Form N8 Arbitration Claim Form UK: How to Issue (2026)

At a glance

• What it is: Form N8 is the claim form for starting an arbitration claim under Part 62 of the Civil Procedure Rules. It is separate from an ordinary Part 7 or Part 8 civil claim.
• Governing law: Arbitration Act 1996, substantially reformed by the Arbitration Act 2025, fully in force from 1 August 2025.
• Deadline: challenges and appeals under sections 67, 68 and 69 must generally be brought within 28 days of the award (section 70(3)).
• Where to file: almost always the High Court — the Commercial Court, the Technology and Construction Court, or the Circuit Commercial Court at a District Registry — despite this page sitting in our County Court section. County courts only get involved for enforcement, for a section 9 stay of proceedings already there, or through the Central London County Court Business List for smaller business disputes.
• 2025 update: the Arbitration Act 2025 changed how section 67 jurisdiction challenges and section 44 court-support applications work. It applies to arbitrations and related court proceedings started on or after 1 August 2025.
• Fee: a court fee applies and varies by application type; check the current amount on GOV.UK before filing.

What Form N8 is for

Form N8 is the arbitration claim form set out in Appendix A to Practice Direction 62. You use it to bring a court application connected with an arbitration — not to restart the underlying commercial dispute, which stays with the arbitral tribunal. Typical uses include:

• staying court proceedings so a dispute goes to arbitration instead (section 9);
• asking the court to support the arbitration, for example to secure evidence or grant interim relief (section 44);
• challenging an award because the tribunal did not have jurisdiction (section 67);
• challenging an award for serious procedural irregularity (section 68);
• appealing an award on a point of law (section 69);
• enforcing an award through the courts.

The form requires the parties' details, the arbitration or award in question, the statutory provision being relied on, and a short explanation of the remedy sought. A statement of truth is required, and in most cases so is an acknowledgment of service (Form N15) for the respondent to complete.

The legal framework: CPR Part 62 and the Arbitration Act 1996

Arbitration claims are procedurally distinct because the court is not deciding a dispute from scratch — it is being asked to support, review or enforce an arbitral process that the parties already agreed to. That distinction is why arbitration claims have their own rules (CPR Part 62 and Practice Direction 62), their own claim form (N8), and their own venue rules, separate from an ordinary civil claim.

The substantive law sits in the Arbitration Act 1996. Since 1 August 2025 it has to be read alongside the Arbitration Act 2025, which amended a number of the 1996 Act's provisions rather than replacing it. If you are researching an older case, or comparing what you read here with an older source, check the date: the 2025 reforms only apply to arbitrations and connected court proceedings started on or after 1 August 2025.

What changed on 1 August 2025: the Arbitration Act 2025

The Arbitration Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 24 February 2025, and its substantive reforms came into force on 1 August 2025 under the Arbitration Act 2025 (Commencement) Regulations 2025. Two changes matter most for people using Form N8:

• Section 44 — court support now expressly covers third parties. Section 44 gives the court the same powers to make orders in support of an arbitration (over evidence, preservation of property, interim injunctions and so on) as it has in ordinary litigation. The 2025 Act inserted wording confirming this extends to orders "in relation to a party or any other person" — resolving previous uncertainty about relief against third parties. It also tightened when the court can act in a non-urgent case: an application must generally have the tribunal's permission (or the emergency arbitrator's), or the other parties' written agreement, and must be made on notice to the other parties and the tribunal.
• Section 67 — jurisdiction challenges are now a review, not a rehearing, in most cases. Previously, a party challenging an award under section 67 for lack of jurisdiction could get what was effectively a fresh hearing in front of the court, including new evidence and arguments. The 2025 Act inserted subsections (3B) to (3D): where the tribunal already ruled on its own jurisdiction and the objecting party took part in that process, a new ground of objection or new evidence generally cannot be raised before the court, and evidence the tribunal already heard cannot be reheard — unless the applicant could not with reasonable diligence have raised it earlier, or the interests of justice require otherwise. The court's remedial powers on a section 67 application were also widened to include remitting the award to the tribunal for reconsideration, alongside confirming, varying, setting aside or declaring it of no effect.

By contrast, section 9 (staying legal proceedings for arbitration) and section 68 (serious irregularity) were not textually amended by the 2025 Act, and the 28-day time limit in section 70(3) is unchanged.

The main routes onto Form N8

Section 9: staying court proceedings. If someone starts ordinary court proceedings over a matter you agreed to arbitrate, section 9 lets you apply to stay those proceedings so the dispute goes to arbitration instead. The application must be made before you take a procedural step to answer the claim, and the court must grant the stay unless it is satisfied the arbitration agreement is null and void, inoperative, or incapable of being performed.

Section 44: asking the court to support the arbitration. The tribunal cannot compel a non-party witness or order urgent interim relief in the same way a court can. Section 44 lets a party ask the court to step in — for example to preserve evidence, secure the attendance of a witness, or grant an interim injunction — where the tribunal has no power to act, or cannot act effectively in time. Since the 2025 reforms, most non-urgent applications need the tribunal's permission or the other parties' agreement first.

Section 67: challenging the tribunal's jurisdiction. Used where a party says the tribunal never had the authority to decide the dispute at all — for example, because there was no valid arbitration agreement, or the dispute fell outside its scope. As explained above, since 1 August 2025 this is generally a review of what was before the tribunal, not a fresh hearing.

Section 68: serious irregularity. A narrow, high-bar challenge for procedural failures that caused substantial injustice — for example, the tribunal exceeding its powers, failing to deal with an issue put to it, or an award obtained by fraud. Section 68(2) sets out an exhaustive list of nine categories; nothing outside that list qualifies, however unfair it may feel.

