How to Fill Out and File the N1 Court Claim Form

To fill out and file the N1 court claim form, download the current PDF from GOV.UK, complete the claimant and defendant details, state the value of your claim, set out the particulars, sign the statement of truth, and send the right number of sealed copies with the correct fee to the appropriate County Court office. Money-only claims can be issued online instead at moneyclaim.gov.uk, which handles the copying and service for you.¹ The form starts a Part 7 civil case in the County Court of England and Wales for debts, breach of contract, personal injury, or other court remedies.

Check the Deadline First

Every civil claim has a statutory limitation period, and filing late lets the defendant have your case struck out. Most contract and general tort claims give you six years from the date the problem arose. Personal injury claims give you three.² If you are close to a deadline, issue the claim first and perfect the detail afterwards. The date the court receives your form is what stops the clock.

Getting the Form

Download the current N1 from the GOV.UK publications page. You can fill it in on-screen with a free PDF reader and then print and sign it, or print a blank copy and complete it by hand in black ink and block capitals. The court scans these documents, so pencil or coloured ink will not reproduce clearly.³

For a money-only claim, the online route at moneyclaim.gov.uk walks you through the same information and handles copying and service. One catch: you cannot use the online service if you are applying for help with fees.⁴

Naming the Parties

Enter your full name, title, address, and postcode in the claimant box, then do the same for every defendant. The court will not serve the claim without a postcode unless a judge grants permission, so track one down before filing.³ How you write a defendant’s name depends on how they operate:

Individual: full name and title, for example “Mr John Smith”, plus their home address.
Sole trader: their personal name followed by “trading as” and the business name, for example “Mr John Smith trading as Smith’s Groceries”.
Partnership: the firm name followed by “a firm”, using the principal place of business as the address.
Registered company or LLP: the full registered name with the correct suffix (Ltd, Plc, LLP) and either the registered office address or a UK place of business connected to the claim.

Getting the name wrong can make a judgment unenforceable later. If you are suing a limited company, check Companies House for the exact registered name before you file.

Completing the Value Section

How you complete the value box determines both the court fee you pay and the procedural track your case follows. There are two situations.

If you are owed a fixed sum, such as an unpaid invoice, a loan, or a deposit, write the exact figure in the “amount claimed” box at the bottom right of the form. This is a specified amount claim.

If the court needs to decide how much you are owed, such as compensation for injury, write in the “Value” box “I expect to recover” followed by the band that fits: “not more than £10,000”, “more than £10,000 but not more than £25,000”, or “more than £25,000”. If you genuinely cannot estimate, write “I cannot say how much I expect to recover”.³

The band also decides which track the court allocates your case to: small claims up to £10,000, fast track between £10,000 and £25,000, and multi-track above £25,000.⁵ Picking a lower band to save on the fee can backfire. The court will reallocate the case if the actual value is higher, and you may end up paying the difference plus costs.

Writing the Particulars of Claim

The particulars tell the defendant and the court what happened, why the defendant is liable, and what you want. Under the rules, the claim form must contain at least a concise statement of the nature of the claim and specify the remedy you are seeking.⁶ You have three options for where the particulars go.

On the form itself. The N1 has a “Particulars of Claim” box with limited space. For a straightforward debt (“The defendant owes £2,400 for invoice 1234 dated 1 March 2025, for goods delivered on 15 February 2025. The amount remains unpaid despite a letter before action dated 1 April 2025.”), this is enough.

Attached to the form. Tick the “attached” box and staple a separate typed document to the back. Better for anything involving multiple events or legal arguments.

Served later. Tick the “to follow” box. You then have 14 days after the claim form is served on the defendant to serve the particulars separately, but no later than four months from the date of issue.⁷ Serving later gives you flexibility if you are racing a limitation deadline, but adds a filing obligation: you must file a copy with the court within seven days of serving the defendant.

Adding Interest to a Money Claim

For a specified money claim, you can add statutory interest at 8% a year under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984. Calculate the daily rate by multiplying the amount claimed by 0.00022, then multiply by the number of days the money has been outstanding. State the total interest accrued up to the date of issue in the particulars, plus the daily rate going forward. If both sides are businesses and the debt relates to a commercial transaction, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act 1998 may provide a higher rate and a fixed compensation amount on top.

Signing the Statement of Truth

The form ends with a statement of truth. You, or your legal representative, must sign it, confirming that the facts stated in the claim form and any attached particulars are true. A false statement of truth is not just a paperwork problem: the court can bring contempt proceedings against anyone who signs one without honestly believing the contents are true.⁸ If a solicitor signs on your behalf, they are certifying that you authorised them and that they explained the consequences to you.

