England and Wales · Civil enforcement
When does the six-year limit for an action upon a judgment end?
Section 24(1) of the Limitation Act 1980 bars an action upon a judgment after six years from the date the judgment became enforceable.
- Period
- Six years from enforceability for a fresh action upon the judgment
- Trigger
- Established date the judgment became enforceable
- Rule
- Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1)
Official Justice UK CPR text and legislation.gov.uk statutory XML retained on October 9, 2026. The retained source metadata and acquisition receipts identify each edition. No claim of later amendments or actual local court opening is made.
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When does the six-year limit for an action upon a judgment end?
Section 24(1) of the Limitation Act 1980 bars an action upon a judgment after six years from the date the judgment became enforceable.
Responsible actor. The judgment creditor considering a fresh action upon the judgment.
Established date the judgment became enforceable.
A fresh action upon the judgment engages section 24(1). Merely taking a step to execute the existing judgment is a different question. Establish enforceability from the judgment and applicable order before selecting a date.
A fresh action upon the judgment engages section 24(1). Merely taking a step to execute the existing judgment is a different question. Establish enforceability from the judgment and applicable order before selecting a date.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1)How does this provision count time?
- The statute uses six years, not a fixed number of days. An ordinary date model must retain the established enforceability event and corresponding six-year boundary. An uncertain enforceability event, accrual-at-midnight issue or special statutory regime needs separate review.
- A court-office closing does not itself amend the statutory limitation. Do not apply CPR 2.8(5) to turn this statutory boundary into a later open-day deadline.
The statute uses six years, not a fixed number of days. An ordinary date model must retain the established enforceability event and corresponding six-year boundary. An uncertain enforceability event, accrual-at-midnight issue or special statutory regime needs separate review.
A court-office closing does not itself amend the statutory limitation. Do not apply CPR 2.8(5) to turn this statutory boundary into a later open-day deadline.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
The judgment creditor considering a fresh action upon the judgment. The established event is Friday, October 9, 2026. Use 72 calendar months, excluding the event date and reaching the corresponding calendar boundary. The endpoint is Saturday, October 9, 2032. It identifies the stated boundary rather than a guaranteed successful filing or permission grant. Additional fictitious established facts. Fictitious individually specified facts. The listed context makes the actual branch, actors, event history and completion facts explicit. Additional dates below are stated hypothetical facts rather than inferred client records.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | The judgment creditor considering a fresh action upon the judgment. The established event is Friday, October 9, 2026. Use 72 calendar months, excluding the event date and reaching the corresponding calendar boundary. The endpoint is Saturday, October 9, 2032. It identifies the stated boundary rather than a guaranteed successful filing or permission grant. Additional fictitious established facts. Fictitious individually specified facts. The listed context makes the actual branch, actors, event history and completion facts explicit. Additional dates below are stated hypothetical facts rather than inferred client records. The established event is Friday, October 9, 2026. Use 72 calendar months, excluding the event date and reaching the corresponding calendar boundary. The endpoint is Saturday, October 9, 2032. It identifies the stated boundary rather than a guaranteed successful filing or permission grant. | Saturday, October 9, 2032 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | The judgment creditor considering a fresh action upon the judgment. The corresponding source boundary is Saturday, October 9, 2032. This fixture concerns the statutory boundary, permission threshold or instrument validity itself. A closed court office does not automatically change that boundary; it does not purport to authorize a separate court act on a closed day. Additional fictitious established facts. Fictitious individually specified facts. The listed context makes the actual branch, actors, event history and completion facts explicit. Additional dates below are stated hypothetical facts rather than inferred client records. The corresponding source boundary is Saturday, October 9, 2032. This fixture concerns the statutory boundary, permission threshold or instrument validity itself. A closed court office does not automatically change that boundary; it does not purport to authorize a separate court act on a closed day. | Saturday, October 9, 2032 |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | The judgment creditor considering a fresh action upon the judgment. The enforceability date is disputed because the judgment postpones enforceability. Establish the operative enforceability event before calculating. Additional fictitious established facts. Fictitious individually specified facts. The listed context makes the actual branch, actors, event history and completion facts explicit. Additional dates below are stated hypothetical facts rather than inferred client records. The enforceability date is disputed because the judgment postpones enforceability. Establish the operative enforceability event before calculating. | Establish the operative enforceability event before calculating. |
Fictitious established facts. These examples do not establish eligibility, effective service, relief or a direction.
Try these dates in the calculatorWhich conditions and exceptions apply?
- Identified actor and operative event
- A fresh action upon the judgment engages section 24(1). Merely taking a step to execute the existing judgment is a different question. Establish enforceability from the judgment and applicable order before selecting a date.
- Provision-specific counting and closure
- The statute uses six years, not a fixed number of days. An ordinary date model must retain the established enforceability event and corresponding six-year boundary. An uncertain enforceability event, accrual-at-midnight issue or special statutory regime needs separate review. A court-office closing does not itself amend the statutory limitation. Do not apply CPR 2.8(5) to turn this statutory boundary into a later open-day deadline.
- Required completion and separate procedural route
- Identify the proposed fresh cause of action and the judgment being sued upon. A permission order for execution does not itself extend the section 24 period.
- A fresh action upon the judgment engages section 24(1). Merely taking a step to execute the existing judgment is a different question. Establish enforceability from the judgment and applicable order before selecting a date.
- CPR 83.2(3)(a) requires permission to issue specified enforcement instruments once six years or more have elapsed. It does not turn section 24 into a general six-year prohibition on every enforcement step.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
When does the six-year limit for an action upon a judgment end?
Does section 24 give every enforcement method a six-year expiry?
No. Section 24(1) addresses an action upon a judgment. The permission requirement for issuing specified writs or warrants after six years appears separately in CPR 83.2(3)(a).
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1); CPR 83.2(3)(a)Does the judgment date always start the action-upon-judgment period?
The statutory event is when the judgment became enforceable. A judgment date cannot replace that event without checking the judgment and its operative terms.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1)Does permission to issue a late writ extend the section 24 limitation?
CPR 83.2 permission concerns issuing the enforcement instrument. Section 24(1) separately limits a fresh action upon the judgment. The permission route does not state an extension of that statute.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1); CPR 83.2(3)Are six years interchangeable with 2,190 days?
No. The provision specifies years. Leap years make a fixed day total an unreliable substitute for the corresponding statutory period.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1)Can a closed Registry automatically move the statutory action boundary?
Section 24 states a statutory limit. CPR 2.8(5) addresses an act at the court office under the Rules, a practice direction or an order. Do not assume that provision extends this statutory bar.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1); CPR 2.8(5)Does the same event govern judgment interest arrears?
No. Section 24(2) measures each interest period from when that interest became due. It does not substitute the judgment enforceability date for every later interest tranche.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1)–(2)Official sources and review
Provisions used (8)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 83.2(3)(a) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 83.2(3) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 2.8(5) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1)–(2) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1); CPR 83.2(3)(a) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1); CPR 83.2(3) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Limitation Act 1980, s 24(1); CPR 2.8(5) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |