How Do I Make a Small Claim in England or Wales?

Who this guide is for

People in England or Wales who want to take a person or business to court for money they are owed, for example an unpaid bill or invoice, money lent to a friend, or the cost of faulty goods or poor work. It also helps people who have received a court claim for money.

What this guide does not cover

• Scotland or Northern Ireland: see the Scotland guide or the Northern Ireland guide.
• Personal injury claims, including road accidents, and claims by a tenant for repairs to a rented home: the small claims limits for these are lower and depend on the type of claim. Ask Citizens Advice or a solicitor.
• Claims for harassment or unlawful eviction: the court must not put these on the small claims track. Ask Citizens Advice or a solicitor.
• Claims worth more than £10,000: these go on another track, with different rules on costs. Ask Citizens Advice or a solicitor.
• Claims against someone outside England and Wales, and appeals: ask Citizens Advice or a solicitor.
• Being chased for an old debt: use the old debt checker.
• Your rights when goods or services are faulty (refunds, repairs, replacements): use the consumer rights checker.
• Problems with an employer about pay or dismissal: an employment tribunal may be the right place. See the employment tribunal checker.

The questions that decide the answer

1. Where are you and the other side? In England or Wales: this guide. If the other side is in Scotland, Northern Ireland or abroad, ask Citizens Advice where to claim.
2. How much are you claiming, including any interest? Not more than £10,000: normally the small claims track. More than that: another track, with different rules on costs. Get advice first.
3. What is the claim about? Money owed, an unpaid bill, faulty goods or services, or damage to your property: this guide. Personal injury, a tenant's repairs claim, harassment or unlawful eviction: not covered.
4. When did it happen? A claim founded on a contract, or on a wrong such as negligence, cannot usually be started more than 6 years after the cause of action arose (Limitation Act 1980). Some claims have other time limits, and some things can change the time limit. If the problem is close to 6 years old, ask Citizens Advice.
5. Are you making the claim, or has a claim been made against you? Making it: see the steps below. Received one: see "If someone makes a claim against you".

Before you claim: the letter before claim

The court's rules on pre-action conduct expect you to try to sort it out first. Usually this means:

• you write to the other side with concise details of the claim: why you are claiming, a summary of the facts, what you want from them and, if it is money, how you worked out the amount;
• they reply within a reasonable time: 14 days in a straightforward case and no more than 3 months in a very complex one; and
• you both share the key documents.

If the dispute goes to court, the court will expect you to have followed these steps. Where a pre-action protocol applies to your kind of claim (for example the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims), follow that protocol instead: this guide does not cover the protocols. You can use the free letter before claim generator.

Making the claim

• Online: use the online Civil Money Claims service on GOV.UK. You need to know exactly how much you are claiming. Citizens Advice says you must use the paper form N1 if you, or the person you are claiming against, are under 18.
• By post: fill in form N1 and send it to the Civil National Business Centre with the court fee (or your Help with Fees reference).
• Court fees: the issue fee depends on the amount you claim, including interest. A hearing fee is charged only if the case is listed for a hearing. The boxes on the small claims checker work out both fees for your amount. You can apply for Help with Fees on GOV.UK if you cannot afford them.
• Interest: GOV.UK says the rate is usually 8% a year (section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984). If you claim a fixed amount, you work out the interest yourself: the boxes on the small claims checker do this for you. If a business owes money to another business, late payment interest on a commercial debt can be claimed instead.

After you claim

• The claim, including your name and address, is sent to the other side (the defendant). They are told the date they must respond by.
• No response: you can ask the court to order them to pay. Request judgment online if you claimed online, or use form N225 (fixed amount) or N227 (amount not fixed) if you used a claim form.
• Disputed, £10,000 or less: both sides must attend mediation. It is free and organised by the court. A mediator from HM Courts and Tribunals Service speaks to each side separately by phone, for up to one hour. An agreement reached at mediation is legally binding. If you do not agree, the case goes to a court hearing, and what was said in mediation cannot be mentioned there.

Costs if you win or lose

On the small claims track the court may not order one side to pay the other side's costs, except for:

• the fixed costs of issuing the claim;
• court fees the other side paid;
• reasonable travel expenses for going to a hearing, and limited amounts for lost earnings or leave and for an expert's fees; and
• further costs against a side that has behaved unreasonably. Turning down an offer to settle is not unreasonable behaviour on its own.

So you cannot usually get a solicitor's fees back, even if you win. If you lose, you may still have to pay the other side's court fees and some expenses.

If you win but are not paid

The court does not collect the money for you. You can ask the court to:

• send bailiffs to collect the money or take goods to sell (a warrant of control);
• take money from the other side's wages through their employer (an attachment of earnings order, form N337);
• freeze money in their bank or building society account (a third-party debt order, form N349); or
• put a charge on their land or property (a charging order).

Each is a separate application to the court. Check the fee for each on GOV.UK before you apply.

If someone makes a claim against you

Do not ignore it. Respond by the date on the letter or email. HMCTS says you must reply within 14 days of receiving the claim. If you need more time, send back the acknowledgment of service form within 14 days: you then have 28 days from the date you received the court papers to send your defence. If you do not respond in time, the other side can ask the court for judgment against you. If you dispute a claim of £10,000 or less, you will have to attend the court's free mediation.

Deadlines

• Starting a claim founded on a contract or on a wrong such as negligence: usually within 6 years of the cause of action arising.
• Replying to a letter before claim: a reasonable time, 14 days in a straightforward case and no more than 3 months in a very complex one.
• Replying to a court claim: within 14 days of receiving it. Defence after sending the acknowledgment of service: within 28 days of receiving the court papers.

Money figures

• £10,000: the normal limit for the small claims track.
• Court fees: worked out for your amount by the boxes on the small claims checker.
• Interest: usually 8% a year.

Traps

• £10,000 is the normal limit, not a guarantee: the judge decides which track a claim goes on.
• Adding interest can move a claim into a higher court fee band.
• Mediation is not optional for a disputed claim of £10,000 or less.
• A win on paper is not money in the bank: enforcement is a separate step, and it only works if the other side has money, wages or property.
• The court helplines explain the process only. They cannot tell you whether you will win.
• Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own courts, limits and forms. This guide does not apply there.