Form N218 UK: Notice of Service on a Partner Guide

At a glance

• What it is: a short HMCTS notice — Form N218 — served alongside the claim form when a claim against a partnership is served on an individual, telling them the capacity in which they are being served.
• The two capacities: as a partner of the firm, as a person with control or management of the partnership business, or both — the same alternatives set out in CPR 6.5(3)(c) for personal service on a partnership.
• Not the claim form: the claim itself is started using Form N1 under PD 7A, paragraph 3.1; N218 is a notice that travels with service, not a substitute for it.
• Where the partnership's name comes from: under PD 7A, paragraph 7.3, a claim by or against a partnership must generally be brought in the name under which the partnership carried on business when the cause of action accrued.
• Partnership membership statements: any party can ask the partners for a written list of everyone who was a partner at the relevant date; PD 7A, paragraph 8.2 gives them 14 days to provide it.
• Acknowledging service: under CPR 10.5(5), a partnership acknowledges service in the firm's name on behalf of all partners at the relevant time, and any of those partners — or someone they authorise — may sign it.
• LLPs are different: N218's partner / control-or-management wording is for ordinary partnerships. A limited liability partnership is served like a company, using the methods in CPR 6.3(3) and the Companies Act 2006.
• Court fee: there is no separate fee for the N218 notice itself; fees attach to the underlying claim and any applications within it — check current fees on GOV.UK.

What Form N218 is for

A partnership is not a separate legal person in the way a company is. Under section 1 of the Partnership Act 1890, a partnership is simply "the relation which subsists between persons carrying on a business in common with a view of profit." That has practical consequences for litigation: a partnership claim is usually brought in the business name, but the individuals who were partners — or who ran the business — at the relevant time can still end up personally affected by the proceedings.

Form N218 exists to make that clear to the individual being served. It records the claim number, the parties, and the specific capacity in which the recipient is being served: as a partner, as a person who at the time of service has control or management of the partnership's business, or both. It must be signed and dated before it is served.

Getting the capacity right matters because it is not just an administrative label — it reflects the same distinction the Civil Procedure Rules draw when deciding whether personal service on a partnership has actually been achieved.

Partnerships as parties: the framework in PD 7A

Practice Direction 7A, which supplements CPR Part 7, sets out specific rules for claims brought by or against partnerships that carried on business within the jurisdiction when the cause of action accrued:

• For this purpose, "partners" includes both people claiming to be entitled as partners and people alleged to be partners (PD 7A, paragraph 7.2).
• Where the partnership has a name, the claim must generally be brought in or against that name, unless doing so would be inappropriate (PD 7A, paragraph 7.3).
• If someone carries on a business within the jurisdiction under a name other than their own, a claim against that individual may be brought against the business name as if it were a partnership name (PD 7A, paragraph 9.1–9.2).

This is why N218 talks about "the partnership's business" rather than a single defendant's own name — the claim form itself will usually be issued against the firm, and N218 is what tells a named individual how they personally fit into that claim.

The two capacities N218 records

CPR 6.5(3)(c) sets out how a claim form is served personally on a partnership where partners are being sued in the name of their firm. It must be left with:

• a partner, or
• a person who, at the time of service, has the control or management of the partnership business at its principal place of business.

Form N218 mirrors these two alternatives directly: the recipient is told they are being served as a partner, as a person with control or management of the business, or both. Where both descriptions genuinely apply to the same individual, it is generally sensible to say so on the notice rather than leave the position unclear — particularly since a dispute about capacity can later become a dispute about whether service was valid at all.

How service on a partnership works under CPR Part 6

Personal service under CPR 6.5(3)(c) is not the only route. Where the claimant does not effect personal service and no address for service has otherwise been given, CPR 6.9(2) sets out a table of default places of service. For an individual being sued in the business name of a partnership, the claim form may be served at:

• the individual's usual or last known residence, or
• the partnership's principal or last known place of business.

If the claimant has reason to believe an address in that table is no longer current, CPR 6.9(3) requires them to take reasonable steps to find a current address before falling back on the table address. N218 is used alongside whichever method of service is actually chosen — the notice tells the recipient their capacity; CPR 6.3, 6.5 and 6.9 govern how and where the documents are validly delivered.

