Transferring a possession order to the High Court: the N244 application, and when you need permission

In England and Wales, transferring a county court possession order to the High Court is a county court enforcement step under section 42 of the County Courts Act 1984, not a new possession claim. The practical trap is that much online guidance still repeats the pre-2020 CPR permission rule and old court fees.

How do you transfer a possession order to the High Court for enforcement?

You transfer a tenant possession order to the High Court by asking the county court that made the possession order to transfer the proceedings under section 42 of the County Courts Act 1984, usually by an application notice such as N244 if the request was not made at the possession hearing. The county court has the power because “the county court may order the transfer of any proceedings before it to the High Court”, and once transferred “the judgment or order may be enforced as if it were a judgment or order of the High Court”. The current court fee to make an on-notice application where no other fee is specified is £321, and the separate fee for “Sealing a writ of possession (recovery of a property or land)” is £82. Do not copy the market’s £303 figure; it is stale. The writ itself must be in Form 66 or 66A because PD 83 says: “A writ of possession must be in Form 66 or 66A, whichever is appropriate.” Abodient is useful here as a document store: keep the possession order, application, writ and enforcement correspondence against the tenancy so the enforcement file is not mixed with another letting period.

Do you need the court's permission to transfer the order?

You do not generally need High Court permission to issue a writ of possession for an ordinary tenant possession order, because the old blanket CPR 83.13(2) permission rule was repealed on 23 August 2020 and the current rule is limited to Immigration Act notices. The current CPR 83.13(2) says: “No writ of possession to enforce a notice under section 33D of the Immigration Act 2014 may be issued without the permission of the court.” The repealed version is the line most rival pages still quote: “a writ of possession to enforce a judgment or order for the giving of possession of any land will not be issued without the permission of the court.” What replaced the old permission gate in ordinary possession enforcement is notice: CPR 83.8A(2)(a) requires that “a notice of eviction must be delivered to the premises not less than 14 days before the writ or warrant is executed”. Permission can still matter in special cases, including where “six years or more have elapsed since the date of the judgment or order”.

Can you still transfer the order more than three months after it was made?

Yes, an ordinary tenant possession order can still be transferred more than three months after it was made; the three-month rule is for trespasser possession orders, not tenant possession orders. CPR 83.13(3) says: “No writ of possession against a trespasser may be issued after the expiry of 3 months from the date of the order without the permission of the court.” The county court warrant rule mirrors that wording for trespassers, saying: “No warrant of possession against a trespasser may be issued after the expiry of 3 months from the date of the order without the permission of the court.” For tenants, the more important long-stop is the six-year permission rule, because CPR 83.2(3)(a) says a relevant writ or warrant must not be issued without permission where “six years or more have elapsed since the date of the judgment or order”. The three-month myth survives because trespasser procedure is often copied into tenant enforcement advice without the trespasser label.

The possession order does not mention High Court enforcement, so can it be amended?

A possession order does not need to mention High Court enforcement, so silence in the order is not normally a clerical mistake to amend; the landlord should make the transfer application instead. Section 42 gives the county court power to transfer proceedings because “the county court may order the transfer of any proceedings before it to the High Court”, and the effect is enforcement, not rewriting the possession order: “the judgment or order may be enforced as if it were a judgment or order of the High Court.” CPR 40.12(1) is narrower than landlords often assume: “The court may at any time correct an accidental slip or omission in a judgment or order.” That corrects a slip, not a decision the judge never made. If the order was made on the accelerated paper process, CPR 55.19 allows the court “on application by a party within 14 days of service of the order; or of its own initiative, set aside or vary any order made under rule 55.17”.

How do you lift a stay on an accelerated possession claim?

