Form N11 UK: File Your Defence to a County Court Claim

At a glance

• Deadline to file a defence: 14 days after service of the particulars of claim, or 28 days if you first file an acknowledgment of service (CPR rule 15.4).
• Form to use: Form N11 is HM Courts & Tribunals Service's general defence form, for disputing most kinds of claim. If you were sent a specific defence form with your claim papers — commonly Form N9B for a specified sum of money, or Form N9D for an unspecified amount or non-money claim — use that one instead.
• Buying more time: filing an acknowledgment of service under CPR Part 10 within the initial 14 days extends your defence deadline to 28 days after service of the particulars of claim.
• Extending further by agreement: you and the claimant can agree in writing to extend the defence deadline by up to a further 28 days beyond the CPR 15.4 date. You must then notify the court of the agreement in writing (CPR rule 15.5).
• What the defence must contain: you must deal with every allegation in the particulars of claim — admit it, deny it, or say you cannot admit or deny it and require the claimant to prove it (CPR rule 16.5).
• Silence can mean admission: if you fail to deal with an allegation at all, and don't otherwise make your position on it clear, you may be treated as having admitted it, subject to limited exceptions (CPR rule 16.5(3)–(5)).
• Miss the deadline entirely: the claimant can normally apply for default judgment under CPR Part 12 without a further hearing (CPR rule 15.3).
• Already have a default judgment against you? You apply on Form N244 to have it set aside or varied under CPR Part 13 — but the court will weigh how promptly you acted.
• Statement of truth: your defence must be verified by a statement of truth (CPR Part 22). Signing one without an honest belief in its truth can expose you to contempt of court proceedings.

What Form N11 is — and when to use it

Form N11 is described by GOV.UK as a general "defence form" that can be used to dispute most kinds of county court claim. It is published by HM Courts & Tribunals Service and was last substantively updated in February 2021, when the statement of truth wording was amended.

Because it is a general form, it is not the only defence form in circulation. GOV.UK is explicit that if the court or claimant sent you a specific defence form along with the claim, you should use that one instead of N11. The table below sets out the main options so you can check you are using the right one.

| Form | Used for | Notes | |---|---|---| | N11 | General defence — any claim not covered by a more specific form | Use if no specific defence form was sent with your claim papers | | N9B | Defence and counterclaim, specified amount of money | The form usually included in the standard response pack for a debt-type claim with a stated sum | | N9D | Defence and counterclaim, unspecified amount, non-money, or return-of-goods claim | Used where the claimant has not put a precise figure on the claim, or is seeking something other than money |

Whichever form applies to you, the underlying legal requirement is the same: under CPR rule 15.2, a defendant who wishes to defend all or part of a claim must file a defence, and a copy of it must be served on every other party (CPR rule 15.6).

The defence deadline: 14 days, or 28 with an acknowledgment of service

The general rule, set out in CPR rule 15.4, is that you have 14 days after service of the particulars of claim to file your defence. If you instead file an acknowledgment of service under CPR Part 10 within that first 14 days, your deadline extends to 28 days after service of the particulars of claim.

An acknowledgment of service is a short form telling the court you intend to respond — it does not admit the claim or the amount. Under CPR rule 10.1, you must file one if you cannot get your defence in within the CPR 15.4 period, or if you wish to dispute the court's jurisdiction to hear the case. The acknowledgment of service itself has its own 14-day deadline (CPR rule 10.3), so filing it is only useful if you act promptly on receiving the claim — you cannot use it to reset the clock after your original 14 days have already run out.

You and the claimant can also agree, in writing, to extend the defence deadline by up to a further 28 days beyond whichever CPR 15.4 date applies to you. If you reach such an agreement, you must notify the court of it in writing (CPR rule 15.5).

If none of a defence, an acknowledgment of service, or an admission is filed in time, the claimant may apply for default judgment under CPR Part 12 (CPR rules 15.3 and 10.2) — see below.

Worked example — using the extra time correctly. Suppose the particulars of claim are served on a Monday. Under CPR rule 15.4, the defence would normally be due 14 days later — the following Monday fortnight. If, within that first 14-day window, an acknowledgment of service is filed, the deadline moves to 28 days after service — a further two weeks. Filing the acknowledgment on day 13 still buys the full extension, because what matters is that it was filed within the original 14 days, not how close to the deadline. Filing it on day 15 does not help, because by then the original 14-day period has already expired.

What must go in your defence (CPR Part 16)

CPR rule 16.5 sets out precisely what a defence must do. For each allegation in the particulars of claim, you must state one of three things:

• that you deny it — in which case you must give your reasons, and if you intend to put forward a different version of events from the claimant's, you must state your own version;
• that you are unable to admit or deny it, but require the claimant to prove it; or
• that you admit it.

If you fail to deal with an allegation at all, but the rest of your defence makes the nature of your case on that issue clear, the claimant is still required to prove it. Otherwise — subject to the position on money claims, where the claimant must prove the amount claimed unless you expressly admit it — a failure to deal with an allegation can be treated as an admission of it (CPR rule 16.5(3)–(5)). A bare, unexplained "I deny the claim" is therefore a weak defence: it does not engage properly with the specific allegations and can leave the court unclear about what is actually in dispute.

Two further points from CPR rule 16.5 are easy to miss:

• If you dispute the claimant's stated value of the claim, you must say why, and give your own estimate of the value if you can (CPR rule 16.5(6)).
• If you have not filed an acknowledgment of service, your defence must give an address for service (CPR rule 16.5(8)).

Your defence must also be verified by a statement of truth (CPR Part 22). Signing a statement of truth confirms you believe the facts in the document are true; making or causing a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth, without an honest belief in its truth, can expose you to proceedings for contempt of court.

