones, computer equipment and vehicles) which are necessary for use personally by the debtor” in their employment, business, trade, profession, study or education. The protection is for items necessary for the debtor’s own personal use — it does not extend to stock in trade, raw materials or equipment used by employees rather than the debtor themselves.

The full list of what may and may not be taken is covered at What can bailiffs take?.

The £1,350 limit

The protection is subject to a combined value cap of £1,350. That figure applies to the total value of everything claimed as work equipment, not to each item individually. A set of hand tools worth £400, a work laptop worth £600 and a mobile phone worth £200 together reach £1,200 and remain protected. If the combined value of those items exceeded £1,350, an agent could in principle take control of items from the collection whose combined value brought the total to the debt and costs, leaving items up to £1,350 in value protected.

Work tools exemption limit

£1,350Combined value of all items claimed, not per item

Debts where exemption does not apply

Tax debts and business ratesHMRC enforcement and non-domestic rates

Does a work vehicle count?

A vehicle is included in the list of examples in the regulations. A van, car or other vehicle that is necessary for the debtor’s own use in their work can therefore fall within the exemption — but only where its value is within the £1,350 overall limit. Most vans used for work are worth considerably more than £1,350, which means the exemption gives them no protection in practice. A vehicle worth more than the cap can be taken in the same way as any other vehicle.

The detail of how enforcement agents deal with vehicles — including clamping on a highway, on a driveway and the steps before sale — is set out at Can bailiffs take a car?.

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Debts where the exemption does not apply

The tools of the trade exemption does not apply where the debt is a tax debt owed to HMRC or business rates. For those debts an enforcement agent can take work tools, a work laptop, a work van or any other item that would otherwise be protected under the work equipment heading, regardless of its value. Household essentials such as beds, a cooker and a fridge remain protected even for tax and business rates debts.

What typically happens on a visit

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.

With a car or without one, for most debts £79 is added when the notice is sent and £247 on the first visit. The full breakdown of how fees accumulate is at Bailiff fees.

Claiming the exemption

If an agent attempts to take an item that a person believes is protected as work equipment, the person can tell the agent and explain why the item falls within the exemption. Where an agent has already listed or removed an item, a complaint can be made to the enforcement firm and, if that does not resolve it, to the Enforcement Conduct Board. Where goods that belong to someone else have been taken, that person can make a claim to the agent and, if it is not accepted, apply to the court. The agent must not sell the goods once they have notice of a court application unless the court allows it. The route for complaints is set out at How to complain about a bailiff.

If the agent’s enforcement is paused or ends without payment, the debt itself is not cancelled. It goes back to the creditor, who has other ways to collect it.