To file a county court money claim in England and Wales, complete Form N1 (or the online equivalent through Money Claim Online or the Money Claims service) and send it with the court fee to the Civil National Business Centre in Northampton. Before you do that, though, you have to follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims — the court expects you to have tried to resolve the dispute first, and skipping that step can cost you interest and costs later.1GOV.UK. Civil National Business Centre
Send a Letter of Claim First
You cannot go straight to court. The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims requires you to send the debtor a Letter of Claim setting out the total owed, how the debt arose, any interest or charges being added, and an up-to-date statement of account.2Justice.gov.uk. Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims Enclose an Information Sheet, a Reply Form, and a Financial Statement form so the debtor knows how to respond. Post it on the date printed on the letter (or the next day at the latest) and keep proof of posting.
Then wait. You must give the debtor at least 30 days to reply before starting proceedings. If they return the Reply Form, you cannot file until 30 days after receiving it or 30 days after supplying any documents they asked for, whichever is later. If they say they are getting debt advice, allow a reasonable further period.
Non-compliance will not stop the court from accepting your claim, but a judge who sees you ignored the protocol may refuse to award you interest, order you to pay part of the defendant’s costs, or factor it into how the case is managed. Substance matters more than technicalities, but skipping the Letter of Claim outright is the kind of thing that gets punished.
Fill in the Claim Form
Form N1 and the online services ask for the same information in four blocks: who you are, who you are suing, what the claim is about, and what it is worth.
Parties
Enter your full legal name and current address with postcode. Do the same for the defendant. If the defendant is a company, use the registered name and registered office address shown at Companies House. An address without a postcode means you will have to ask a judge for permission to serve the claim.3GOV.UK. Notes for Claimant on Completing a Claim Form (N1A) Getting the defendant’s details wrong is the fastest way to derail everything, because a claim the court cannot serve goes nowhere.
Brief Details and Value
The “Brief details of claim” box wants a sentence or two describing the nature of the claim and the remedy (for money claims, that is almost always “payment of money”). For the value, if you are claiming a fixed sum — a “specified amount” — put the figure in the box at the bottom right. If the amount is uncertain, write “I expect to recover” followed by one of the bands: not more than £10,000, more than £10,000 but not more than £25,000, or more than £25,000.
Particulars of Claim
The particulars are the heart of the case. CPR Part 16 requires a concise statement of the facts you rely on.4Justice.gov.uk. Part 16 – Statements of Case Describe the agreement between you and the defendant, what they were supposed to do, how they breached it, and how much remains unpaid. Vague language will bite you: the defendant has to answer every factual assertion, and the court needs to see the legal basis without asking for more.
You can write the particulars directly on the form if there is room, or attach them as a separate document. If served separately, they must reach the defendant no later than the deadline for serving the claim form itself.
Claim Interest Properly or You Will Not Get It
If you want interest, you have to say so in the particulars and show the arithmetic. CPR Part 16 requires you to state the legal basis for the claim (a contract term, a statute, or something else), the rate, the date from which interest runs, the date to which you have calculated it (no later than the date the claim is issued), the total accrued to that date, and the daily rate at which it continues to accrue.
Where there is no contractual interest clause, most claimants rely on Section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984, which lets the court award simple interest at whatever rate it considers appropriate.5Legislation.gov.uk. County Courts Act 1984 – Section 69 The rate commonly claimed is 8% per annum, mirroring the statutory rate in the High Court. State the rate, show the calculation, include the daily figure.
Sign the Statement of Truth
Every claim form must carry a signed statement of truth confirming you believe the facts are true. Individuals sign for themselves; for a company, a director, officer, or the company’s solicitor signs.6Justice.gov.uk. Practice Direction 22 – Statements of Truth The wording warns that contempt of court proceedings can be brought against anyone who signs without an honest belief in what they are signing.7Justice.gov.uk. Part 22 – Statements of Truth Contempt can mean a fine or imprisonment. Do not treat the signature as a formality.
How to Submit the Claim
You can file online or by post. Online is usually faster and gives you an immediate digital record.