Section 69: appeal on a point of law. The only route that lets a court reconsider the tribunal's reasoning on the law itself, and only if every party agreed in advance not to exclude it, and either all parties consent to the appeal or the court grants permission. Permission is only given if the point will substantially affect the parties' rights, the tribunal was actually asked to decide it, and the tribunal's decision was either obviously wrong or (for a point of general public importance) at least open to serious doubt.

Which court do I file Form N8 in?

Despite living in our County Court section, most arbitration claims are High Court matters. Practice Direction 62 sets out where an arbitration claim form should be issued:

| Court | List | |---|---| | Admiralty and Commercial Registry, Royal Courts of Justice, London | Commercial list | | Technology and Construction Court Registry, London | TCC list | | A District Registry of the High Court where a Circuit Commercial Court is established | Circuit Commercial list | | A District Registry marked "Technology and Construction Court" | TCC list |

A claim relating to a landlord and tenant or partnership dispute must be issued in the Chancery Division of the High Court.

There are two statutory exceptions, set out in the High Court and County Courts (Allocation of Arbitration Proceedings) Order 1996:

• a section 9 stay application is commenced in whichever court the legal proceedings you want stayed are already in — which could be a county court if that is where the original claim was issued;
• enforcement of an award under sections 66 or 101(2) may be commenced in any county court.

The Order also lets arbitration claims be commenced in the Central London County Court Business List, but only within limits: where the financial substance of the dispute exceeds £200,000, the proceedings generally go to the High Court instead unless they raise no wider questions of importance to non-parties. Since 1 July 2025, the London Circuit Commercial Court has also run a dedicated Arbitration Claims List for arbitration claims requiring a substantive hearing there.

Example: a construction dispute is decided by a tribunal sitting in London. The losing party believes the tribunal never had a valid arbitration agreement to rely on. They have 28 days from the award to file Form N8 in the Technology and Construction Court, challenging the award under section 67 — and, because they took part fully in the tribunal's own ruling on its jurisdiction, their challenge is likely to proceed as a review of that ruling rather than a fresh hearing.

Deadlines and permission to proceed

The headline deadline is 28 days from the date of the award, or from the date you were notified of the outcome of any internal arbitral appeal or review process, for challenges and appeals under sections 67, 68 and 69 (section 70(3)). The court has a limited power to extend this, but extensions are hard to obtain and the court will usually expect you to have first exhausted any internal arbitral appeal process and any available correction of the award under section 57.

Permission (leave of the court) is specifically required for:

• an appeal on a point of law under section 69, unless every party agrees;
• any further appeal from a decision of the court on a section 67, 68 or 69 application;
• since the 2025 reforms, an appeal from a decision under section 44 by a party or proposed party.

A section 9 stay application generally does not need permission, and nor does a section 44 application in an urgent case — though a non-urgent section 44 application now needs the tribunal's permission or the other parties' written agreement, as explained above.

How to complete and file Form N8

1. Identify the right section and deadline. Work out which provision of the Arbitration Act 1996 your application falls under, since it drives the procedure, the time limit, and whether permission is needed.
2. Complete Form N8 in full, using the accompanying notes for the claimant (N8A) as a guide. Set out the claimant's and defendant's details, the arbitration or award referred to, the section of the Act relied on, and the order you are asking the court to make. If you are applying without notice under section 44(3), state your grounds clearly.
3. Prepare supporting evidence. Arbitration claims are usually supported by a witness statement exhibiting the award, the arbitration agreement, and any correspondence that matters. Make sure the statement of truth is signed by the claimant, or by an authorised officer if the claimant is a company.
4. Attach the acknowledgment of service. Unless the claim form is served in an existing proceeding, an acknowledgment of service (Form N15) should be served with the claim form for the respondent to complete.
5. File at the correct court and list, using the table above and the exceptions for section 9 stays and enforcement.
6. Serve the claim and keep to the timetable. Practice Direction 62 sets abridged timetables for evidence and skeleton arguments once a claim is issued — arbitration claims are expected to move quickly.

What happens after you file

Once issued, the court generally decides case-management questions — including any application to extend the 28-day time limit — without a hearing unless one is clearly needed. A respondent who wants to rely on evidence must usually file and serve it within 21 days of when they were required to acknowledge service. Permission-to-appeal applications under section 69 are normally decided on the papers, without an oral hearing, unless the court directs otherwise.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Missing the 28-day deadline. This is the single biggest risk on this form. Extensions are difficult, and the clock runs from the award (or the result of any internal appeal), not from when you first heard about it.
• Filing in the wrong court or list. Most claims belong in the High Court, not a county court — check the table above before you issue.
• Assuming a section 67 challenge is still a full rehearing. Since 1 August 2025 it generally is not, if you already took part in the tribunal's ruling on its own jurisdiction.
• Forgetting the acknowledgment of service (N15) where one is required, or the supporting witness statement exhibiting the award and arbitration agreement.
• Proceeding under section 44 without the tribunal's permission in a non-urgent case, where that permission (or the other parties' written agreement) is now generally required.

What to do next

If you think you have an arbitration claim to bring, start by pinning down the date of the award and counting your 28 days, and identify which section of the Arbitration Act 1996 your situation falls under. Because the procedure is specialist and the 2025 reforms have changed how some applications work, it is worth getting some guidance before you issue — particularly if your deadline is close, or you are unsure which court to use.

This guide provides general information about Form N8 and arbitration claims 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 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: August 2027 or on legislative change.