Our Work
Standards
Overview
As part of the ECB’s commitment to ensuring everyone subject to enforcement action is treated fairly, we have produced a new set of Standards and guidance for ECB accredited enforcement firms and those who work for them.
The Standards set a new benchmark for enforcement work, ensuring that all those in the enforcement sector and people subject to enforcement action know what fair enforcement means in practice.
This page explains why we have done this; what the new Standards mean and what you can expect if the enforcement firm handling your debt is ECB accredited.
Background
The rules that explain what Enforcement Agents are allowed to do when enforcing a debt are set out in the Taking Control of Goods regulations. However, they do not dictate how enforcement agents should act when doing their job.
To address this, in 2014 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) introduced non-binding National Standards that set some expectations about how enforcement agents should behave.
The National Standards cover some important areas but they have not been updated for over a decade and have a number of gaps. The ECB’s Standards build and improve on what is in the National Standards, so that they reflect best practice in modern day enforcement e.g. the use of body worn video cameras; and cover the actions of enforcement firms and frontline staff including call centre staff as well as individual agents.
We worked with the enforcement industry, the debt advice sector and people with lived experience of enforcement to develop the Standards to ensure they are comprehensive and ambitious. You can read our response to the consultation on the Standards below.
Consultation Response on ECB Standards for Enforcement Work and Oversight Model
It is our hope that in time, the Ministry of Justice will withdraw its existing National Standards for enforcement, so that the ECB’s standards will be the single source of standards for enforcement work.
In the meantime, we have aligned our standards with the National Standards, so that enforcement agents can have confidence that when meeting our standards, they will also be meeting the National Standards.
ECB Standards
Our new Standards were published on 29th October 2024 and came into effect in January 2025.
They clearly set out our expectations for individual agents and firms in the enforcement sector.
Meeting these Standards is a condition of our accreditation scheme.
The aim of our Standards is to drive sustainable improvements in the enforcement sector by incorporating existing best practices and setting clear expectations to ensure consistently high performance, with the same standards being met every time enforcement action is taken by an ECB accredited firm.
For agents our Standards build upon the existing National Standards and give clear guidance on what is expected of individual enforcement agents.
ECB Standards for Agents V1.1
For enforcement firms we have set clear expectations of the necessary outcomes and actions, while allowing room for innovation and adaptation.
ECB Standards for Firms V1.1
For creditors
We haven’t introduced any new Standards for now. Given the important role creditors play in the enforcement process we will continue to engage with them over the coming months. In the meantime, the existing Standards for creditors will continue to apply.
From time to time we update our Standards. Archived versions of the Standards can be found at the bottom of this page.
Vulnerability
Because vulnerability is such a complex issue, we took the decision to develop Vulnerability Standards separately from the main Standards, allowing more time for consultation and discussion. We published our Vulnerability Standards in March 2026 and they will come into effect in January 2027. At that point, they will be merged into the existing Standards.
Oversight
The ECB commenced operational oversight in January 2025. You can find more information on our operational oversight model here. We will take action where we find breaches of our standards, and for serious or persistent cases, this could include imposing sanctions.
Interaction with the existing National Standards
It is our intention that our Standards will replace the current National Standards and we are working with the MoJ to ensure that enforcement agents and agencies have one clear set of Standards to follow.
Archived versions of the Standards
Below you can find the previous versions of the Standards that were published in October 2024.
ECB Standards for Firms
ECB Standards for Agents