Defendant in Scotland, Northern Ireland or abroad

The county court small claims process is designed for defendants with an address in England or Wales. If the debtor lives in Scotland, Northern Ireland or another country, you may still be able to claim here, but the online services are closed to you, the rules are stricter and it is often simpler to sue where the debtor is.

Checked against official sources on 30 September 2026. Court fees from 13 July 2026; enforcement agent fees from 1 May 2026.

Key facts

Online Civil Money Claims (the gov.uk 'Make a money claim' service) and Money Claim Online both require the defendant to have a postal address in England or Wales; otherwise the claim goes on paper form N1 to the Civil National Business Centre.
A defendant domiciled in Scotland or Northern Ireland can be sued in England and Wales in a contract matter where the contract was to be performed here (Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, Schedule 4, rule 3(a)), and served without permission with a form N510 notice (CPR 6.32).
A defendant served in Scotland or Northern Ireland has 21 days to acknowledge or admit and 35 days to file a defence, and default judgment needs an application rather than a request (CPR 12.11).
Scotland's Simple Procedure and Northern Ireland's small claims court each take claims up to £5,000 and may be the more practical route.
Outside the United Kingdom, permission to serve is usually needed (CPR 6.36) unless the contract gives the English court jurisdiction; the claim form is valid for six months for service abroad.

The online services cannot be used

Online Civil Money Claims (the gov.uk 'Make a money claim' service) asks whether the person or organisation you are claiming against has a postal address in England or Wales. If the answer is no, the service tells you it cannot be used and points you to paper form N1 and form N510, to be sent to the Civil National Business Centre, St Katharine's House, 21–27 St Katharine's Street, Northampton NN1 2LH. Money Claim Online has the same condition: the defendant's address for service must be within England and Wales. The court fee is the same on paper as online (see court fees), and Help with Fees can be claimed on form EX160 sent with the N1.

A company registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland that carries on business in England and Wales is a different case: it can be served at its principal place of business here, addressed to its manager or head officer, with a copy posted to its registered office (Companies Act 2006 s.1139(4)). See suing a company, sole trader or partnership.

Does the England and Wales court have jurisdiction?

Within the United Kingdom, jurisdiction is allocated by Schedule 4 to the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982. The general rule is that a person domiciled in one part of the UK is sued in the courts of that part (rule 1). Rule 3 gives exceptions, and the one that matters most for a money claim is rule 3(a): in matters relating to a contract, the defendant may be sued in the courts for the place of performance of the obligation in question. Rule 3(c) allows a tort claim where the harmful event occurred.

On that wording, a claim in England and Wales against a debtor in Scotland or Northern Ireland appears to be possible where the contract was to be performed here, for example where goods were to be delivered or work done in England or Wales. The fetched official material gives no worked example for small consumer debts, and the former Schedule 4 rules on consumer contracts were removed on 31 December 2020, so a claimant relying on rule 3(a) needs to be able to explain, in the N510 notice and if challenged, why performance was due here. Where a defendant domiciled elsewhere in the UK does not respond, the court must itself consider whether it has jurisdiction, which is why default judgment needs an application.

Serving in Scotland or Northern Ireland: form N510 and the timetable

Where the claim is one the court has power to determine under the 1982 Act, no proceedings on the same claim are pending elsewhere in the UK and the defendant is domiciled in the UK (or the parties agreed the English court's jurisdiction), the claim form may be served in Scotland or Northern Ireland without the court's permission (CPR 6.32). A notice setting out the grounds, form N510, must be filed with the claim form and served with it (CPR 6.34).

Send form N1, form N510 and the fee to the Civil National Business Centre. The court will normally serve the claim form by post unless you ask to serve it yourself.
The defendant has 21 days after service of the particulars of claim to file an acknowledgment of service or an admission, and 35 days to file a defence if they acknowledge (CPR 6.35(2)), rather than the usual 14 and 28 days.
If there is no response, default judgment cannot be obtained by the simple request used for ordinary claims. You must apply under CPR Part 23 (CPR 12.11), with evidence showing that the court has power to hear the claim, that no other court has exclusive jurisdiction and that the claim was properly served (CPR 12.12(7)).

The deadline calculator can work out the longer periods. Enforcement is a further consideration: an England and Wales warrant of control reaches goods in England and Wales, so if the debtor's assets are all in Scotland or Northern Ireland further steps will be needed there, which this guide does not cover.

The practical alternative: sue where the debtor lives

Both other parts of the UK have their own small-claims procedures, and gov.uk notes that there is a different process to make a court claim in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. Because the defendant is local, service, any hearing and enforcement all happen in one place.

