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Statutory Demand Deadline Calculator
Enter the date the statutory demand was served and get the full timeline: the 18 day window to apply to set it aside, the 21 day compliance deadline, and the earliest date a bankruptcy or winding up petition can be presented.
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One date in, every insolvency deadline out
Tell us who the debtor is and when the statutory demand was served. The calculator applies the Insolvency Act 1986, the Insolvency Rules 2016 and the England and Wales bank holiday calendar, then maps the set aside window, the 21 day compliance deadline and the earliest petition date.
1. Who is the debtor?
2. When was the demand served? iThere is no deemed service table for statutory demands. The creditor must do all that is reasonable to bring the demand to the debtor's attention, personally where practicable (IR 2016 r.10.2). For a company, the demand is served by leaving it at the registered office. Enter the effective date of service.
Guidance only, not legal advice. England and Wales, demands served within the jurisdiction.
The Basics
What is a statutory demand and why do the dates bite?
A statutory demand is a formal written demand for payment of a debt, served under the Insolvency Act 1986. For an individual debtor it starts two clocks at once: 18 days to apply to set it aside and 21 days to comply. For a company, 21 days of non-payment of a debt over 750 pounds grounds a winding up petition.
- 18 days from service. An individual debtor has until day 18 to apply to set the statutory demand aside (IR 2016 r.10.4(2)). The day of service itself is not counted.
- Court closed? It rolls. The application is filed at court, so an 18th day on a weekend or bank holiday rolls to the next open day (CPR 2.8(5) via IR r.12.1). Any later, and an extension of time is needed too.
- Filing freezes the clock. Time for complying ceases to run on the date of filing (r.10.4(5)), and no petition can be presented while the application is outstanding (s.267(2)(d)).
- Companies get no window. There is no set aside procedure for a company. The route is an injunction to restrain presentation, and the 21 days keep running.
- 21 days from service. The debtor must pay, secure or compound the debt by day 21: s.268(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986 for individuals, s.123(1)(a) for companies.
- Elapsing time, not a deadline. The compliance date never moves for weekends or bank holidays. A 21st day that lands on Christmas Day is still the 21st day.
- Minimum debts apply. A bankruptcy petition needs a debt of at least £5,000 (s.267, as amended). A winding up demand must exceed £750 (s.123(1)(a)).
- Then the presumption bites. Once the 3 weeks elapse with the demand neither complied with nor set aside, the debtor is treated as unable to pay, and the petition route opens.
- Petition from day 22. Once at least 3 weeks have elapsed since service, the earliest day a bankruptcy or winding up petition can be presented is the 22nd day.
- Unless an application is live. No bankruptcy petition can be presented while a set aside application is outstanding (s.267(2)(d)).
- The s.270 exception. A petition may exceptionally be presented within the 3 weeks where there is a serious possibility the debtor's property will be significantly diminished.
- Petitions need serving too. Bankruptcy petitions must be served personally, which is where a process server earns their fee. Our statutory demand guidance covers the practicalities.
Or skip the counting entirely: the calculator above maps the whole timeline in one click and hands you a copyable summary and calendar file.
Day 18 Changes Everything
Filing to set aside stops the clock
For an individual debtor, an application to set aside filed within the 18 days freezes the compliance period and bars any petition while it is outstanding. A company gets no such window: its 21 days keep running whatever it files.
The same demand, two very different day 18s
Individual · IR r.10.4
Clock stops
A set aside application filed within 18 days
Compliance time ceases to run on the date of filing (r.10.4(5)), and no bankruptcy petition can be presented while the application is outstanding (s.267(2)(d)).
Company · IA s.123
Clock runs
No set aside route exists
The challenge is an injunction to restrain presentation. Unless one is granted, the 21 days keep running towards a winding up petition.
The calculator shows the freeze point on every individual timeline, and automatically flags amounts below the £5,000 bankruptcy level or the £750 winding up threshold.
The Rules Behind the Timeline
Statutory demand time limits: the rules that set every date
Six rules decide every date this statutory demand deadline calculator produces. Here is each one in plain terms, with the provision to check against.
