This is a statutory demand against an individual under the Insolvency Act 1986 s.268. The template is included in every Buzz Legal subscription.
Insolvency Act 1986 s.268(1)(a): the debtor appears unable to pay if the creditor has served a demand ('the statutory demand') in the prescribed form requiring payment, and three weeks have elapsed without the demand being complied with or set aside. s.267(2)(a) and s.267(4): the debt must be for a liquidated sum equal to or exceeding 'the bankruptcy level' — currently £5,000 (Insolvency Act 1986 (Amendment) Order 2015, SI 2015/922). Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 Part 10 — prescribed form, and the debtor's right to apply to set aside within 18 days. Checked 1 Sep 2026.
A statutory demand against an individual is a bankruptcy step. It can be set aside where the debt is disputed on substantial grounds or the debtor has a counterclaim, and you can be ordered to pay the costs of that application. The threshold for an individual is £5,000.
Read it against your own business before you issue it, and change what does not fit. If the other side has already threatened a claim, that is a dispute, and it goes to AD Solicitors.
The document has 3 numbered sections:
Everything in square brackets is a blank for you to complete: names, dates, figures and the terms particular to your business. Read the whole document before you send it, and check the clauses on what happens when something goes wrong against how your business works.
If a clause does not apply, delete it.
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It covers what the law requires for this kind of document. Check the clauses on what you are liable for, what happens when things go wrong and who owns what against your own business before you use it.
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A contract review is a fixed £249 +VAT for one document read in full and marked up. Drafting is quoted in writing before anything starts.
