County Court Forms UK: N1, N9, N244, N225 & More

At a glance

• Numbering: County Court forms are published free by HM Courts & Tribunals Service in the County Court forms collection on GOV.UK. Each has an 'N' code, sometimes with a letter suffix.
• Starting a money claim: Form N1 (CPR Part 7) starts most money and civil claims. Claims of £25,000 or less can usually be started through the online civil money claims service; higher-value or unspecified claims are made on paper by post.
• Responding to a claim: Form N9 (the response pack) lets a defendant acknowledge service and, depending on the claim, admit it (N9A/N9C), defend or counterclaim it (N9B/N9D).
• Applying within a live claim: Form N244 is the general application notice — used for things like setting aside a default judgment or extending a deadline, not for starting a claim.
• Getting judgment: Form N225 requests judgment for a specified sum where the defendant hasn't responded in time or has admitted the debt; N227 is the equivalent for unspecified amounts.
• Track allocation: under rule 26.9 of the Civil Procedure Rules, claims are normally allocated to the small claims track (up to £10,000, with lower limits for some personal injury and tenant repair claims), the fast track (up to £25,000), the intermediate track (up to £100,000) or the multi-track (above that, or otherwise unsuitable for the other tracks).
• Possession claims: use the N5 family. The accelerated N5B route is only available after a valid section 21 notice on an assured shorthold tenancy, with separate England and Wales versions.
• Enforcement: options include a warrant of control (N323, county court claims up to £5,000), attachment of earnings (N337), third-party debt orders (N349) and charging orders (N379).
• Fees: most claim forms and applications carry a court fee set out in the EX50 fee schedule; fees change, so always check GOV.UK before filing, and help with fees may reduce or waive them.

What are County Court forms?

County Court forms are the standard documents used to start, defend, manage and enforce civil cases in the County Court in England and Wales. They sit under the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), which govern how litigation is run, and the great majority are published free by HM Courts and Tribunals Service in the Court and tribunal forms collection on GOV.UK.

Each form has a code beginning with 'N' followed by a number, and sometimes a letter suffix that identifies a variant — for example N9 (the general response form) versus N9A, N9B, N9C and N9D (the specific admission, defence and counterclaim variants that sit inside the same response pack).

If the terminology in this guide is unfamiliar, our plain-English glossary of County Court terms explains the vocabulary used throughout a case.

Starting a money claim: Form N1 and the online routes

Form N1 is the general claim form used under CPR Part 7 when one person or business sues another for a debt, damages or another civil remedy. It sets out who is claiming, who is being sued, what happened, and what remedy is sought.

For claims of £25,000 or less, GOV.UK's online civil money claims service is usually the quickest route — the court fee is calculated automatically and payment is taken by card. Claims for more than £25,000, or where you do not know the exact amount you are claiming, must be made on paper using form N1 and posted to the Civil National Business Centre. Businesses and other bulk users issuing large volumes of claims often use the electronic Secure Data Transfer route instead, filing form N1SDT rather than the standard N1.

Not every claim is a Part 7 money claim. Where a case turns mainly on a point of law or there is unlikely to be a substantial factual dispute — for example, some trust, probate or contractual interpretation disputes — a Part 8 claim form (N208) is used instead, and the defendant responds using a different acknowledgment of service (N210) rather than the N9 pack. See our guide on acknowledging service of a Part 8 claim if you have received one of these.

Key County Court forms at a glance

| Form | What it's for | Typical stage | |------|----------------|----------------| | N1 | Claim form (CPR Part 7) — starts a money or civil claim | Starting a claim | | N1SDT | Claim form for bulk electronic filing (Secure Data Transfer) | Starting a claim | | N9 | Response pack — acknowledge service, ask for more time | Responding | | N9A / N9C | Admit a specified / unspecified amount | Responding | | N9B / N9D | Defend or counterclaim a specified / unspecified amount | Responding | | N244 | Application notice — ask the court to make an order in a live claim | During a claim | | N225 | Request judgment for a specified amount (including default judgment) | Getting judgment | | N227 | Request judgment where the amount is to be decided by the court | Getting judgment | | N5 | Claim form for possession of property | Possession | | N5B (England / Wales) | Accelerated possession claim (assured shorthold tenancy, valid s.21 notice) | Possession | | N8 | Claim form (arbitration claims) | Starting a claim | | N323 | Request a warrant of control (bailiffs) | Enforcement | | N324 | Request a warrant of delivery of goods | Enforcement | | N337 | Request an attachment of earnings order | Enforcement | | N349 | Apply for a third-party debt order | Enforcement | | N379 | Apply for a charging order on land | Enforcement |

Responding to a claim: the N9 response pack family

If you have been served with a claim form, the response pack sent with it will normally include Form N9. This lets you acknowledge service — confirming you have received the claim and, if you need it, buying an extra 14 days beyond the standard deadline before a full defence is due.

Which further form you use next depends on how you want to respond and whether the claim is for a specified or unspecified sum:

• N9A — to admit you owe the specified amount claimed (or want to make an offer of payment).
• N9B — to defend, or defend and counterclaim, a specified amount.
• N9C — to admit an unspecified-amount or non-money claim.
• N9D — to defend, or defend and counterclaim, an unspecified-amount or non-money claim.
• N11 — the general defence form used to set out the substance of your case.

Filing the acknowledgment of service by the deadline matters a great deal. If nothing is filed in time, the claimant can normally ask the court for default judgment — see Getting judgment below.

Possession claims: N5, N5B and the wider possession family

Possession proceedings use a different family of forms from a standard money claim. Form N5 is the general claim form for possession of property, used where a landlord or lender is asking the court to order possession and the facts may be disputed.

Form N5B is the accelerated possession procedure. It is only available in narrower circumstances — typically where there is a written assured shorthold tenancy that has come to an end and a valid section 21 notice has already been served, with no rent arrears being claimed at the same time. There are separate N5B forms depending on whether the property is located wholly in England or wholly in Wales, reflecting the different notice regimes that now apply either side of the border.

Possession claims involving a mortgage lender rather than a landlord follow a related but distinct process, using different particulars of claim and a defence form. If you have been served with mortgage possession papers, see our guide for defendants facing mortgage possession proceedings.

Many possession claims can also be started or managed through Possession Claim Online, GOV.UK's dedicated online service for landlords and lenders.

Making an application within a claim: Form N244

Once a claim is under way, either party may need the court to make a decision on something that has come up — this is done using Form N244, the general application notice. Common uses include asking the court to set aside a default judgment, extending a deadline, amending a statement of case, or asking for directions about how the case should proceed.

N244 is not used to start a claim, and it is not the response form sent to a defendant — it is a general-purpose tool for procedural steps within a claim that already exists. The court fee for an application depends on whether the other side has been given notice of it: applications made 'on notice' generally cost more than those made by consent or without notice.

Getting judgment: N225, N227 and default judgment

If a defendant does not respond to a claim within the time allowed, or admits it, the claimant can ask the court to enter judgment without a trial. For a claim where the amount is specified, this is done using Form N225 — the request for judgment and reply to admission. Where the claim is for an unspecified amount, or damages that the court needs to assess, Form N227 is used instead.

Default judgment is a significant step for a defendant: once entered, it stands unless successfully set aside, usually by an application under Form N244 showing a good reason for not responding and a real prospect of defending the claim.

Which track will my claim go to? Small claims, fast, intermediate and multi-track

Once a defended claim is under way, the court allocates it to one of four case-management tracks under rule 26.9 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. The track affects how formally the case is managed, what costs can be recovered, and how long it is likely to take.

• Small claims track — the normal track for most claims of £10,000 or less. For personal injury claims, the small claims track applies only where the whole claim is £10,000 or less and the damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity are £1,500 or less (or £5,000 or less for most road traffic accident injury claims, with a lower £1,000 limit for certain lower-value road traffic claims). For a tenant's claim against a landlord for repairs, the small claims track applies only where the estimated cost of the repairs is £1,000 or less and any other damages claimed are also £1,000 or less.
• Fast track — normally used for monetary claims of £25,000 or less that are not suitable for the small claims track, where the trial is expected to take no more than one day.
• Intermediate track — normally used for monetary claims of up to £100,000, not suitable for the fast track, where trial is expected to take no more than three days and expert evidence is limited.
• Multi-track — the track for claims that do not fit the other three, including higher-value and more complex cases. Certain categories, such as mesothelioma claims and some clinical negligence and police claims, must go to the multi-track regardless of value.

