Consent Order

A consent order is a court order made with the agreement of all parties, recording the terms upon which they have settled or compromised their dispute. It has the same legal force as an order imposed by the court after a contested hearing. Consent orders are governed by CPR 40.6 and require the court to approve the terms.

In practice

Consent orders are commonly used to record settlement terms, particularly in family and commercial disputes. Because they are court orders, breach of a consent order can be enforced through the same mechanisms as any other order: committal for contempt, writ of control, or sequestration. A Tomlin order is a specific form of consent order where the agreed terms are recorded in a schedule.