Form N224 Explained: Asking the Court to Serve Documents Abroad

At a glance

• What it does: Form N224 asks the court to arrange service of documents on a party outside England and Wales — via the Hague Convention authority, a foreign judicial authority, a British consular authority, or the destination government.
• Permission first, in most cases: under CPR 6.36 the court's permission to serve out of the jurisdiction is usually required unless a CPR 6.33 exception applies or CPR 6.34 applies, in which case you file Form N510 instead of N224.
• Who handles it: requests go to the Foreign Process Section of the King's Bench Division at the Royal Courts of Justice; the Senior Master of the King's Bench Division is the UK's Central Authority under the Hague Service Convention.
• You pay: you must personally undertake, under CPR 6.46, to cover the expenses of service and pay them once notified of the amount.
• Translations: generally required under CPR 6.45 unless the destination country's official language is English, or the party is a British citizen, and no treaty requires one regardless.
• Court fee: there is no fee specific to Form N224 itself in the main civil court fees guide (EX50); a separate fee may apply if you need to apply for permission to serve out first — check current fees on GOV.UK.
• Foreign States: if the party to be served is a State as defined by section 14 of the State Immunity Act 1978, different rules and a longer response period apply.

What Form N224 is for

Form N224, titled on GOV.UK as "Ask the court to serve documents outside England and Wales", is the request you file when you want the court — rather than you personally — to arrange for legal documents to be served on a party who is outside England and Wales. The underlying document is headed "Request for service out of England and Wales through the court" and has been published by HM Courts & Tribunals Service since 1999.

It is used in civil proceedings where the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) allow, or require, service to be effected through official channels rather than directly by the claimant or defendant. Common examples include a claim form, an order, an application, or a judgment that must reach a defendant living abroad, a company registered overseas, or a foreign state. The route available depends on whether the destination country is a party to the Hague Service Convention, has a bilateral arrangement with the UK, or requires service through consular or diplomatic channels instead.

This is a narrow procedural form — it does not itself decide whether you are entitled to serve out of the jurisdiction. That question is answered separately, under CPR Part 6, Section IV (see our guide to County Court forms for the wider paperwork used to start and progress a claim).

Do you need the court's permission to serve out of the jurisdiction?

This is the first question to resolve, and it comes before Form N224 in most cases.

When permission is not required

CPR 6.33 sets out limited situations where you can serve a claim form out of the jurisdiction without the court's permission — for example, service on a defendant in Scotland or Northern Ireland, or where jurisdiction is based on a choice-of-court agreement in favour of the courts of England and Wales. Where CPR 6.34 applies, the claimant files Form N510 with the claim form instead of applying for permission.

When permission is required

In most other cases, permission is required under CPR 6.36. You obtain it by making a without-notice application under CPR 6.37, and you generally need to show that:

• one of the "gateways" set out in Practice Direction 6B, paragraph 3.1 applies to your claim (these cover, among others, claims relating to contracts, torts, property, trusts, and enforcement of judgments connected to England and Wales);
• there is a real prospect of success on the claim; and
• England and Wales is the proper place to bring the claim.

Only once you have permission (where it is needed) — or you fall within an exception — are you in a position to ask the court to arrange service using Form N224. Question 1 on the form specifically asks for the date of the order giving leave (permission) to serve out, where permission was required.

The methods of service on Form N224

The form asks you to indicate how you want service to be effected. There are four options:

1. Through the authority designated under the Hague Convention — used where the destination country is a party to the Hague Service Convention 1965 and has a designated Central Authority for receiving service requests.
2. Through the judicial authority of the destination country — used where the country is not a Hague Convention signatory but has another arrangement for judicial cooperation.
3. Through a British consular authority — service arranged via the UK's consular representation in the destination country, where that route is available and appropriate.
4. Through the government of the destination country — used where that government is willing to effect service, typically for countries without a Hague Convention or bilateral judicial arrangement.

Which method is appropriate depends entirely on the country involved. CPR 6.42 sets out the mechanics for service through foreign governments, judicial authorities and British consular authorities, and CPR 6.43 sets out the procedure and documents you must file to use it.

How to complete and file Form N224

The form itself is short — a single page — but every field matters, because errors can cause long delays or documents being returned undelivered. It asks for:

1. The date of the order giving leave to serve out of England and Wales (where the court's permission was required — see above).
2. The nature of the process to be served — for example, a claim form, an order, or a judgment.
3. The name of the country in which service is to be effected.
4. Whether the party to be served is a State, as defined in section 14 of the State Immunity Act 1978 (see below).
5. The name of the party to be served.
6. The address of the party to be served — a complete, accurate postal address in the destination country.
7. Whether the party to be served is a United Kingdom national.

You then select the method of service you are requesting (see above), sign the undertaking as to costs, and file the form with the court alongside the documents to be served, together with any translations required.

