Writ of Seizure & Sale in Singapore

The Process for Writs of Seizure and Sale

• Your lawyer would make an application through the Integrated Electronic Litigation System.
• If your application is successful, an Appointment Letter will be sent to inform you of the date fixed for execution
• On the appointed date, either you or your representative (or lawyer) must attend at the Bailiffs Section of the State Courts with the following documents:
  • The Appointment Letter
  • The official receipt to confirm that the deposit amount due to the Bailiff has been paid
  • A signed Letter of Authorisation and Indemnity duly signed by you.
• You would then go to the premises in which you seek to seize items for sale. You might also have to provide transport for the Bailiff to the place of execution and back to his office or to his next destination.
• At the place of execution, the premises may or may not be accessible for execution.
• If the premises are accessible, the Bailiff will enter the premises and may seize items identified by you and mark them accordingly. The Bailiff will guide you on which items can or cannot be seized by law. Examples of items that may not be seized include the clothing and bedding of the Judgment debtor and his family, tools of the trade necessary for the Judgment Debtor to carry out his trade or earn his living (if the value of such items does not exceed $1,000), wages and salary of the Judgment Debtor, and pensions, gratuity or allowance granted by the Government. After the seizure, the Bailiff will serve the necessary documents on the Judgment Debtor (including a notice not to remove or tamper with the seized items).
• If the premises are inaccessible or the Judgment Debtor refuses or somehow resists the execution, the Bailiff will serve or leave a notice at the premises.
  • Although the Bailiff has the power to effect forced entry into the premises, the Bailiff generally refrains from exercising that power on the first attempt at execution.
  • It is generally only on the second or subsequent attempts that the Bailiff will exercise his powers of forced entry onto the premises, usually undertaken by a professional locksmith (which you have to pay for). 
  • If the first attempt was unsuccessful and you wish to try again, you would have to begin the whole process of applying for an Appointment date for execution.
• If execution was successful and you manage to seize some items, the judgment debtor is given seven working days to pay up all sums owing to you. At this stage, the Bailiff may require a valuation of all or some of the seized items and for a valuation report to be prepared and submitted before fixing the auction date.
• If you wrongfully seized some items which actually belong to someone else other than the Judgment Debtor, the owner of such items may file a claim (Interpleader) against you. If you dispute the other person’s ownership, you would have to file an Interpleader Summons at your cost.
• If you still do not receive the sums owing to you within the seven days stipulated above, you may proceed with an auction sale of the seized items. To do so, you would have to apply by filing a Request to Proceed with Auction. You will be informed of the auction date by the Bailiff. You must contact and appoint the auctioneer selected by the Bailiff at least seven days or three weeks before the auction date (which period is chosen will be specified by the Bailiff).
• The Auction date is fixed by the Bailiff, normally within 3 to 5 weeks from the date of service of the Notice of Sale.