Form N218 is not the claim form

Under PD 7A, paragraph 3.1, a claimant must use Form N1 to start a claim under Part 7 — N1 is the document that formally begins proceedings and sets out the claim itself. N218 has a narrower job: it is a notice served with (or shortly after) the claim form to fix the capacity in which a named individual has been brought into an existing claim against the partnership. Because the two forms do different things, one cannot be used in place of the other, and an error on N218 does not, by itself, mean the claim form was improperly issued — though it can still create real problems about whether that individual was validly served in the capacity the claimant intended.

How to complete and serve the notice

1. Confirm the claim is already issued. Make sure the claim against the partnership has actually been issued at court and you have a claim number before preparing N218 — it is a notice attached to service, not a way of starting the claim.
2. Identify the correct recipient and capacity. Establish, on the facts, whether the individual is a partner, a person with control or management of the business, or both. This affects their potential exposure, so check the position carefully rather than guessing.
3. Fill in the form accurately. Enter the claim number and the full names of the claimant and defendant exactly as they appear on the claim form, and tick the capacity or capacities that apply. Small discrepancies between the two documents can later be used to argue that service was defective.
4. Sign and date the notice. Treat it with the same care as any other formal court document, and keep a clean copy for your records before it goes out.
5. Serve the notice using a method that satisfies CPR Part 6. Serve N218 alongside the claim form, using personal service under CPR 6.5(3)(c) or one of the other methods in CPR 6.3, 6.7, 6.8 or 6.9 as appropriate. Keep a contemporaneous record of when and how service was effected — you may need to prove it later if the recipient does not respond or disputes having been served.

After service: acknowledgment of service and partnership membership statements

Once the partnership and any individuals have been served, two further points from the rules commonly come up:

• Acknowledgment of service. Where the defendant is a partnership, CPR 10.5(5) requires that service be acknowledged in the partnership's name on behalf of everyone who was a partner when the cause of action accrued. The acknowledgment may be signed by any of those partners, or by anyone that any of them has authorised to sign it on the partnership's behalf.
• Partnership membership statements. If any party wants to know exactly who was a partner at the relevant date, PD 7A, paragraph 8 allows them to ask the partners for a written statement of names and last known addresses. The request must state the date the cause of action accrued, and the partners must respond within 14 days of receiving it. This can be a useful way of confirming who should have been — or still needs to be — served, and in what capacity.

For background on the wider paperwork involved in bringing or responding to a County Court claim, see our guide to County Court forms, and our plain-English glossary if any of the terminology in this guide is unfamiliar.

Limited liability partnerships: a different regime

Not every "partnership" is served the way N218 assumes. A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a separate legal entity, distinct from an ordinary partnership under the Partnership Act 1890. Under CPR 6.3(3), an LLP may be served by any method available generally under Part 6, or by any method of service permitted for a company under the Companies Act 2006, as applied to LLPs by regulations made under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000. CPR 6.9(2) reflects the same distinction, giving LLPs their own entry in the default-service table (principal office, or a place of business within the jurisdiction with a real connection to the claim) separate from the entry for an individual sued in the business name of an ordinary partnership. In practice, N218's "partner" and "control or management" capacities are for ordinary partnerships sued in the firm's name — not for LLPs, which are served more like companies.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Ticking the wrong capacity, or none at all. If the box does not reflect the individual's real relationship to the business, it can undermine an otherwise valid attempt at service.
• Treating N218 as the claim form. N218 does not start proceedings and cannot be used instead of Form N1.
• Using N218-style capacity language for an LLP. LLPs are served under company-style rules, not the partner / control-or-management wording in CPR 6.5(3)(c).
• Guessing who the partners are. Where there is genuine doubt, request a partnership membership statement under PD 7A, paragraph 8, rather than assuming.
• Letting small name discrepancies slide. Names on N218 should match the claim form exactly, to avoid a later dispute about whether the right person was served.

This guide provides general information about Form N218 and the service of claims against partnerships 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.

Last reviewed: August 2026 · Next review due: August 2027 or on legislative change.