Chancery Certificates of Merchant Statute

Description

The Chancery Certificates of Merchant Statute are documents authorizing the issue of process for the recovery of outstanding debts. Introduced by a 1283 law, these certificates continued to record debt recoveries in England until an 1863 act revised statute law and rendered merchant statute certificates obsolete. Prior to 1532, these certificates applied only to debts between merchants, but their role was subsequently expanded to include all debts. Currently held by the Public Records Office in Kew, the certificates are in the public domain. However, they have not been digitized.