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Don’t ignore the court claim

You must reply to a court claim within 14 days. If you ignore the claim, or miss the deadline, you might end up with a county court judgment. You may be ordered to pay the money (or an amount decided by the court) and costs.

If you get a county court judgment, your name and address will be put on a register used by banks and building societies. This may make it hard to get a loan or a mortgage.

You can get legal advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau or law centre if you’re not sure how to respond.

• Find a legal adviser Opens new window

• Contact the Citizens Advice Bureau Opens new window

• Replying to a county court claim - factsheet from National Debtline Opens new window

Talk to the person you’re in a dispute with

You can still talk to the other person or their solicitor and try to settle the claim without going to court.

You can offer to make a payment or work out a solution using mediation.

Mediation is when an impartial person helps the parties settle a dispute, and can be cheaper, quicker and less stressful than going to court.

• Mediation in debt disputes

• Video: what happens at mediation?

Reply to the court claim

You can reply to the court claim using paper forms and you can sometimes reply online.

When you receive the court claim you will get a pack with all the forms you need to reply, and notes on filling them in.

You can:

• pay the amount asked for
• admit you owe all or some of the money and ask for time to pay
• defend the claim
• defend the claim and offer to sort it out without going to court
• make a claim against the other person (a counterclaim)

Read the notes before filling in the forms.

If your claim has been made online, you can respond using the Money Claim Online website. The login details you will need will be on the claim.

• Responding to an online court claim for money

• Money Claim Online website Opens new window

If you need more time to respond to the claim

If your defence is complicated and you need more time to respond to the court claim, you can fill in the 'acknowledgment of service’ form.

If you file an acknowledgment of service within 14 days, this will allow you an extra 14 days to complete the defence form.

• Download an 'acknowledgment of service' form Opens new window

• County court money claims centre Opens new window

You agree you owe and want to pay

If you agree you owe and want to pay you should send or take the money to the address on the claim form. If you need to add daily interest, the rate will be on the form.

Make sure you pay within the deadline and get a receipt.

If you can't afford to pay the money all at once, you can ask for time to pay. You'll need to:

• fill in the 'admission form'
• say on the form how you want to pay
• send the form directly to the claimant (at the address shown on the claim form) - they will decide whether to accept your payment offer
• make sure the claimant receives your form within 14 days (allow two days for posting)

If your offer to pay in stages is accepted you must keep up the payments. It's a good idea to keep your own copy of your offer.

• A claim has been made against me - what should I do? Opens new window

If you don't agree with the amount owed

If you do owe some money, but don't agree with the amount claimed, this is known as 'making a part admission'. You should:

• return the 'admission forms' (N9A and N9B) to the court centre
• say on the forms how much you think you owe the claimant and why you don't think you owe any more
• make sure the court centre receives the forms within 14 days (allow two days for posting)
• either pay the amount you think you owe straight away, or ask for time to pay - by instalments or by a given date

• Admission form (specified amount) (N9A) Opens new window

• Defence/counterclaim (specified amount) form (N9B) Opens new window

• County court money claims centre Opens new window

If you want to defend yourself against the claim

If you do not agree that you owe the debt, or you have already paid the money, you may want to defend the claim.

If so you should:

• return the 'defence form' (N9B) to the court centre
• answer all the points raised by the claimant in the particulars of claim
• make sure the court centre receives the form within 14 days (allow two days for posting)

• Defending a court claim for money

• Defence/counterclaim (specified amount) form (N9B) Opens new window

• County court money claims centre Opens new window

Making a claim against the other person (a 'counterclaim')

You can make a counterclaim if you think that the person making the claim against you owes you money,

You will have to fill in the details of your counterclaim in form N9B and send it to the court.

You may have to pay a fee to the court to make a counterclaim. The fees are set out in the ‘civil and family court fees’ leaflet, below.

• Defending a court claim for money

• Civil and family court fees Opens new window

• Court Fees - Do you have to pay them? Opens new window

Help with completing the forms

Staff at your local county court cannot give you legal advice but may be able to answer questions about completing the response forms.

• Find a court Opens new window