Online
Two services handle online claims. The newer Money Claims service takes specified money claims for £25,000 or less. For specified claims above £25,000 and up to £100,000, use Money Claim Online (MCOL).8GOV.UK. Make a Court Claim for Money Both require the claim to be for a fixed sum in sterling, with one claimant and no more than two defendants, all at addresses in England or Wales.9GOV.UK. Money Claim Online (MCOL) User Guide Both route the claim through the Civil National Business Centre.10Justice.gov.uk. Practice Direction 7C – Money Claim Online
By Post
If your claim does not fit the online criteria — more than two defendants, an unspecified amount, or you need a fee remission — download the paper Form N1 from GOV.UK.11GOV.UK. Make a Claim Against a Person or Organisation – Claim Form (CPR Part 7): Form N1 Where the form asks for the court name at the top, write “County Court Money Claims Centre.” Send the completed form and fee to:
Civil National Business Centre
St Katharine’s House
21–27 St Katharine’s Street
Northampton
NN1 2LH12GOV.UK. Respond to a Court Claim for Money
Court Fees
You pay a court issue fee when you file, and the amount tracks the value of your claim. The current schedule is the EX50 fee table on GOV.UK; check it before you file, because fees change.13GOV.UK. Fees in the Civil and Family Courts – Main Fees (EX50) If you win, the fee is usually added to what the defendant has to pay.
Low income or certain benefits can qualify you for a full or partial fee remission under the Help with Fees scheme. You are automatically eligible if you receive income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Universal Credit with earnings under £6,000 a year, or the guarantee credit element of Pension Credit, provided your savings are below £4,250. There is also an income route with thresholds of £1,420 a month if single or £2,130 with a partner, plus allowances per child. If you are 66 or older, you can hold up to £16,000 in savings.14GOV.UK. Get Help Paying Court and Tribunal Fees Apply using Form EX160. One catch: fee remission applicants cannot use the online services and must file the paper Form N1.10Justice.gov.uk. Practice Direction 7C – Money Claim Online
After You File
The CNBC processes the claim, issues the claim form, and sends you a Notice of Issue with your claim number. Keep the number. You will need it for every step that follows. At the same time, the court serves a Response Pack on the defendant containing your claim form and the forms they need to reply: admission, defence, acknowledgment of service, and counterclaim.
The defendant then has 14 days from the date of service to file a defence. If they need longer, they can file an Acknowledgment of Service inside those 14 days, which pushes the defence deadline to 28 days from the date the particulars were served.15Justice.gov.uk. Part 15 – Defence and Reply The acknowledgment simply tells the court and you that the defendant intends to contest the claim and wants more time.16Justice.gov.uk. Part 10 – Acknowledgment of Service
If the Defendant Ignores the Claim
If the defendant files neither an acknowledgment nor a defence within the deadline, you can ask the court for default judgment. You win without a trial because the other side did not engage.17Justice.gov.uk. Part 12 – Default Judgment For a specified money claim, this is largely administrative: request it through the online portal or by filing the appropriate form, and the court enters judgment for the amount claimed plus interest and costs.
The court will not enter default judgment if the defendant has applied to strike out the claim or for summary judgment, if they have already paid in full, or if they have admitted the full amount and asked for time to pay. Defendants can also apply to have a default judgment set aside afterwards, so the matter is not necessarily closed the moment it is entered.
Mediation Is Compulsory for Small Claims
Since 22 May 2024, a mandatory mediation pilot applies to money claims worth up to £10,000 that involve no more than two parties and claim only a specified sum.18Justice.gov.uk. Practice Direction 51ZE – Small Claims Track Automatic Referral to Mediation Pilot Scheme Once both sides have filed statements of case and returned their Directions Questionnaires, the court automatically refers the case to a free one-hour appointment with the HMCTS Small Claims Mediation Service. The case is stayed for 28 days while the session is arranged.
You do not have to settle, but you do have to turn up. Not attending without a good reason can lead to sanctions at the final hearing, from a fine to liability for the wasted appointment or, in serious cases, dismissal of the claim or defence. The pilot is scheduled to run until 21 May 2026, so check whether it has been extended or made permanent if you are filing after that date.