	Scotland	Northern Ireland
Procedure	Simple Procedure in the sheriff court	Small claims in the county court
Limit	Payment claims up to £5,000 (Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 s.72); above that, ordinary cause procedure	Up to £5,000 (excluding personal injury, road traffic, defamation, land and similar claims); above that, a civil bill in the county court up to £30,000, or abandon the excess
How claims are made	Online through Civil Online on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website	Processed initially by the Civil Processing Centre at Laganside Courts, Belfast

Be Small Claims Wise covers England and Wales only; the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and nidirect publish their own guides. Where a claim is worth £5,000 or less and the debtor lives in Scotland or Northern Ireland, many claimants find those procedures more straightforward than an English claim with an N510 notice and a Part 23 application for judgment. The court itself, on an application to serve in Scotland or Northern Ireland, compares the cost and convenience of proceeding there against proceeding here (CPR 6.37(4)).

Defendant outside the United Kingdom

Serving a claim form outside the UK normally needs the court's permission. Permission is not needed where the contract contains a term giving the courts of England and Wales jurisdiction, or the claim falls under the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (CPR 6.33(2B)). An informal arrangement made by message or email will rarely contain such a term.

Otherwise CPR 6.36 applies: the claimant may serve out of the jurisdiction with the court's permission if one of the gateways in Practice Direction 6B paragraph 3.1 applies. For a debt the relevant gateways include a contract made within the jurisdiction, a contract concluded by acceptance of an offer received within the jurisdiction, a contract governed by the law of England and Wales, and a breach of contract committed within the jurisdiction. The application must be supported by evidence, state the defendant's address, and the court will not give permission unless satisfied that England and Wales is the proper place to bring the claim (CPR 6.37). A claim form to be served out of the jurisdiction is valid for six months from issue rather than four (CPR 7.5(2)).

Even with a judgment, enforcing it in another country depends on that country's law and any treaty with the UK. That is usually slow and costly, and for a debt within the small claims limit the cost of an application for permission, service abroad and foreign enforcement can easily exceed the sum owed. Many claimants weigh that before issuing.

Deciding what to do

The questions that usually decide the matter are: where was the contract to be performed; where does the debtor have assets; and is the sum large enough to justify a cross-border procedure. A debtor with a UK address and a contract performed in England or Wales can be pursued here on paper with an N510 notice; a debtor in Scotland or Northern Ireland with all their assets there is often better pursued in their own court; a debtor abroad with no assets in the UK is frequently not worth suing at all. See is it worth suing and letter before claim, since a formal letter costs nothing and often produces payment without proceedings. You can also ask ClaimsBot about your facts, or use find help near me for free advice.

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Sources

Quick answers

Can I use the online money claim service against someone in Scotland?

No. Online Civil Money Claims (the gov.uk 'Make a money claim' service) and Money Claim Online both require the defendant to have a postal address in England or Wales. A claim against a defendant in Scotland, Northern Ireland or abroad goes on paper form N1, with form N510, to the Civil National Business Centre in Northampton.

Can an English county court hear a claim against a defendant in Northern Ireland?

Sometimes. Schedule 4 to the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 allows a person domiciled in another part of the UK to be sued in England and Wales in a contract matter where the contract was to be performed here, or in tort where the harmful event occurred here. Otherwise the general rule is to sue in the courts where the defendant is domiciled.

How long does a defendant in Scotland have to respond?

Twenty-one days after service of the particulars of claim to acknowledge service or admit, and 35 days to file a defence if they acknowledge (CPR 6.35(2)), instead of the usual 14 and 28 days.

Can I get default judgment against a defendant served in Scotland or Northern Ireland?

Yes, but by application rather than the simple request form. CPR 12.11 requires a Part 23 application with evidence that the court has power to hear the claim, that no other court has exclusive jurisdiction, and that the claim form was properly served.

What is form N510?

It is the notice, filed and served with the claim form, stating the grounds on which the claimant is entitled to serve the claim form outside England and Wales without the court's permission (CPR 6.34). The online service itself tells claimants with a defendant outside England and Wales to download forms N1 and N510.

What is the small claims limit in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

Scotland's Simple Procedure covers payment claims up to £5,000, made through Civil Online. Northern Ireland's small claims process also covers claims up to £5,000, processed by the Civil Processing Centre; larger claims go by civil bill in the county court up to £30,000.

Do I need permission to serve a claim on someone abroad?

Usually, under CPR 6.36, relying on one of the gateways in Practice Direction 6B such as a contract made or breached within the jurisdiction. Permission is not needed where the contract gives the courts of England and Wales jurisdiction or the 2005 Hague Convention applies (CPR 6.33(2B)). The claim form is then valid for six months for service.