What is an attachment of earnings order?
An AEO is an order from a court for unpaid debts such as a county court judgment, unpaid maintenance or a fine. You and the employee each get a copy. GOV.UK says you must start deducting from the next payday, unless that is within 7 days, and you can be fined if you don't.
- Normal deduction rate (NDR): the amount to take each payday, weekly or monthly.
- Protected earnings rate (PER): the least the employee must take home from attachable pay.
- Whether it is a priority order. If the order doesn't say, it is non-priority.
- Where to send the money: the magistrates' court or the Centralised Attachment of Earnings Payments (CAPS) office.
If you get an order for someone you don't employ, write to the court within 10 days. If the employee leaves, write to CAPS within 10 days with the case number, the order number, the date they left and their new employer if you know it.
How to work out the deduction
- Start from the employee's attachable earnings for the payday: pay after Income Tax, employee National Insurance and pension contributions.
- Take off the normal deduction rate, as long as the employee keeps at least the protected earnings rate.
- If you want, take £1 more towards your admin costs.
- Pay the employee the rest on their usual payday, and send the deduction to the court or CAPS.
Only some pay can be attached. Wages, overtime, bonuses, commission, Statutory Sick Pay and contractual sick, maternity, paternity, adoption and redundancy pay count. Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Parental Bereavement and Neonatal Care Pay, statutory redundancy pay and benefits don't.
GOV.UK's own example: earnings of £190, a protected earnings rate of £150 and a normal deduction of £25. You pay the employee £164, send £25 to the court and keep £1.
Priority and non-priority orders
The two kinds of order differ in what happens when pay is too low for the full deduction.
| Priority order | Non-priority order | |
|---|---|---|
| Used for | Maintenance or fines | Civil debts, such as a county court judgment |
| Pay too low for the full deduction | Deduct what you can; carry the shortfall to the next payday | Deduct what you can; don't carry it over |
| Pay below protected earnings | Deduct nothing; carry the shortfall in protected earnings and the deduction forward; email CAPS | Deduct nothing; email CAPS |
| More than one order | Deduct priority orders first, in the order the employee got them | Then non-priority orders, in the order received |
A priority example from GOV.UK: earnings of £170, protected earnings of £150, a normal deduction of £25. You can deduct only £20, plus £1 for costs, so the employee gets £149. The unpaid £5 is added to next payday's deduction.
The £1 for costs can take the employee below their protected earnings, but never below the National Minimum Wage. When you deduct nothing, you can't take the £1 either.
Child maintenance: deduction from earnings orders
A deduction from earnings order (DEO) comes from the Child Maintenance Service, not a court. It is taken from net earnings: pay after Income Tax, Class 1 National Insurance and pension contributions. The employee must keep at least 60% of those net earnings.
- Deduct the amount on the DEO and send it to arrive by the 19th of the month after the month you made the deduction.
- If you can't deduct it all, send what you can, keep a record of the shortfall, add it to the next deduction and send the Child Maintenance Service an updated payment schedule.
- The same optional £1 for admin costs applies, with the same National Minimum Wage limit.
- The Child Maintenance Service can fine you £500 for each missed payment and up to £1,000 for not giving information it asks for.
- In England, Wales and Northern Ireland a DEO comes before other orders unless you have a priority AEO for the employee. In Scotland a DEO comes first.
So a DEO differs from an attachment of earnings order in who issues it (the Child Maintenance Service, not a court), what the employee keeps (60% of net earnings, not a court-set protected earnings rate) and where the money goes (the Child Maintenance Service, not the court or CAPS); our deduction from earnings order guide covers it step by step.
Worked example: a monthly payslip with an order
An employee earns £2,400 a month on tax code 1257L, with no pension deduction. For April 2026 (month 1 of 2026/27), Income Tax is £270.20 and employee National Insurance is £108.16, so attachable earnings are £2,021.64. A non-priority AEO sets a normal deduction of £150 a month and protected earnings of £1,600.
| Line | This period |
|---|---|
| Salary | £2,400.00 |
| Income Tax (PAYE) | £270.20 |
| National Insurance | £108.16 |
| Attachment of earnings order (case ref.) | £150.00 |
| AEO admin fee | £1.00 |
| Net pay | £1,870.64 |
£2,021.64 less £151 leaves £1,870.64, above the £1,600 protected earnings, so the full deduction is made. If the same employee had a DEO instead, 60% of £2,021.64 is £1,212.98, so up to £808.66 could be deducted that month.
How the deduction shows on a payslip
Both GOV.UK guides say you must tell the employee in writing about each deduction when you give them their payslip. The Child Maintenance Service adds that you should say whether you took the £1. A separate line for the order, with its reference, and another for the fee does both.
In the PayDocs payslip generator, add the order as a deduction line after tax and National Insurance, and the £1 as its own line if you take it. Net pay then matches the amount you pay. PayDocs works out PAYE income tax, National Insurance and supported deductions for 2026/27 pay dates. PayDocs doesn't track a balance owed, carry shortfalls forward or send payments; keep those records from the order and your payroll.
Council tax attachments, Direct Earnings Attachments for benefit debts and Scottish earnings arrestments have their own rules and tables, not covered here. Sources: GOV.UK guidance from HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Child Maintenance Service, and the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971, read on 8 October 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Questions
What is an attachment of earnings order?
A court order that tells an employer to take a set amount from an employee's pay each payday to repay a debt, maintenance or a fine, and send it to the court. It also sets protected earnings the employee must keep.
Can an employer charge for an attachment of earnings order?
Yes, £1 each time a deduction is made, towards admin costs. It can take the employee below their protected earnings rate but not below the National Minimum Wage, and it can't be taken when no deduction is made.
What are protected earnings?
The least the employee must keep from attachable pay. For an AEO the court sets it as the protected earnings rate. For a child maintenance DEO it is 60% of net earnings after Income Tax, National Insurance and pension.
What is the difference between a priority and non-priority order?
Priority orders are for maintenance or fines, and any shortfall carries over to the next payday. Non-priority orders are for civil debts, and a shortfall doesn't carry over. Priority orders are deducted first.
What is a deduction from earnings order?
An order from the Child Maintenance Service to take child maintenance from a paying parent's net earnings and send it to the service, to arrive by the 19th of the following month, leaving at least 60% of net earnings.
What happens if the employee leaves?
For an AEO, write to CAPS within 10 days with the case and order numbers, the date they left and their new employer if you know it. For a DEO, tell the Child Maintenance Service within 10 days.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Make debt deductions from an employee's pay (attachment of earnings orders)
- GOV.UK — Make child maintenance deductions from an employee's pay (deduction from earnings orders)
- legislation.gov.uk — Attachment of Earnings Act 1971, Schedule 3 (attachable earnings)
Official sources checked 13 October 2026. This guide explains how pay documents work; it is not tax or legal advice.