Step-by-step: completing and filing Form N11

1. Read the Particulars of Claim line by line. This is the document setting out what the claimant says happened and why they say you owe money. Go through it slowly, and against each factual allegation note whether you admit it, deny it, or simply don't know. These notes become the skeleton of your defence.
2. Check your deadline and decide your response. Work out whether you are within the 14-day CPR 15.4 window, or whether you need to file an acknowledgment of service first to get to 28 days. Diarise the date the moment the claim arrives.
3. Draft your defence in numbered paragraphs, mirroring the Particulars of Claim. For each numbered point the claimant makes, state clearly whether you admit, deny, or require proof, and — where you deny — give your reasons and your own version of events. Keep the tone factual and avoid irrelevant background.
4. Complete and check Form N11. Transfer your drafted defence onto the form, making sure the claim number and the parties' names match the claim exactly. Sign the statement of truth — an unsigned or dishonestly made one can expose you to consequences, including proceedings for contempt of court. Keep a full copy before you send it.
5. File the defence in the same way the claim reached you. If the claim was issued through an HMCTS online service, respond through that same online account. If you received a paper claim through the post, send the completed form to the court address (or email address) shown on the claim papers, keeping proof of posting or submission. Whichever route applies, a copy of your defence must be served on every other party (CPR rule 15.6).

Admitting all or part of the claim

If you accept some or all of what is claimed, you do not need to fight the whole case. Under CPR Part 14, you can admit the whole or part of a money claim by notice in writing. Where you admit part of a specified sum, the claimant can apply for judgment on the admitted amount — using the corresponding request-for-judgment paperwork — and the case continues, if at all, only on the disputed balance. This is a common and often sensible route where, for example, you accept the underlying debt but dispute added interest or charges.

Making a counterclaim

If you believe the claimant in fact owes you money, or caused you loss connected to the dispute, you can bring a counterclaim in the same proceedings. Counterclaims are governed by CPR Part 20, and CPR rule 15.7 confirms that Part 15 (defence and reply) also applies to a defence made in answer to a counterclaim. Under CPR rule 20.4, a defendant can counterclaim against the claimant without needing the court's permission, provided it is filed together with the defence — the defence and counterclaim then form one document, with the counterclaim following the defence. Filed this way, no separate court permission is needed. A counterclaim may attract its own court fee depending on the value of what you are claiming — check GOV.UK for current fee levels before deciding whether to include one.

Raising limitation as a defence

Some debts are simply too old to be enforced through the courts. Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 provides that an action founded on a simple contract cannot be brought more than six years after the cause of action accrued. If a claim is issued after that period has expired, limitation can be a complete defence.

There is an important qualification. If, before the original six-year period ran out, you (or someone authorised to act for you) acknowledged the debt or made a part payment towards it, section 29 of the Limitation Act 1980 provides that the clock restarts, and a fresh limitation period runs from that later date. To count for this purpose, an acknowledgment must be in writing and signed (section 30 of the Limitation Act 1980) — a purely verbal acknowledgment, or an informal conversation, does not reset the position. Because the outcome can turn on a small difference in dates, work through the chronology of the debt, and of any payments or written acknowledgments, carefully before relying on limitation.

If you do nothing: default judgment

If you let the deadline pass without filing a defence, an acknowledgment of service, or an admission, the claimant can normally apply for default judgment under CPR Part 12 (CPR rules 15.3 and 10.2), without the case going to a hearing first. A default judgment can then be enforced against you.

It is not necessarily the end of the road. Under CPR rule 13.2, the court must set aside a default judgment that was wrongly entered — for example, if the conditions for entering it under CPR Part 12 were not actually satisfied, or the whole claim was in fact satisfied before judgment. Under CPR rule 13.3, the court may set aside or vary the judgment in other cases if you have a real prospect of successfully defending the claim, or there is some other good reason to do so — but the court will take into account whether you applied promptly. You apply using Form N244 (application notice). Acting quickly, rather than hoping the problem goes away, matters at every stage of this process.

What happens after you file your defence

Once your defence is filed, a copy must be served on every other party (CPR rule 15.6), and the case moves forward on the basis that it is genuinely disputed. If the claimant's stated ground for the claim was that you had not paid, and your defence says you have, the court will follow the specific procedure in CPR rule 15.10, writing to the claimant to ask whether they still want to pursue the case. From this point the practical detail of how your case proceeds — what directions are given and when — depends on its value and complexity. Most modest-value consumer disputes are allocated to the small claims track, which has its own simplified procedure and restricted costs rules; read any further correspondence from the court carefully and respond to it by the dates given.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Filing a bare denial instead of engaging with each allegation. "I deny the whole claim" without reasons does not satisfy CPR rule 16.5 and can leave the court unclear what is actually in dispute — or lead to points being treated as admitted.
• Missing the 14-day window because the claim sat unopened. The clock runs from service of the particulars of claim, not from when you get around to reading it. Diarise the date immediately.
• Filing the acknowledgment of service too late to help. It only extends your deadline if filed within the original 14 days — filing it after that point does not reset anything.
• Using the wrong form. If a specific defence form (such as N9B or N9D) came with your claim, using N11 instead can cause confusion or delay — check what you were actually sent.
• Forgetting to serve a copy on the claimant. Filing with the court is not enough; CPR rule 15.6 requires the defence to be served on every other party.
• Signing the statement of truth without meaning it. A statement of truth is a formal step with real consequences — never sign one without an honest belief the contents are true.
• Waiting to challenge a default judgment. Under CPR rule 13.3, delay counts against you even where you have a real prospect of successfully defending the claim — apply on Form N244 as soon as you become aware of the judgment.

This guide provides general information about defending a county court claim in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at August 2026 and is subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position, and use the exact form the court or claimant sent you if one was provided.

Last reviewed: August 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: August 2027 or on legislative change.