DMBM667140 - Enforcement action: county court proceedings: Third Party Debt Orders (TPDOs): applying for a third party debt order on all third parties (except National Savings and Investments (NS&I))

Some content of this manual is being considered for archiving. If there is content you use regularly, please email hmrcmanualsteam@hmrc.gov.uk to let us know as soon as possible.

Applying for a third party debt order (TPDO)

The judgment creditor makes an application to the court on form N349. Make sure you apply for a TPDO immediately you become aware of assets, so as to avoid, for example, the judgment debtor closing their account, or otherwise moving assets out of your reach. You should complete the form N349 as shown in the table below. An experienced officer may sign the application under the direction of a debt manager.

An application for a TPDO

• may be made without notice
• must be issued in the court which made the judgment or order which it seeks to enforce; except that
• where the proceedings have since been transferred to a different court, must be issued in that court.

Confidentiality

Remember that information volunteered by third parties must be treated in strict confidence. Courts will not grant speculative applications for third party orders, and will only make an interim third party debt order against a bank or building society if the judgment creditor’s application notice contains evidence to substantiate his belief that the judgment debtor has an account with the bank or building society in question. Remember that a statement of truth must support all applications.

Section of form N349	Action
Section 1	Enter the full name of the judgment debtor and their full postal address and postcode. If you know, or suspect, that someone else with the same name lives at the same address, give as much information as you can to identify the judgment debtor, for example their date of birth.
Section 2	Enter full details of the judgment or order as appropriate. When completing the line “The amount now due is £…” you should complete this to show the balance of the judgment debt remaining unpaid, you should not include any interest that has accrued since judgment.
Section 3	Enter the full name and full postal address and postcode of the third party. In the case of a bank or building society, also show the account and sort code numbers and the name and address of the branch where the account is held (if known).
Section 4	If you know of anyone, other than the judgment debtor, that has any claim to the money owed by the third party, enter the relevant details. If you do not know of any other claim to the money, tick the ‘None’ box.
Section 5	Enter the grounds for believing that the third party is indebted to the judgment debtor.
Section 6	Enter the details of any other third party debt orders you have applied for in respect of the same judgment debt (including simultaneous applications), or tick the box to say that you have made no other such applications.

When the form is complete

• carry out an RP check (DMBM615040)
• prepare an imminent proceedings list
• sign the Statement of Truth
• record the fee on form C17(SAFE) and deal with it in the normal way using the name of the judgment debtor, not the third party
• take or send form N349 to the court: fee number 8.4(a) is payable for each application (see DMBM668760).