How to Fill Out and File Form N244: Evidence, Fee, and Service

To fill out Form N244, download the correct version for your court, enter the claim details at the top, describe the order you want and the reason for it in Part 3, state whether the application is on notice or without notice, estimate the hearing length, sign the Statement of Truth, and file it with the court along with a draft order, any supporting evidence, and the fee. The form is the standard application notice used in civil proceedings in England and Wales under Part 23 of the Civil Procedure Rules, and the filing fee is currently £313 on notice or £123 by consent or without notice.¹

Download the Right Version

The official fillable PDF is on GOV.UK.² Before you start typing, check which court is managing your claim, because some divisions use their own variant. The Commercial Court uses N244(CC). The Chancery Division Financial List uses N244(CHFL). The Commercial Court Financial List uses N244(CCFL). Using the wrong variant can delay your application, so confirm the version first.

Complete the Header

The top of the form asks for the name of the court handling your case and the claim number. Both appear on your most recent court correspondence. Enter the full legal names of the claimant and defendant exactly as they appear on the claim form. Small differences here are the sort of thing that gets a filing rejected.

Fill In Parts 1 to 9

Parts 1 and 2 identify who is making the application and in what capacity (claimant, defendant, or another party). Then the substance begins.

Part 3: What Order You Want

This is the heart of the form. Write a specific description of the order you want the court to make. “An order setting aside the default judgment entered on [date]” tells a judge far more than “I want the judgment removed.” If the order is too long for the box, write “See attached draft order” and attach a separate document setting out the proposed terms.³

Part 4: On Notice or Without Notice

Tick whether the other party will be told about the application in advance. Most applications are on notice. Without-notice applications are reserved for genuine urgency or for orders that would be defeated by alerting the other side, such as a freezing injunction.⁴ If you tick without notice, be ready to justify that choice at the hearing.

Part 5: Why You Want the Order

Briefly explain the reason for the application and identify any rule or statutory provision you rely on. Keep it focused: one or two sentences pointing the judge to the relevant CPR rule and the problem the order is meant to solve. Fuller argument belongs in your witness statement or supporting evidence, not here.

Part 6: Estimated Hearing Length

Be realistic. A simple adjournment might take 15 to 30 minutes. A contested set-aside application with evidence could run to two hours. Underestimating forces the court to rearrange its list, which is not a good start with the judge.

Hearing, Telephone Hearing, or Paper

The form asks whether you want a hearing, a telephone hearing, or a decision on paper without a hearing. Under CPR 23.8, the court can decide without a hearing if the parties agree the terms of the order, if both sides agree to dispense with a hearing, or if the court considers a hearing unnecessary.⁴ Consent orders and simple procedural requests suit paper determination. For anything contested, ask for a hearing.

Where a hearing is held, Practice Direction 23A allows it to run in person, by video, by telephone, or as a mix. Applications expected to last two hours or less may be heard remotely depending on the court’s practice.⁵ The court will confirm the format once a hearing date is set.

Parts 7 to 9: Respondents and Contact Details

List each party who should receive the application, along with an address for service, and provide your own address and contact details. If you are represented, this is where your solicitor’s information goes.

Sign the Statement of Truth

The final section is a Statement of Truth confirming that you believe the facts in the application are true. An individual signs it personally. If the applicant is a company, the signature must come from someone in a senior position (a director, secretary, chief executive, or similar officer), and they must state the position they hold.⁶ A legal representative can sign for a client, but doing so means confirming the client authorised the statement and was warned about the consequences of dishonesty.

Those consequences are real. A false statement in a document verified by a Statement of Truth can lead to contempt of court proceedings, with the possibility of fines or imprisonment.⁶ Print your full name clearly beneath your signature and date it on the day you sign.

Prepare the Evidence and Draft Order

CPR 23.6 requires the application to state the order you want and briefly explain why.⁴ For a simple request such as an agreed extension of time, Part C on the form gives you enough room to set out the key facts. For anything more involved, prepare a separate witness statement. An application to set aside a default judgment, for instance, needs a witness statement explaining what happened and why you have a viable defence.

Attach a draft of the order you want the judge to make. The draft shows the exact outcome you are proposing in a format the judge can approve, amend, or reject.⁴ Label each supporting document clearly and list them in the order referenced in your application.

Pay the Fee or Apply for Help

An application on notice costs £313. An application by consent or without notice costs £123.¹ Fees are set by statutory instrument and updated periodically, so check the current EX50A schedule before filing.⁷

If you cannot afford the fee, apply for Help with Fees using Form EX160 and submit it alongside your N244.⁸ You qualify for a full waiver if you receive income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit), or Universal Credit with earnings under £6,000 a year, provided your savings are below £4,250.

Without qualifying benefits, you can still get a reduction if your monthly income is £1,420 or less as a single person, or £2,130 or less with a partner. Those thresholds rise by £425 for each child aged 0 to 13 and £710 for each child aged 14 or older.⁸ If you or your partner are 66 or older, you can hold up to £16,000 in savings regardless of the fee amount.

File the Application

Send the completed N244, your draft order, the fee (or your Help with Fees reference), and all supporting evidence to the court office handling your claim. Practice Direction 23A requires the application to include the claim title and reference number, your full name, and either a request for a hearing or a request for paper determination.⁵ Make the application as soon as the need becomes apparent, and where possible time it so the court can deal with it at a hearing already scheduled in the case.

Some higher courts accept electronic filing through the HMCTS CE-File service. CE-File is available for the Business and Property Courts, the Administrative Court, the Court of Appeal (Civil Division), King’s Bench Division claims at the Royal Courts of Justice and several regional centres, and several Upper Tribunals.⁹ Most county courts still require postal or in-person filing. If you file electronically, CE-File will tell you whether the filing has been accepted or rejected, usually with a reason such as an incorrect fee or a missing document.

Serve the Other Parties

Serving the application is your responsibility, not the court’s. You must send a copy of the application notice, your supporting evidence, and your draft order to every other party in the case.³ Under CPR 23.7, service must happen as soon as practicable after filing and at least three clear days before the court deals with the application, unless a rule, practice direction, or court order sets a different deadline.⁴ “Clear days” excludes both the day of service and the day of the hearing. If your hearing is on a Thursday, you need to serve by the end of Sunday at the latest. In practice, serve well before that so the other side has a fair chance to respond.

What Happens Next

If the court lists a hearing, come ready for the judge to review the wider conduct of the case, not just the narrow point in your application. Practice Direction 23A warns that the court may give broader directions at the same time.⁵ If a party fails to attend, the court can proceed in their absence, and under CPR 23.11 has power to re-list the application afterwards. Relying on that is a gamble, not a plan.⁴

When the court decides your application on paper without giving you a chance to make representations, you have a right to apply to have the order set aside, varied, or stayed. The order will state the deadline; if none is given, you have seven days from the date the order was served.⁴ That reconsideration is normally dealt with at an oral hearing, unless the court considers the application totally without merit.

1
Ministry of Justice. Civil and Family Court Fees EX50A
2
GOV.UK. Make an Application to a Court (Application Notice) Form N244
3
GOV.UK. Form N244(CHFL) Application Notice
4
Justice UK. Part 23 – General Rules About Applications for Court Orders
5
Justice UK. Practice Direction 23A – Applications
6
Justice UK. Practice Direction 22 – Statements of Truth
7
GOV.UK. Civil Court Fees EX50
8
GOV.UK. Get Help Paying Court and Tribunal Fees
9
GOV.UK. HMCTS E-Filing Service for Citizens and Professionals