Level 4 Diploma in High Court Enforcement
The High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA) and the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM) have collaborated to update the High Court Enforcement Officer’s education pathway.
Previously the application to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) required an academic qualification (CICM Level 4 Diploma) and an amount of practical experience in High Court Enforcement (usually 2 years), which the HCEOA confirmed through the assessment of a ‘Logbook’. This has now undergone a change. The details of this previous education pathway can be found here, and candidates on this pathway will have 24 months to complete it under these arrangements.
What has changed in the Level 4 High Court Enforcement qualification?
CICM will withdraw the current Level 4 Diploma in High Court Enforcement and HCEOA Logbook and replace them with two regulated qualifications:
- Level 4 Diploma in High Court Enforcement (2022 syllabus)
- Level 4 Certificate in High Court Enforcement Practical Experience
The new Level 4 Diploma in High Court Enforcement (2022 syllabus) comprises of four compulsory units and assessments:
- Writs of Control – assignment
- Writs of Execution – assignment
- HCEO Fees and Accounting – assignment
- High Court Enforcement (Laws and Regulations) – exam
This involves new study guides and assignment content and from the end of October 2022.
All new candidates will start on the new Level 4 Diploma syllabus. Find out more here.
How to get started
The HCEO professional programme assumes that learners have achieved a minimum of Level 3 qualifications in enforcement related areas on entry, ideally through completion of qualifications in enforcement, law, credit management and/or consumer collections, for example CILEX or CICM. Practical experience will involve the enforcement of Writs and therefore learners require a Level 2 Award in Taking Control of Goods and enforcement agent’s certificate issued from local County Court to undertake the Level 4 Certificate of High Court Enforcement Practical Experience.
Learners apply for the programme through the HCEOA and are required to send their current CV with supporting evidence of their educational qualifications to the Association Secretary Pauline.hayward@hceoa.org.uk. If it is unclear as to whether educational qualifications are at Level 3, CICM will assess CVs and advise HCEOA on eligibility. There is a fee for this service which can be found on the CICM website.
Once registered with the HCEOA, candidates must register with CICM as a studying member – please email cicmmembership@cicm.com for information on how to register. Once registered, you will need to purchase your study material and request your assignment from awardingbody@cicm.com
What should I do if I am part way through the current qualification?
As some candidates may be part way through the current qualification and some units will be removed from the new Level 4 Diploma, the last opportunity to submit an assignment on the old pathway will be June 2024, with last certificates issued by September 2024.
From the end of October 2022, all new candidates will use the new Level 4 Certificate in High Court Enforcement Practical Experience rather than the HCEOA Logbook to evidence their ability to carry out High Court Enforcement work.
Candidates may transfer to the new Level 4 Certificate in High Court Enforcement Practical Experience which has the advantage of being a separately certificated, regulated qualification.
The first opportunity for candidates to submit the new assessments is March 2023.
For questions regarding the transition of the qualification, or if you are interested in taking the Level 4 Diploma in High Court Enforcement, contact awardingbody@cicm.com
