Court Documents

Someone you may owe money to (a 'creditor') can take a county court action against you to claim the money they beleive you owe them. If you pay the amount outstanding, you can avoid a judgment being made against you. If you can’t pay the money in full, then you must fill in the court papers and return them within the time limit. If you beleive you do not owe them any money you can file a defence in response to the claim. The court doesn't find anyone 'guilty' or 'innocent'. It looks at the facts and decides whether you owe any money, and if so, how you should repay it.

Alternatively, you may has consented to an amicable divorce, and have a D81 Form with consent Order to complete.

Our form filling service will assit you in completing the relevant parts of the form correctly to submit back to the Court.

County court claim form

The court will send you a 'claim form', showing how much the creditor says you owe them, and the details of the claim (though these details can be sent separately up to 14 days later). This form gives you the opportunity to explain your situation to the court.

Replying to a claim form

You'll receive an admission form with the claim form, asking you about your income and outgoings. On the form you can make an offer to repay the debt in instalments you can afford (or a lower amount if you think you owe less than the creditor claims). This is really only relevant if you are "admitting" the debt.

If you don't make an offer on the form, or you make an offer that the creditor and court do not agree with, then the court may order you to either:

pay the full amount in one lump sum
pay the debt back in set monthly payments

You have 16 days from the date of the postmark to send the form back. You should send the form back to the creditor’s address on the claim form.

It is very important that you fill in the form and send it back within the time limit. If you don’t, the court will usually make an order for you to pay the whole debt back immediately. This is called a ‘forthwith’ judgment. This can happen even if you have a defence. So the deadlines are important.

If you miss a deadline and have judgement entered against you, you cannot apply for a redetermination and you will have to apply to pay the debt back in monthly payments. This is called an instalment order.

If you want to put in a defence, you should send an 'Acknowledgement of Service' or a 'defence form' to the court, depending on how you want to proceed. Follow the link below to find out more about these forms.

Below is a comprehensive list of Court forms, including the form reference/name and a description of the nature of the form. There is also a link to the current version of the form as available on the Courtservice website. Please note that forms N2, N3 and N205D are for contested probate claims processed in the Chancery Division of the High Court.