Warrant to seize property (Form 68A)

Section 111 of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 lets an order for payment of money be enforced by a warrant to seize property, which authorises the person it is directed to (usually the sheriff) to seize the debtor's personal property and sell it if the amount and costs of execution are not paid (s 111(1)(a), (3)). Rule 68.11(1) of the Magistrates' Court General Civil Procedure Rules 2020 requires the warrant to be in Form 68A. Before issuing it, the registrar needs the warrant form and a request stating the order's date and amount, the amount now owing with how it is calculated, the daily interest, the court or tribunal that made the order (and registration date if not this court), and payments already received (r 68.04(1)). Form 68A combines the request and the warrant.

When you need it

• You have a money order from the Magistrates' Court, or a VCAT or other court or tribunal order registered with the Magistrates' Court, and it has not been paid.
• The debtor has personal property in Victoria that could be seized and sold.
• No instalment order is being complied with and no attachment of earnings order is in force for the same debt (Judgment Debt Recovery Act 1984 s 9; r 72.09).

1. 1

   Fill in the heading

   Give the court number, venue, party names and addresses, and a short description of the complaint.

2. 2

   Request: who and which order

   State who is owed money, who was ordered to pay, and which body made the order (this court, VCAT, or another court or tribunal) with its date and, if applicable, its registration date.

3. 3

   Calculate the amount

   Work through the subtotals: amount, costs and interest ordered; less payments since the order; plus interest from the order to the request date; plus prior recovery costs, warrant fees and professional costs.

4. 4

   Interest after issue

   Tick the basis for interest from issue: the penalty interest rate under s 100(7) of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989, or for an interstate judgment the rate of the court of rendition under s 108 of the Service and Execution of Process Act 1992 (Cth). Show the rate and daily amount.

5. 5

   Property and signature

   Give your name, address and phone, the address where the debtor's personal property is believed to be, then date and sign. The registrar completes the warrant part addressed to the sheriff.

• The court's guide says to file the original and a copy at the Magistrates' Court where the judgment was made, in person or by post, with a filing fee - check the current fee schedule. A request filed electronically for a money order may be processed and issued through the court's CMS system (r 68.09).
• If the warrant is issued, you send it to the Sheriff's Office yourself; the court's guide says the court will not send it for you and the sheriff charges its own fee.
• The warrant is valid for one year from issue. A registrar may extend it for up to a year at a time, but only before it expires (r 68.05).

• Include the costs of any earlier unsuccessful warrant on the same order; they can be added unless the court orders otherwise (r 68.06).
• The court's guide says the sheriff cannot seize items the debtor needs to live in basic comfort, such as a fridge or washing machine.
• Get the interest right: every judgment debt carries interest at the penalty interest rate from the date of the order (s 100(7)), and the request must show the daily amount (r 68.04(1)(b)(iv)).