Do bailiffs work at weekends?

Which days the law allows a visit

The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 set out when an enforcement agent may take control of goods. Regulation 13 permits visits between 6am and 9pm. Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day are excluded — an agent cannot visit on those days. Saturdays are not excluded, so a visit on a Saturday is lawful provided it falls within the 6am to 9pm window.

Earliest a bailiff may attend

6am

Latest a bailiff may attend

9pm

Saturday visits

Permitted

Sunday visits

Not permitted

Bank holidays

Not permitted

Good Friday and Christmas Day

Not permitted

What the rules say about Sundays specifically

Sundays are expressly excluded from the days on which an enforcement agent may act. A visit made on a Sunday would fall outside the permitted times set by the regulations. The site has a page focused on that question: Can bailiffs come on a Sunday?

Notice still counts on a Saturday

The Notice of Enforcement must be given at least 14 clear days before a visit. Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day are not counted when working out that period — but Saturdays are counted. The Notice of Enforcement date checker can be used to work out when the 14 days expire on a specific notice.

Rather talk it through with someone? Request a call

A Saturday visit still adds the fees

A visit on a Saturday follows exactly the same rules as a visit on any other permitted day. The £247 enforcement stage fee is added on that visit all the same, and a vehicle outside can still be clamped. That fee comes on top of the £79 compliance fee already added when the Notice of Enforcement was sent. The full breakdown of how fees accumulate at each stage is on the bailiff fees page.

What happens during an out-of-hours attempt

If an agent calls at a time the regulations do not permit — for example on a Sunday, on a bank holiday, or before 6am or after 9pm on any day — the visit is not lawful under the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013. The agent has no power to take control of goods at that time. Anyone who experiences an out-of-hours visit can raise a formal complaint; the process is described on the how to complain about a bailiff page.

Goods taken and fees 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.

With a car or without one, for most debts £79 is added when the notice is sent and £247 on the first visit. Those fees apply on a Saturday visit just as on any other permitted day.