Applications for an order staying enforcement of a default costs certificate, an interim costs certificate or a final costs certificate issued by the SCCO may be made either to the SCCO or to a court which has general jurisdiction to enforce the certificate. In the SCCO the application will be heard by a Costs Judge. The application should usually be accompanied by evidence of the paying party’s income, assets, other liabilities and proposals for payment. The usual form of order granting a stay is on terms requiring the paying party to pay off the certified costs by specified instalments.

If the certificate relates to the costs of a County Court case transferred to the SCCO for assessment which nevertheless remains a County Court case, the paying party may, as an alternative to applying for a stay of enforcement, apply to the SCCO or the County Court for an order varying the certificate into an order for payment by instalments. Instalment orders are not commonly made in High Court or Court of Appeal cases.