Paying the judgment
If there is a judgment for you to pay an amount of money, you can:
Pay the full amount owed
The judgment will say that you have to pay money to the other party. It will include filing and service fees, professional costs if the other party had a lawyer, and interest (if the debt is more than $1,000). The total amount is called the 'judgment debt'.
You can contact the other party and ask them how they want you to pay. They may ask you to pay:
- in cash (make sure you get a receipt)
- by cheque
- by money order
- by direct deposit.
After you have paid, you should send the other party a receipt and ask for written confirmation that they have received the judgment in full.
Make sure you keep a record in case there is a dispute.
You do not need to tell the court.
Apply to pay by instalments
If you cannot afford to pay the judgment debt in a lump sum and you want to avoid enforcement action, you can:
- make an agreement to pay by instalments
- apply to the court to pay by instalments.
Make an agreement to pay by instalments
If you are able to make an agreement with the other party to pay the judgment debt by instalments, you should file a consent judgment/order form.
You should set out your instalment agreement in the form. It should state how much you will pay for each instalment, how often you will pay, when you will pay the first instalment and how you will pay the instalments.
For more information, see Consent judgment or order.
If the judgment creditor wants to make an informal agreement with you to pay off the judgment debt, you should get legal advice.
Apply to the court to pay by instalments
If you cannot reach an agreement with the other party to pay by instalments, you can apply to the local court to pay by instalments.
For more information, see Paying by instalments after judgment.