Paying the Court Fee

The court will not process the claim until the issue fee is paid. For specified money claims, the fee rises with the value of the claim:⁹

Up to £300: £35
£300.01 to £500: £50
£500.01 to £1,000: £70
£1,000.01 to £1,500: £80
£1,500.01 to £3,000: £115
£3,000.01 to £5,000: £205
£5,000.01 to £10,000: £455
£10,000.01 to £200,000: 5% of the claim value
Over £200,000: £10,000

For non-monetary claims in the County Court, such as an injunction, a declaration, or specific performance, the fee is £377. The same type of claim in the High Court costs £646.⁹ If your claim combines a money demand with a non-monetary remedy, you pay both fees. Write the court fee in the designated box on the N1. If you win, the court fee is normally recoverable, so add it to the total you ask the defendant to pay.

Help With Fees

If you cannot afford the fee, apply for a full or partial remission using form EX160, available from GOV.UK or your local court. Eligibility depends on your savings, benefits, and household income. You qualify automatically if you receive certain means-tested benefits (income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Income Support, Universal Credit with earnings under £6,000 a year, or Pension Credit guarantee credit) and have savings below the relevant threshold, usually £4,250 for fees of £1,420 or less. Even without qualifying benefits, you may get a reduction if your gross monthly income is £1,420 or less as a single person or £2,130 or less as a couple, with additional allowances for children.¹⁰ Submit the EX160 at the same time as your N1 and send both to the same address. The court will not issue your claim until the fee application is decided.

Sending the Form to the Right Place

Before posting anything, make enough copies of the full claim package: the N1, any attached particulars, and any supporting schedules. You need one copy for the court, one for yourself, and one for each defendant.³

Where the package goes depends on what you are claiming. For money-only County Court claims, post the copies and your fee to the Civil National Business Centre, St Katharine’s House, 21–27 St Katharine’s Street, Northampton, NN1 2LH, and write “County Court Money Claims Centre” in the court name box on the form.³ For non-monetary claims or claims in the High Court, send the form and fee to the relevant court office; use the court finder at gov.uk/find-court-tribunal to identify it.

Payment is typically by cheque or postal order made payable to “HM Courts & Tribunals Service”. Some court offices accept card payments by phone if you include a contact number and a note requesting a callback. If the fee is wrong, copies are missing, or the form is incomplete, the court will return everything unprocessed.

What Happens After You File

Once the court accepts your form and fee, staff stamp each copy with an official seal and assign a unique claim number. This is what gives the document legal force. You receive a Notice of Issue confirming the claim number and the date of issue.

The court then serves the sealed claim form and a response pack on the defendant at the address you provided. You have four months from the date of issue for the claim to be served within England and Wales, or six months if the defendant is outside the jurisdiction.⁷ If service fails because the address is wrong or the defendant has moved, the clock keeps running, so double-check the address before you file.

The defendant has 14 days after receiving the claim to file an acknowledgment of service. Filing one buys the defendant a total of 28 days from the date of service to file a full defence or contest jurisdiction.¹¹ They can also admit the claim in full or in part, or propose a payment plan. If the defendant does nothing within the time limit, you can ask the court for a default judgment; this is where most straightforward debt claims end.¹²

Keep your claim number on every piece of correspondence with the court. It is your case reference from issue through to enforcement, and letters or applications without it risk being misfiled or delayed.

1
HM Courts & Tribunals Service. Make a Claim Against a Person or Organisation – Claim Form (CPR Part 7)
2
Legislation.gov.uk. Limitation Act 1980
3
GOV.UK. N1A Notes for Claimant on Completing a Claim Form
4
Small Claims Court. Money Claim Online – Welcome
5
GOV.UK. Small Claims Track, Fast Track and Multi-Track EX305 and EX306
6
Justice UK. Part 16 – Statements of Case – Civil Procedure Rules
7
Justice UK. Part 7 – How to Start Proceedings – The Claim Form
8
Justice UK. Practice Direction 22 – Statements of Truth
9
GOV.UK. Civil Court Fees (EX50)
10
GOV.UK. Get Help Paying Court and Tribunal Fees
11
GOV.UK. Guidance for Defendants Replying to the Claim Form: N1C
12
Justice UK. Part 12 – Default Judgment – Civil Procedure Rules