Declarations about the party to be served

If the party is a foreign State under section 14 of the State Immunity Act 1978, this affects both how the Foreign Process Section handles the request and the timetable that follows — under Practice Direction 6B, where a State is served, the period for filing an acknowledgment of service or defence does not begin to run until two months after the date of service. Get this declaration right, as it changes the procedure that follows.

Translations

Under CPR 6.45, you generally need to provide a translation of the documents into the official language of the destination country, unless the document is to be served in a country where English is an official language, or on a British citizen — and even then, a translation may still be required if a Civil Procedure Convention or Treaty says so. Translations should be accurate and, depending on the country and route, may need to be certified. Factor translation time and cost into your litigation timetable.

The undertaking on costs

Form N224 includes a personal undertaking: you agree to be responsible for all expenses incurred by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or foreign judicial authority in arranging the service you have requested, and to pay those expenses to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or foreign judicial authority once you receive notice of the amount (CPR 6.46). This can include foreign court or consular fees, translation costs, and courier or postage charges. Some or all of these costs may later be recoverable from the other side if you succeed in the claim, but that is a separate costs question, decided at a later stage.

The Senior Master, the King's Bench Division and the Foreign Process Section

Requests made on Form N224 are handled by the Foreign Process Section, based at the Royal Courts of Justice, which deals with service abroad of proceedings started here, service here of proceedings started abroad, and related letters of request between courts. The Senior Master of the King's Bench Division (the former Queen's Bench Division, renamed following the change of monarch) is the UK's designated Central Authority under the Hague Service Convention, and is assisted in that role by the Foreign Process Section. Some countries require formal legalisation of the documents, or a formal letter of request signed personally by the Senior Master — if in doubt, this is a point worth raising before you file, since it affects timing.

Response times and what to expect next

Once the Foreign Process Section has forwarded your request, the time it takes for service to be completed — and for the other party's response period to run — varies significantly by country and by method. Practice Direction 6B sets out a table specifying, for each country, the number of days a defendant has to respond after service (for example, most Western European countries are around 21 days, while more remote or less accessible jurisdictions run considerably longer). Build this into your litigation timetable rather than assuming a standard period; check the current table for the specific country involved, since some Hague Convention routes are faster than consular or diplomatic channels for countries with no such treaty.

Worked example

Priya, a fictional claimant, has already obtained the court's permission to serve a claim form on a defendant company registered in a non-Hague-Convention country, after satisfying one of the Practice Direction 6B gateways at a without-notice hearing. She now needs to get the claim form to the defendant.

She completes Form N224, giving the date of the permission order, describing the claim form as the process to be served, naming the country, confirming the defendant is not a State and not a UK national, and giving the company's registered address. Because there is no Hague Convention route available for this country, she requests service "through the government of [the country]", provides a certified translation of the claim form as required, signs the undertaking to cover expenses, and files everything with the Foreign Process Section together with the supporting documents required under CPR 6.43. She then checks Practice Direction 6B's table for the response period that applies to that country, so she knows when to expect an acknowledgment of service — or when she may be able to apply for judgment in default if none arrives.

If service goes wrong

If documents are not served in the way the destination country's authorities, or an applicable treaty, require, the service may be defective. Under CPR 6.47, where a hearing was fixed when the claim form was issued and it was served on a defendant out of the jurisdiction, if that defendant does not appear at the hearing, you may not obtain judgment until written evidence of due service of the claim form is filed. A defendant who was not correctly served can apply to have a default judgment set aside, and a foreign court may refuse to recognise or enforce a judgment obtained on the back of defective service. Because the requirements are genuinely country-specific — and because the consequences of getting them wrong only surface much later in the case — this is an area where getting it right first time matters more than most procedural steps.

What to do next

1. Work out whether you need permission to serve out of the jurisdiction. Check CPR 6.33 and 6.34 for the exceptions; if none applies, you will need to apply under CPR 6.36 before you can ask the court to arrange service.
2. Identify the right method of service for the destination country. The Hague Convention route is usually the most reliable where it is available; otherwise consider consular or governmental channels.
3. Gather accurate details of the party to be served — full name, complete address, and confirmation of whether they are a State or a UK national.
4. Arrange any required translation early, since this can be one of the longer lead times in the process.
5. Complete Form N224, sign the undertaking as to costs, and file it with the court alongside the documents to be served and any required translations.
6. Check the current court fees on GOV.UK before filing, in case a separate fee applies to your permission application.
7. Track the applicable response period from Practice Direction 6B for the country involved, so you know when to expect a response — or when you may need to take further steps.
8. Take advice early if anything is unclear. If you are unsure whether permission is required, which method to use, or how a foreign State declaration affects your timetable, speaking with an experienced legal adviser before you file can prevent delays that are difficult to unwind later.

This guide provides general information about Form N224 and service of documents out of the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law and procedure described were accurate as at July 2026 and are subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the current position, and confirm current fees and response-time tables before filing.

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