You lift a stayed accelerated possession claim by applying to the court under the general case-management powers, but new accelerated possession claims closed on 1 May 2026 and unissued applications outside the 31 July 2026 cut-off cannot usually be rescued by starting again. GOV.UK says: “You cannot usually apply to the court for an accelerated possession order, even if you gave your tenant a valid section 21 notice before 1 May 2026.” The general stay power is CPR 3.1(2)(g), which allows the court to “stay(GL) the whole or part of any proceedings or judgment either generally or until a specified date or event”; the related power to vary or revoke an order is CPR 3.1(7). If relying on the ordinary automatic-stay route, CPR 15.11(2) says: “Any party may apply under Part 23 for the stay to be lifted. The application must include an explanation for the delay in proceeding with or responding to the claim.” There is no confirmed primary-rule requirement to use a “CH60” form, so do not treat CH60 as required unless the court specifically asks for it; the fee contrast is £16 to stay or suspend enforcement, against £321 for an on-notice application where no other fee is specified.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• In England and Wales, transferring a county court possession order to the High Court is a county court enforcement step under section 42 of the County Courts Act 1984, not a new possession claim. — “Subject to any such provision, the county court may order the transfer of any proceedings before it to the High Court.” Source
• You transfer a tenant possession order to the High Court by asking the county court that made the possession order to transfer the proceedings under section 42 of the County Courts Act 1984, usually by an application notice such as N244 if the request was not made at the possession hearing. — “An order under this section may be made either on the motion of the court itself or on the application of any party to the proceedings.” Source
• The county court has the power because “the county court may order the transfer of any proceedings before it to the High Court”, and once transferred “the judgment or order may be enforced as if it were a judgment or order of the High Court”. — “the judgment or order may be enforced as if it were a judgment or order of the High Court” Source
• The current court fee to make an on-notice application where no other fee is specified is £321, and the separate fee for “Sealing a writ of possession (recovery of a property or land)” is £82. — “Sealing a writ of possession (recovery of a property or land) £82” Source
• The writ itself must be in Form 66 or 66A because PD 83 says: “A writ of possession must be in Form 66 or 66A, whichever is appropriate.” — “A writ of possession must be in Form 66 or 66A, whichever is appropriate.” Source
• You do not generally need High Court permission to issue a writ of possession for an ordinary tenant possession order, because the old blanket CPR 83.13(2) permission rule was repealed on 23 August 2020 and the current rule is limited to Immigration Act notices. — “No writ of possession to enforce a notice under section 33D of the Immigration Act 2014 may be issued without the permission of the court.” Source
• The current CPR 83.13(2) says: “No writ of possession to enforce a notice under section 33D of the Immigration Act 2014 may be issued without the permission of the court.” — “No writ of possession to enforce a notice under section 33D of the Immigration Act 2014 may be issued without the permission of the court.” Source
• The repealed version is the line most rival pages still quote: “a writ of possession to enforce a judgment or order for the giving of possession of any land will not be issued without the permission of the court.” — “a writ of possession to enforce a judgment or order for the giving of possession of any land will not be issued without the permission of the court.” Source
• What replaced the old permission gate in ordinary possession enforcement is notice: CPR 83.8A(2)(a) requires that “a notice of eviction must be delivered to the premises not less than 14 days before the writ or warrant is executed”. — “a notice of eviction must be delivered to the premises not less than 14 days before the writ or warrant is executed” Source
• Permission can still matter in special cases, including where “six years or more have elapsed since the date of the judgment or order”. — “A relevant writ or warrant must not be issued without the permission of the court where— (a) six years or more have elapsed since the date of the judgment or order;” Source
• Yes, an ordinary tenant possession order can still be transferred more than three months after it was made; the three-month rule is for trespasser possession orders, not tenant possession orders. — “No writ of possession against a trespasser may be issued after the expiry of 3 months from the date of the order without the permission of the court.” Source
• CPR 83.13(3) says: “No writ of possession against a trespasser may be issued after the expiry of 3 months from the date of the order without the permission of the court.” — “No writ of possession against a trespasser may be issued after the expiry of 3 months from the date of the order without the permission of the court.” Source
• The county court warrant rule mirrors that wording for trespassers, saying: “No warrant of possession against a trespasser may be issued after the expiry of 3 months from the date of the order without the permission of the court.” — “No warrant of possession against a trespasser may be issued after the expiry of 3 months from the date of the order without the permission of the court.” Source
• For tenants, the more important long-stop is the six-year permission rule, because CPR 83.2(3)(a) says a relevant writ or warrant must not be issued without permission where “six years or more have elapsed since the date of the judgment or order”. — “A relevant writ or warrant must not be issued without the permission of the court where— (a) six years or more have elapsed since the date of the judgment or order;” Source
• A possession order does not need to mention High Court enforcement, so silence in the order is not normally a clerical mistake to amend; the landlord should make the transfer application instead. — “The landlord can request the transfer: during possession proceedings in the County Court after a possession order has been obtained, by making an application to the County Court” Source
• Section 42 gives the county court power to transfer proceedings because “the county court may order the transfer of any proceedings before it to the High Court”, and the effect is enforcement, not rewriting the possession order: “the judgment or order may be enforced as if it were a judgment or order of the High Court.” — “the judgment or order may be enforced as if it were a judgment or order of the High Court” Source
• CPR 40.12(1) is narrower than landlords often assume: “The court may at any time correct an accidental slip or omission in a judgment or order.” — “The court may at any time correct an accidental slip or omission in a judgment or order.” Source
• If the order was made on the accelerated paper process, CPR 55.19 allows the court “on application by a party within 14 days of service of the order; or of its own initiative, set aside or vary any order made under rule 55.17”. — “on application by a party within 14 days of service of the order; or of its own initiative, set aside or vary any order made under rule 55.17” Source
• You lift a stayed accelerated possession claim by applying to the court under the general case-management powers, but new accelerated possession claims closed on 1 May 2026 and unissued applications outside the 31 July 2026 cut-off cannot usually be rescued by starting again. — “You cannot usually apply to the court for an accelerated possession order, even if you gave your tenant a valid section 21 notice before 1 May 2026.” Source
• GOV.UK says: “You cannot usually apply to the court for an accelerated possession order, even if you gave your tenant a valid section 21 notice before 1 May 2026.” — “You cannot usually apply to the court for an accelerated possession order, even if you gave your tenant a valid section 21 notice before 1 May 2026.” Source
• The general stay power is CPR 3.1(2)(g), which allows the court to “stay(GL) the whole or part of any proceedings or judgment either generally or until a specified date or event”; the related power to vary or revoke an order is CPR 3.1(7). — “stay(GL) the whole or part of any proceedings or judgment either generally or until a specified date or event” Source
• If relying on the ordinary automatic-stay route, CPR 15.11(2) says: “Any party may apply under Part 23 for the stay to be lifted. The application must include an explanation for the delay in proceeding with or responding to the claim.” — “Any party may apply under Part 23 for the stay to be lifted. The application must include an explanation for the delay in proceeding with or responding to the claim.” Source
• The fee contrast is £16 to stay or suspend enforcement, against £321 for an on-notice application where no other fee is specified. — “Application to vary (amend or change) a judgment (or order), suspend enforcement or suspend a warrant of possession or stay a High Court writ £16” Source