To complete the N1 claim form, you fill in the court details, your name and address as claimant, the defendant’s details, a brief summary of the dispute, the value of the claim, the particulars of claim, any interest, and a signed statement of truth — then file it with the correct court fee, either by post to the Civil National Business Centre or online through Money Claims Online for money-only claims. The form itself is a free download from GOV.UK, and there are guidance notes (N1A) that sit alongside it.1GOV.UK. Make a Claim Against a Person or Organisation – Claim Form (CPR Part 7): Form N1 The form is short. The work sits in what you do before you touch it and in getting the value, particulars, and interest right.
Before You Fill Anything In
Courts in England and Wales expect you to try to resolve the dispute before issuing proceedings. If a pre-action protocol covers your type of claim, follow it. If none does, the general Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct sets the baseline: write to the other side with a clear summary of what you say they owe or should do, give them a reasonable period to respond (14 days for something straightforward, up to three months for something complex), and exchange the key documents.2Justice UK. Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols
Debt claims have a stricter protocol. The Letter of Claim must set out the amount owed, how any interest or charges are calculated, and the basis for the debt, and it must enclose a standard Information Sheet, a Reply Form, and a Financial Statement form. If the debtor doesn’t reply within 30 days, you can issue. If they do reply, you have to wait at least 30 days from receiving their completed Reply Form (or from providing any documents they asked for, whichever is later) before you file.3HM Courts & Tribunals Service. Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims
Ignoring the protocols won’t stop you filing, but a judge can penalise you on costs or case management, and the same goes for silently refusing an invitation to mediate.2Justice UK. Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols
Check the limitation period before you go any further. Contract and simple debt claims must be issued within six years of the cause of action arising; claims under a deed within twelve years; personal injury claims within three years of the injury or the date of knowledge.4Legislation.gov.uk. Limitation Act 1980 The date that counts is the date the court issues your claim, not the date you post it, so if you’re close to a deadline, don’t cut it fine.
Working Through the Form
Court, Claimant, and Defendant
At the top of the form, put the court name. If you’re posting a money claim it goes to the Civil National Business Centre and is processed centrally, so you can leave the court name blank on a posted claim.
Enter your full name, address, postcode, and phone number. If you’re claiming as a business, use the company’s registered name and its registered office address. Do the same for the defendant: full legal name and current address, and for a limited company the registered office as shown on Companies House. The court will serve documents on the address you give, so a mistake here can unravel the claim.
Brief Details of Claim
A few sentences saying what the dispute is about and what you want from the court — money, return of goods, damages, or another remedy. Keep it factual. The full account belongs in the particulars.
Value
How you complete the value section depends on whether the amount is specified (a fixed figure) or unspecified. For a specified sum, write the figure in the “Amount claimed” box at the foot of the form, together with the court fee and any fixed solicitor’s costs.
For an unspecified sum, put one of the following in the Value box:5GOV.UK. N1A Notes for Claimant on Completing a Claim Form
- “I expect to recover not more than £10,000”
- “I expect to recover more than £10,000 but not more than £25,000”
- “I expect to recover more than £25,000”
- “I cannot say how much I expect to recover” (only if you genuinely cannot value it)
The value you state feeds into which track the case will be allocated to if it’s defended: small claims track up to £10,000, fast track from £10,000 to £25,000, intermediate track from £25,000 to £100,000, and multi-track above that.6Justice UK. Part 26 – Case Management – Preliminary Stage – Civil Procedure Rules Personal injury claims have additional thresholds for the value of pain-and-suffering damages that you have to state separately on the form.7Justice UK. Part 16 – Statements of Case – Civil Procedure Rules
Particulars of Claim
The particulars set out the facts you rely on, the legal basis for the claim, and what you want the court to award. Under CPR Part 16, if you’re claiming interest they must also state the statutory or contractual basis for the interest, the percentage rate, the start date, the amount accrued to the date of issue, and the daily rate from that point.7Justice UK. Part 16 – Statements of Case – Civil Procedure Rules Short particulars can go directly on the form; longer ones attach as a separate document. If they’re separate, you have up to 14 days after the claim is issued to serve them on the defendant.
