England and Wales · Civil enforcement
How early must the attachment of earnings failure hearing notice be served?
CPR 89.8(5) requires personal service of the paragraph (4) notice on the debtor not less than five days before the hearing.
- Period
- At least five clear countable days between personal service and hearing
- Trigger
- Actual hearing date for the transferred failure-to-comply application
- Rule
- CPR 89.8(2)–(5)
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 early must the attachment of earnings failure hearing notice be served?
CPR 89.8(5) requires personal service of the paragraph (4) notice on the debtor not less than five days before the hearing.
Responsible actor. The person responsible for personally serving the CPR 89.8(4) notice.
Actual hearing date for the transferred failure-to-comply application.
The court officer issues this show-reason notice after the application is transferred under paragraph (3). It is not the original application notice or a generic committal timetable.
The court officer issues this show-reason notice after the application is transferred under paragraph (3). It is not the original application notice or a generic committal timetable.
CPR 89.8(2)–(5)How does this provision count time?
- Exclude both the personal-service day and hearing day. Because this is a period of five days, CPR 2.8(4) also excludes Saturdays, Sundays, bank holidays, Christmas Day and Good Friday from the intervening count. CPR 6.26 ordinarily deems personal service effective the same day only before 4.30 p.m. on a business day. A weekend date preceding the five intervening days cannot be used as an effective ordinary service day.
- An ordinary Saturday or Sunday cannot count among these five intervening days. A known bank holiday must also be omitted. This service notice does not receive an automatic court-office filing rollover.
Exclude both the personal-service day and hearing day. Because this is a period of five days, CPR 2.8(4) also excludes Saturdays, Sundays, bank holidays, Christmas Day and Good Friday from the intervening count. CPR 6.26 ordinarily deems personal service effective the same day only before 4.30 p.m. on a business day. A weekend date preceding the five intervening days cannot be used as an effective ordinary service day.
An ordinary Saturday or Sunday cannot count among these five intervening days. A known bank holiday must also be omitted. This service notice does not receive an automatic court-office filing rollover.
CPR 89.8(2)–(5)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
The person responsible for personally serving the CPR 89.8(4) notice. For the established proposed event Monday, November 30, 2026, the latest notice day is Friday, November 20, 2026. Count exactly 5 intervening eligible dates. Saturdays and Sundays are excluded under CPR 2.8(4). Effective personal service must also satisfy CPR 6.26; the stated date assumes personal service before 4.30 p.m. on that business 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.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | The person responsible for personally serving the CPR 89.8(4) notice. For the established proposed event Monday, November 30, 2026, the latest notice day is Friday, November 20, 2026. Count exactly 5 intervening eligible dates. Saturdays and Sundays are excluded under CPR 2.8(4). Effective personal service must also satisfy CPR 6.26; the stated date assumes personal service before 4.30 p.m. on that business 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. For the established proposed event Monday, November 30, 2026, the latest notice day is Friday, November 20, 2026. Count exactly 5 intervening eligible dates. Saturdays and Sundays are excluded under CPR 2.8(4). Effective personal service must also satisfy CPR 6.26; the stated date assumes personal service before 4.30 p.m. on that business day. Complete personal service before 4.30 p.m. Europe/London on the stated date. Equality with that time does not satisfy the ordinary same-day route. | Friday, November 20, 2026 before 16:30 Europe/London |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | The person responsible for personally serving the CPR 89.8(4) notice. For the established proposed event Tuesday, December 29, 2026, omit the intervening Christmas Day, substitute Boxing Day bank holiday and relevant Sundays and Saturdays. The eligible-date list leaves latest notice Thursday, December 17, 2026. No court-office rollover is substituted for the advance-notice count. 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. For the established proposed event Tuesday, December 29, 2026, omit the intervening Christmas Day, substitute Boxing Day bank holiday and relevant Sundays and Saturdays. The eligible-date list leaves latest notice Thursday, December 17, 2026. No court-office rollover is substituted for the advance-notice count. Complete personal service before 4.30 p.m. Europe/London on the stated date. Equality with that time does not satisfy the ordinary same-day route. | Thursday, December 17, 2026 before 16:30 Europe/London |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | The person responsible for personally serving the CPR 89.8(4) notice. The notice was posted rather than personally served on the debtor. Establish the personal-service act required by rule 89.8(5). 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 notice was posted rather than personally served on the debtor. Establish the personal-service act required by rule 89.8(5). | Establish the personal-service act required by rule 89.8(5). |
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
- The court officer issues this show-reason notice after the application is transferred under paragraph (3). It is not the original application notice or a generic committal timetable.
- Provision-specific counting and closure
- Exclude both the personal-service day and hearing day. Because this is a period of five days, CPR 2.8(4) also excludes Saturdays, Sundays, bank holidays, Christmas Day and Good Friday from the intervening count. CPR 6.26 ordinarily deems personal service effective the same day only before 4.30 p.m. on a business day. A weekend date preceding the five intervening days cannot be used as an effective ordinary service day. An ordinary Saturday or Sunday cannot count among these five intervening days. A known bank holiday must also be omitted. This service notice does not receive an automatic court-office filing rollover.
- Required completion and separate procedural route
- Use the actual hearing and personal service facts. An adjournment or later order can change the relevant hearing. The source requires personal service rather than a deemed postal-service substitute.
- The court officer issues this show-reason notice after the application is transferred under paragraph (3). It is not the original application notice or a generic committal timetable.
- The N56 reply is due within eight days after service. This later five-day notice protects a different hearing after the specified failure and transfer steps.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
How early must the attachment of earnings failure hearing notice be served?
Can the five-day notice be served by ordinary post instead of personally?
Rule 89.8(5) expressly requires personal service on the debtor. A postal dispatch date does not establish the prescribed service act.
CPR 89.8(5)Does Saturday count in the five-day hearing notice?
No. CPR 2.8(4) excludes Saturdays and Sundays in a period of five days or less. Count five eligible intervening dates.
CPR 89.8(5); 2.8(3)–(4)Does the hearing day count as the fifth clear day?
No. The period ends by reference to the hearing. CPR 2.8(3) excludes that event day as well as the day of service.
CPR 89.8(5); 2.8(3)Is this the same document as the initial N56 application?
No. Paragraph (4) concerns a notice issued after the application is transferred following the failure described in paragraph (3). The initial reply documents fall under rule 89.5.
CPR 89.8(2)–(5); 89.5(1)Does a bank holiday count if the debtor can receive documents that day?
The short-period counting exclusion is independent of practical receipt. CPR 2.8(4) omits a bank holiday from the intervening five-day count.
CPR 2.8(4); 89.8(5)Does serving this notice establish that imprisonment must follow?
No. The notice calls on the debtor to show good reason. The period and service act do not determine the court’s eventual decision.
CPR 89.8(4)–(5)Official sources and review
Provisions used (13)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| CPR 89.8(2)–(5) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 2.8(2)–(5) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 89.8(5) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 2.8(3)–(4) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 2.8(3) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 89.5(1) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 2.8(4) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 89.8(4)–(5) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 6.26 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 89.8(5); 2.8(3)–(4) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 89.8(5); 2.8(3) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 89.8(2)–(5); 89.5(1) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| CPR 2.8(4); 89.8(5) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |