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A statutory demand against an individual should be served personally wherever practicable: the Insolvency Rules require the creditor to do all that is reasonable to bring the demand to the debtor's attention, and personal service is the standard the courts expect before other methods are used. A demand against a company is served by delivering it to the company's registered office. In both cases, how service happened must later be evidenced if a petition follows.
The statutory demand has no court seal and costs nothing to issue, which tempts creditors to treat service casually. That is a mistake: everything the demand achieves, the 21 day route to a petition and the presumption of insolvency, depends on being able to prove the debtor received it properly.
The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 require a creditor to do all that is reasonable to bring the demand to the debtor's attention and, if practicable, to serve it personally. In practice that means a process server attending the debtor's home or workplace, confirming identity and handing over the demand. Only where personal service cannot be achieved after genuine effort, typically several attempts at different times and a letter offering an appointment, should the demand be served by other means such as insertion through the letterbox or first class post. Cutting this corner invites two problems: the debtor applying to set the demand aside, and the bankruptcy court refusing to accept that service was good when the petition is presented.
A demand founding a winding up petition is served by delivering it to the company's registered office, as shown at Companies House on the day. Delivery by hand, ideally to a director or responsible employee whose details are recorded, gives the cleanest evidence; a demand that simply went in the post is far easier for a company to dispute.
If a petition follows, it must be supported by evidence of how the demand was served: a certificate of service, and where service was not personal, an explanation of the steps taken. Tremark serves statutory demands nationwide with a certificate as standard, sworn affidavits available, and the attempt by attempt record that supports substituted service where a debtor proves evasive. The clocks matter too: an individual debtor has 18 days from service to apply to set the demand aside, and the creditor may petition once 21 days have passed.
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This page provides general information about the law and practice in England and Wales and is not legal advice. Rules change and individual circumstances vary; always take advice from a solicitor on your specific situation. Prices shown are indicative, exclusive of VAT and confirmed in writing before any work begins.