Interest
On a specified money claim, you can claim interest running from the date the money became due. If there is no contractual rate, County Court claims allow simple interest under Section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984, and 8% per annum is the standard rate.8Legislation.gov.uk. County Courts Act 1984 – Section 69 Work out the total accrued to the day you issue and enter that figure, and state the daily rate so interest can be added for any further period before judgment.
Statement of Truth
The last box is a declaration that you believe the facts in the form and the particulars are true. Sign and date it. For a company, a director or other officer signs. False statements made without honest belief in their truth can be treated as contempt of court.9Justice UK. Practice Direction 22 – Statements of Truth If the statement of truth is missing or unsigned, the court won’t process the claim.
The Court Fee
Every N1 claim needs a court fee. Fees are on a sliding scale linked to the claim’s value, published in the EX50 guide and updated periodically, so check the current figures before you file.10GOV.UK. Fees in the Civil and Family Courts – Main Fees (EX50) Lower-value claims pay a fixed fee in bands; claims above £10,000 are generally charged as a percentage of the claim value. Interest accrued up to the filing date counts as part of the claim value for the fee calculation.
Help With Fees
If you can’t afford the fee, apply for Help with Fees. You qualify automatically if you receive income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Universal Credit with annual earnings under £6,000, or Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit), provided your savings are below £4,250.11GOV.UK. Get Help Paying Court and Tribunal Fees
Without those benefits, you can still get a reduction based on income. A single applicant with monthly income of £1,420 or less, or a couple on £2,130 or less, qualifies; allowances increase by £425 for each child aged 0 to 13 and £710 for each child 14 or older. Savings limits run from £4,250 up to £16,000 depending on the fee, and the £16,000 cap applies regardless of fee if you or your partner are 66 or older.11GOV.UK. Get Help Paying Court and Tribunal Fees Apply online and quote the reference number when you send the N1, or post a completed paper application with the form.
How to File
By Post
Print the completed N1, together with any separately attached particulars. You need the original plus one copy for each defendant. Send the bundle with a cheque or postal order for the fee (or your Help with Fees reference/paper application) to:12GOV.UK. Make a Court Claim for Money
Civil National Business Centre
St Katharine’s House
21–27 St Katharine’s Street
Northampton
NN1 2LH
You can also file in person at a local County Court hearing centre, which is useful if the claim seeks something other than money (for example, recovery of land or an injunction) that isn’t suitable for central processing.
Online
For money-only claims, Money Claims Online at moneyclaim.gov.uk lets you complete the equivalent of an N1 digitally, pay by card, and track the claim. It cannot be used if you’re applying for Help with Fees.
What Happens Once You File
The court issues the claim by sealing it with a date and giving it a claim number. That issue date is when proceedings formally begin, and it’s the date that stops the limitation clock.13Justice UK. Part 7 – How to Start Proceedings – The Claim Form The court serves the sealed claim form on the defendant and sends you a Notice of Issue confirming the date of service.
The defendant then has 14 days from service of the particulars to file a defence. If they file an acknowledgment of service within that first 14 days, the deadline for the defence extends to 28 days from service.14Legislation.gov.uk. The Civil Procedure Rules 1998 – Part 1515Justice UK. Part 10 – Acknowledgment of Service Within that window they can also admit part or all of the claim, or file a counterclaim.
If the defendant does nothing — no defence, no acknowledgment, no admission — you can ask for a default judgment. For a specified amount, that request goes on Form N225, which asks the court to enter judgment for the sum claimed with interest and costs.16GOV.UK. Form N225: Ask for Judgment on a Claim for a Specified Amount of Money N225 is also the form you use to accept or reject a defendant’s payment proposals if they admit the debt. For an unspecified claim, the court will list a hearing to assess the amount.
When the N1 Isn’t the Right Form
The N1 covers most general civil disputes — unpaid invoices and debts, breach of contract, personal injury from accidents, disputes over the return of goods, landlord-tenant disagreements over possession. It doesn’t cover employment disputes (Employment Tribunal), immigration matters, or most family proceedings; each has its own forms and forum. If there’s no real factual dispute and you mainly need the court to interpret a point of law or a document, the Part 8 procedure (Form N208) may fit better than the N1.