The relevant directions questionnaire — N180 for the small claims track, or N181 for the fast, intermediate or multi-track — is used to give the court the information it needs to allocate the case correctly.

Enforcing a judgment: warrants, earnings and other options

Getting judgment is not the same as getting paid. If a judgment debtor does not pay voluntarily, GOV.UK's enforcing a judgment guidance sets out the main routes, each with its own form and fee:

• Warrant of control (Form N323) — sends county court bailiffs to collect the debt or seize goods for sale. Available at the county court where the debt is £5,000 or less; higher-value debts generally go to the High Court instead.
• Warrant of delivery of goods (Form N324) — used where the judgment requires specific goods to be returned rather than a sum of money to be paid.
• Attachment of earnings order (Form N337) — asks the court to order the debtor's employer to deduct money from their wages and pay it to the court.
• Third-party debt order (Form N349) — freezes money the debtor holds in a bank, building society or business account, so it can be used to pay the debt.
• Charging order (Form N379) — secures the debt against the debtor's land or property, so it must be paid when the property is sold or remortgaged.

Which route makes sense depends heavily on what you know about the debtor's assets, income and behaviour — there is no single "best" method, and enforcement fees are paid on top of any judgment already obtained. If your judgment arises from an ACAS COT3 settlement rather than a court claim, a related but different enforcement route applies — see our guides on enforcing an ACAS COT3 settlement with a writ of control and on what to do when a COT3 settlement goes unpaid.

Court fees for County Court forms

Most claim forms and applications attract a court fee, set out in the EX50 civil court fees guidance. As at the fee schedule's most recent GOV.UK update, the fee for issuing a money claim is banded by the value of the claim:

| Value of your claim | Fee | |----------------------|-----| | 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 | | More than £200,000 | £10,000 |

Applications, enforcement steps and hearings carry separate fees on top of the issue fee — for example, a warrant of control currently costs £94 to issue, an attachment of earnings application £135, and a general application made on notice £313. County court possession claims currently carry a £404 issue fee. Fees change and are updated periodically — always check the current EX50 fee schedule on GOV.UK before filing, rather than relying on figures quoted here or elsewhere.

If paying the fee would cause financial hardship, you may be able to apply for help with fees based on your income, savings and any benefits you receive, reducing or waiving what you pay.

What to do if you're not sure which form you need

1. Work out what you are actually trying to do. Are you starting a money claim, seeking possession of a property, responding to a claim already made against you, applying within a live claim, or trying to enforce a judgment you already have? The form you need follows directly from the answer.
2. Match the situation to the correct form family. A straightforward debt or damages claim starts with N1. Possession of residential property normally uses N5 or, where a valid section 21 notice has been served, N5B. If you've been served with a claim, N9 (and the relevant N9A–N9D variant) is your starting point. A step within an existing claim, such as setting aside a judgment, uses N244.
3. Check the form notes and guidance on GOV.UK. Every form's GOV.UK publication page links to guidance notes explaining who should use it and how to complete it — read these before filing, not after a rejection.
4. Gather your supporting information. Most forms ask for the full legal names and addresses of the parties, a clear description of what happened, and the amount or remedy sought. Have dates, contract references, correspondence and any calculations ready before you start.
5. Check the fee and filing route. Confirm the current fee on the EX50 schedule, and check whether the form can be filed online or must go by post to the Civil National Business Centre.
6. Take advice if the stakes are high or the situation is unclear. Possession proceedings, enforcement decisions and anything heading beyond the small claims track often benefit from an experienced adviser's perspective before you file.

This guide provides general information about County Court forms used in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances — court fees, form versions and procedural rules change from time to time, so always check GOV.UK for the current position before filing.