The amount certified in the default costs certificate must be paid within 14 days of the date of the certificate unless, upon an application made by either party, whether before or after the issue of the certificate, the court has specified some other date (CPR 44.7).

An application to stay enforcement of a default costs certificate issued by the SCCO may be made to a Costs Judge or to a court which has jurisdiction to enforce the certificate. Proceedings for enforcement of a default costs certificate may not be issued in the SCCO (Part 47 Practice Direction (para 10.6)).

Default costs certificates are addressed to the paying party. Where the receiving party is funded by legal aid, the issue of a default costs certificate does not prohibit, govern, or affect any detailed assessment of the same costs which may have to be made to determine the sum payable by the Legal Aid Agency (Part 47 Practice Direction (para 10.4)).

Default costs certificates are registerable in the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines pursuant to the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines Regulations 2005. The details needed for registration must be sent to the Register by the SCCO. These details include the postal address of the paying party’s usual or last known residence or place of business, even if that is not the paying party’s address for service. It is not possible to register a default costs certificate if, for example, the only address supplied to the SCCO is the address of a legal representative acting for the paying party.

Extract from the Senior Courts Costs Office Guide 2018