18 Days to Set Aside: r.10.4(2)
An individual debtor has 18 days from service to apply to set the demand aside. The application is filed at court, so an 18th day on a weekend or bank holiday rolls to the next open day. Later applications also need an extension of time (PDIP 11.4.2, s.376).
21 Days to Comply: s.268 & s.123
The debtor must pay, secure or compound the debt within 21 days of service. It is a fixed period of elapsing time under the Insolvency Act 1986, so the date never moves for weekends or bank holidays, even when it lands on Christmas Day.
Filing Freezes the Clock: r.10.4(5)
Time for complying ceases to run on the date a set aside application is filed, and runs again if the application is dismissed on the papers (r.10.5(2)). No petition can be presented while the application is outstanding (s.267(2)(d)).
Minimum Debts: £5,000 and £750
A bankruptcy petition needs a debt of at least the £5,000 bankruptcy level (s.267, as amended in 2015). A winding up demand under s.123(1)(a) must exceed £750. The calculator flags any amount below the line.
Serving the Demand: r.10.2
No deemed service table applies. The creditor must do all that is reasonable to bring the demand to the debtor's attention, personally where practicable. Company demands are left at the registered office. Served abroad, the 18 and 21 day periods extend under r.10.1(10).
Business Days and the Court
Deadlines for acts at court that end on a day the office is closed roll to the next open day (CPR 2.8(5), applied to insolvency proceedings via IR r.12.1). The calculator uses the official GOV.UK feed for England and Wales, including substitute days.
A demand that must reach its debtor?
Statutory demands should be served personally where practicable, and bankruptcy petitions must be. Same day service, nationwide, with a certificate of service that stands up in court.
Common Questions
Statutory demand deadlines: frequently asked questions
The set aside, compliance and petition questions insolvency teams ask us most often.
21 days from the date of service. For an individual, section 268(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986 treats the debtor as unable to pay once at least 3 weeks have elapsed and the demand has been neither complied with nor set aside. For a company, section 123(1)(a) requires 3 weeks of neglect to pay, secure or compound. It is a fixed period of elapsing time: the date does not move for weekends or bank holidays.
An individual debtor has 18 days from the date of service under rule 10.4(2) of the Insolvency Rules 2016. The application is filed at court, so if the 18th day falls on a day the court office is closed, filing on the next open day is effective. After 18 days the debtor must also apply for an extension of time (Insolvency Practice Direction para 11.4.2, section 376). Companies have no set aside procedure: the route is an application to restrain presentation of a petition.
The time for complying with the statutory demand ceases to run on the date the application is filed, subject to any order of the court (rule 10.4(5)). If the court dismisses the application on the papers, time runs again from the date of dismissal (rule 10.5(2)). While the application is outstanding no bankruptcy petition can be presented on the debt (section 267(2)(d)), and on dismissing an application the court authorises presentation either forthwith or from a specified date.
Once at least 3 weeks have elapsed since the statutory demand was served, so from the 22nd day, provided the demand has been neither complied with nor set aside and no set aside application is outstanding. The debt must be at least the bankruptcy level of 5,000 pounds (section 267). Exceptionally, section 270 allows an earlier petition where there is a serious possibility that the debtor's property will be significantly diminished during the 3 weeks.
Under section 123(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986 a company is deemed unable to pay its debts where a creditor owed a sum exceeding 750 pounds has served a written demand in the prescribed form (the statutory demand) by leaving it at the company's registered office, and the company has for 3 weeks thereafter neglected to pay, secure or compound for it. A winding up petition can follow from the 22nd day after service.
There is no deemed service table for statutory demands. Rule 10.2 of the Insolvency Rules 2016 requires the creditor to do all that is reasonable to bring the demand to the debtor's attention and, if practicable, to serve it personally. For a company the demand is served by leaving it at the registered office. Where the demand is served out of the jurisdiction, the 18 and 21 day periods are extended under rule 10.1(10).
Primary sources: the Insolvency Act 1986 and Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 at legislation.gov.uk, and the Insolvency Practice Direction at justice.gov.uk. Rules last verified July 2026.
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