England and Wales · Civil enforcement
How far back may judgment interest arrears be recovered?
Section 24(2) prevents recovery of judgment-interest arrears after six years from the date the interest became due.
- Period
- Six years from the due date of the identified interest
- Trigger
- Established date the particular judgment interest became due
- Rule
- Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2)
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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How far back may judgment interest arrears be recovered?
Section 24(2) prevents recovery of judgment-interest arrears after six years from the date the interest became due.
Responsible actor. The judgment creditor seeking to recover an identified interest tranche.
Established date the particular judgment interest became due.
Apply the statutory test to the interest actually claimed. An account covering many due dates needs a tranche-by-tranche analysis. A single judgment date cannot establish the recoverability of all later interest.
Apply the statutory test to the interest actually claimed. An account covering many due dates needs a tranche-by-tranche analysis. A single judgment date cannot establish the recoverability of all later interest.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2)How does this provision count time?
- Use the actual due date for each interest tranche and preserve its corresponding six-year boundary. Do not calculate the entire interest account from the original judgment date.
- The arrears restriction is statutory. A closed court office does not, by itself, make an otherwise time-barred interest tranche recoverable.
Use the actual due date for each interest tranche and preserve its corresponding six-year boundary. Do not calculate the entire interest account from the original judgment date.
The arrears restriction is statutory. A closed court office does not, by itself, make an otherwise time-barred interest tranche recoverable.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
The judgment creditor seeking to recover an identified interest tranche. 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. Identified interest tranche became due. Friday, October 9, 2026. 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 seeking to recover an identified interest tranche. 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. Identified interest tranche became due. Friday, October 9, 2026. 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 seeking to recover an identified interest tranche. 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. Identified interest tranche became due. Friday, October 9, 2026. 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 seeking to recover an identified interest tranche. The requested arrears combine several interest due dates. Identify the due date of each interest tranche. Additional fictitious established facts. Identified interest tranche became due. Friday, October 9, 2026. 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 requested arrears combine several interest due dates. Identify the due date of each interest tranche. | Identify the due date of each interest tranche. |
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
- Apply the statutory test to the interest actually claimed. An account covering many due dates needs a tranche-by-tranche analysis. A single judgment date cannot establish the recoverability of all later interest.
- Provision-specific counting and closure
- Use the actual due date for each interest tranche and preserve its corresponding six-year boundary. Do not calculate the entire interest account from the original judgment date. The arrears restriction is statutory. A closed court office does not, by itself, make an otherwise time-barred interest tranche recoverable.
- Required completion and separate procedural route
- This date analysis does not determine the lawful interest rate, compounding, whether interest runs, or how payments must be allocated. Establish those facts separately.
- Apply the statutory test to the interest actually claimed. An account covering many due dates needs a tranche-by-tranche analysis. A single judgment date cannot establish the recoverability of all later interest.
- The principal judgment and interest arrears are distinct. Section 24(1) concerns an action upon the judgment, while section 24(2) separately ages interest from its own due date.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
How far back may judgment interest arrears be recovered?
Does judgment issue start six years for every interest payment?
No. Section 24(2) uses when the interest became due. Later interest can have a different statutory boundary from earlier interest.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2)Does enforcing the principal preserve all historical interest?
The statute separately restricts recovery of interest arrears. The ability to seek an enforcement step on the principal does not erase section 24(2).
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2); CPR 83.2(3)(a)Can one date represent an account with monthly interest tranches?
Only the identified tranche is described by its due date. Retain each due date where the requested interest spans multiple accruals.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2)Does the six-year interest restriction determine the interest rate?
No. Section 24(2) limits recovery of arrears by age. It does not establish the applicable rate or whether a particular sum carries interest.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2)Does court permission to issue a writ revive old interest arrears?
The permission condition under CPR 83.2 concerns issue of the instrument. It does not state that interest barred by section 24(2) becomes recoverable.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2); CPR 83.2(3)May the interest limit be treated as a CPR open-day filing period?
Do not assume that. It is a statutory recovery restriction, while CPR 2.8(5) is limited to specified acts at the court office.
Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2); CPR 2.8(5)Official sources and review
Provisions used (7)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2) | 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(2); CPR 83.2(3)(a) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2); CPR 83.2(3) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Limitation Act 1980, s 24(2); CPR 2.8(5) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |