How to Start a Part 7 Claim: Pre-Action Steps, Form N1, and Fees

To start a Part 7 claim in the civil courts of England and Wales, you complete the pre-action steps set out in the Civil Procedure Rules, prepare Form N1 with your particulars of claim and a signed statement of truth, pay the appropriate court fee, and file the papers with the County Court (or the High Court where the value justifies it) before the limitation period expires. Everything that follows sits on those foundations, and each stage has its own deadlines and traps.

Is Part 7 the Right Procedure for Your Case

Part 7 is the standard route when the facts of your dispute are likely to be contested. Contract disputes, negligence claims, personal injury actions, and contested debt recovery all belong here. If the court will need to hear evidence and weigh competing accounts of what happened, this is the track you use.

The alternative is Part 8, which is available only where there is unlikely to be a substantial dispute of fact — for example, asking a court to interpret a contract clause where both sides agree on what happened but disagree on what it means legally.1Civil Procedure Rules. Part 8 – Alternative Procedure for Claims If your case involves any meaningful factual disagreement, Part 8 is closed to you. When in doubt, Part 7 is the safer choice.

Pre-Action Steps You Have To Take First

The court expects a genuine effort to resolve the dispute before you issue proceedings. The Pre-Action Conduct Practice Direction sets out steps that apply even where no specialist protocol covers your type of claim.2Civil Procedure Rules. Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols Skipping them does not stop you filing, but it can hurt you badly on costs.

Letter of Claim

Send the other side a written letter setting out the basis of your claim, a summary of the facts, what you want from them, and how any financial figure is calculated. The defendant should respond within a reasonable time: 14 days for straightforward cases, up to three months for complex ones. Their response needs to say whether they accept or dispute the claim, identify which facts they disagree with, and include details of any counterclaim.2Civil Procedure Rules. Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols

Consider Alternative Dispute Resolution

Litigation is treated as a last resort. Before issuing, consider whether negotiation, mediation, or another form of ADR could settle the matter. Silence or an outright refusal to engage with ADR is treated as unreasonable conduct, and the court can penalise you on costs even if you go on to win the case.2Civil Procedure Rules. Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols

What Non-Compliance Costs You

Pre-action conduct feeds directly into case management and costs decisions. A claimant who failed to send a proper letter of claim, or who ignored a reasonable settlement offer, can be ordered to pay the other side’s costs, recover less than usual, or lose out on interest. Interest can also be adjusted upward against a non-compliant defendant, by up to 10% above the base rate.2Civil Procedure Rules. Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols

Watch the Limitation Clock

Every civil claim has a deadline set by the Limitation Act 1980, running from the date the cause of action arose or, in some cases, the date you became aware of it. Miss it and you lose the right to sue, no matter how strong the case.

  • Contract claims: six years from the date of the breach.3Legislation.gov.uk. Limitation Act 1980
  • Personal injury: three years from the date of injury or the date you first knew (or should have known) that your injury was linked to the defendant’s actions, whichever is later.3Legislation.gov.uk. Limitation Act 1980
  • Fatal accident claims: three years from the date of death or the date the personal representative gained knowledge of the claim, whichever is later.3Legislation.gov.uk. Limitation Act 1980

Pre-action correspondence and ADR do not pause the clock. Build enough time into your timetable for the letter of claim and the defendant’s response before the deadline runs.

Prepare Your Documents

Form N1

The official claim form is Form N1, a free download from GOV.UK.4GOV.UK. Make a Claim Against a Person or Organisation – Claim Form (CPR Part 7): Form N1 You need the full names and current addresses of all parties, a brief summary of the claim, and the value of what you are seeking. A misspelled name or an old address can delay service and knock your timeline off.

Particulars of Claim

The particulars of claim are the backbone of your case. They must include a concise statement of the facts you rely on, and, where interest is claimed, the rate, period, and legal basis for it.5Civil Procedure Rules. Part 16 – Statements of Case If you are seeking aggravated or exemplary damages, say so explicitly and explain why. Particulars can go on Form N1 itself or be served as a separate document, but if served separately they must reach the defendant within 14 days of service of the claim form.

Statement of Truth

Every claim form and set of particulars must include a signed statement of truth confirming your honest belief that the facts are true. Signing without that belief can result in contempt of court proceedings.6Civil Procedure Rules. Practice Direction 22 – Statements of Truth If a solicitor signs for you, they must confirm you authorised the signature and that they explained what it means. The statement must be dated and carry the signatory’s full printed name.

Court Fees

You pay the court fee when you issue the claim. The court will not process your papers until it has the money. For money claims, the fee scales with the amount sought:

  • Up to £300: £35
  • £300.01 to £500: £50
  • £500.01 to £1,000: £70
  • £1,000.01 to £1,500: £80
  • £1,500.01 to £3,000: £115
  • £3,000.01 to £5,000: £205
  • £5,000.01 to £10,000: £455
  • £10,000.01 to £200,000: 5% of the claim value
  • Over £200,000: £10,000

A £50,000 claim, for example, carries a £2,500 fee.7GOV.UK. Civil Court Fees (EX50) Claims filed through Money Claim Online or Secure Data Transfer attract a slightly lower rate: 4.5% instead of 5% for claims between £10,000.01 and £200,000.

If you are on a low income or receive certain benefits, the Help with Fees scheme can reduce or eliminate the fee. Eligibility turns on savings, income, and qualifying benefits such as income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Universal Credit with earnings under £6,000 per year, or Pension Credit. Single applicants with reported income of £1,420 or less generally qualify for full remission.8GOV.UK. Get Help Paying Court and Tribunal Fees

Where and How To File

Most Part 7 claims are issued in the County Court, by post, in person, or online.

Claims can only be started in the High Court where the value exceeds £100,000, or £50,000 for personal injury claims.9Civil Procedure Rules. Practice Direction 7A – How to Start Proceedings Even above those thresholds, the High Court is meant for cases that justify it because of legal complexity, financial stakes, or public importance. Filing there when the case belongs in the County Court can lead to a transfer down and costs sanctions.

For fixed-sum money claims under £100,000, Money Claim Online (MCOL) lets you submit the claim form and pay the fee digitally.10GOV.UK. Money Claim Online (MCOL) User Guide MCOL handles specified sums only. If your claim involves unquantified damages or non-monetary remedies, file by post or in person.

Serving the Sealed Claim

Once the court receives your papers and fee, it issues the claim by sealing the form with an official stamp and sends you a Notice of Issue with the date of issue and a case reference number. That date starts the service clock.

For claims served within England and Wales, you must complete the relevant step for service before midnight on the day four months after the date of issue.11Civil Procedure Rules. Part 7 – How to Start Proceedings – The Claim Form Miss the window and the claim form expires. You would then need to apply for an extension or start again, by which point the limitation period may have run.

CPR Part 6 permits several methods of service:12Civil Procedure Rules. Part 6 – Service of Documents

  • Personal service, by handing the documents directly to the defendant.
  • First class post or document exchange, or any method providing next-business-day delivery.
  • Leaving the documents at the defendant’s residence, registered office, or another address permitted by the rules.
  • Fax or electronic communication, where allowed under Practice Direction 6A.
  • A court-authorised alternative method, where the standard routes are impractical.

The method you pick affects the deemed date of service, which in turn sets when the defendant’s response deadlines start. Personal service is the most reliable if you want to avoid arguments about whether and when the papers arrived.

What Happens After Service

The defendant has 14 days after service of the claim form (or of the particulars of claim, if served separately) to file an acknowledgment of service.13Civil Procedure Rules. Part 10 – Acknowledgment of Service The defence must be filed within 14 days after service of the particulars, or 28 days if an acknowledgment was filed; the parties can agree a further extension of up to 28 days without troubling the court.14Civil Procedure Rules. Part 15 – Defence and Reply If the defendant does nothing, you can apply for default judgment.

Once a defence is filed, the court allocates the case to a track: small claims (up to £10,000, with a lower £5,000 threshold for the injury element of personal injury claims), fast track (£10,000 to £25,000, triable in a day), or multi-track (£25,000 or more, or cases too complex for the fast track).15Civil Procedure Rules. Part 27 – The Small Claims Track Allocation drives the level of case management and, importantly, what costs you can recover: on the small claims track each side generally bears its own legal costs, while on the fast and multi-track the general rule is that the loser pays the winner’s costs.16Civil Procedure Rules. Part 44 – General Rules About Costs

Costs exposure is worth weighing before you issue. The court has broad discretion and looks at the conduct of both sides, including pre-action behaviour, settlement offers, and engagement with ADR. A claimant who rejected a reasonable offer and then won less at trial than the offer can end up paying the defendant’s costs from the date of the offer. Many cases settle for exactly this reason: the cost of running to trial can outstrip what is in dispute.