What happens after you issue a small claim

Once the court has issued your claim, the next move is the defendant’s. This guide explains each of the defendant’s options, the deadlines, and what you as the claimant do in response to each one.

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

Key facts

The court serves the claim on the defendant by post; you are told the date of issue and, for a paper claim, the deemed date of service.
Paper and MCOL claims: the defendant has 14 days from service (28 if they acknowledge service). Online Civil Money Claims: 28 days from issue.
A defendant who admits the claim but asks for time to pay must give a statement of means; if you reject the offer, a court officer decides the instalments for debts up to £50,000, and either side has 14 days to ask a judge to look again.
A part admission you reject, a defence or a counterclaim makes the claim a defended one, which goes to a directions questionnaire and free mediation.
If the defendant does nothing by the deadline, you can request judgment in default.

The court serves the claim

Whether you used Online Civil Money Claims (the gov.uk ‘Make a money claim’ service), Money Claim Online (MCOL) or a paper N1 sent to the Civil National Business Centre, the court normally serves the claim for you by posting a printed copy to the defendant’s address (CPR 6.4; PD 51R 4.3; PD 7C 5.5). You receive a notice of issue. If you asked to serve the claim form yourself, you must do so within four months of issue and file a certificate of service (form N215) before you can ask for judgment in default.

For a paper claim, the claim form is deemed served on the second business day after posting (CPR 6.14). For MCOL it is deemed served on the fifth day after issue. In Online Civil Money Claims the defendant’s time runs from the date of issue itself.

The defendant’s deadline

Paper and MCOL claims: 14 days after service of the particulars of claim to file a defence, or 28 days if the defendant first files an acknowledgment of service (CPR 10.3 and 15.4). The parties may agree to extend the defence deadline by up to a further 28 days; the defendant must tell the court in writing (CPR 15.5).
Online Civil Money Claims: the defendant must respond by 4pm on the 28th day after issue (PD 51R 5.1). The parties may agree an extension of up to 28 days in total, recorded on the online service before the deadline. A defendant who cannot respond online must contact the court within the 28 days and is sent paper forms; the claim then leaves the online service.

The deadline calculator works these dates out for you.

The defendant’s six options

The response pack sent with the claim (form N9, or the online equivalent) gives the defendant these choices. For a claim for a specified amount the forms are N9A (admission) and N9B (defence and counterclaim).

Pay in full. The claim ends. Fixed costs rules mean that a defendant who pays the sum claimed plus the fixed commencement costs within 14 days of service is not liable for further costs unless the court orders otherwise (CPR 45.18).
Admit the whole claim and ask for time to pay on form N9A, with a statement of means.
Admit part of the claim (N9A for the part admitted, N9B for the rest).
Defend the whole claim on N9B or online.
Counterclaim, with or without a defence. A counterclaim carries its own court fee, calculated as if it were a separate claim.
Do nothing. You can then request a default judgment.

If the defendant admits and asks for time to pay

A defendant who admits a specified sum but wants to pay by instalments must include in the admission a statement of income, outgoings, assets and liabilities (CPR 14.6(3)). On a paper or MCOL claim, the N9A is sent direct to you at the address for payment on the claim form, not to the court; full admissions cannot be submitted through MCOL. In Online Civil Money Claims the defendant is asked online whether they will pay in full within five days or proposes a repayment plan, and you accept or reject through the online service (form OCON225).

You then decide whether to accept the offer:

If you accept, you ask the court to enter judgment on the terms offered (form N225 on a paper claim, which doubles as the reply to the admission). The judgment gives effect to the agreed instalments (CPR 14.2(6)).
If you reject the offer, the court decides how the defendant should pay. Where the amount outstanding is not more than £50,000, a court officer determines the rate of payment without a hearing, using the statement of means (CPR 14.6(4)). Either party may, within 14 days of service of the determination, ask for it to be re-determined by a judge (CPR 14.6(5)).

Judgment on an admission is registered on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. Fixed costs are added on entry of judgment: £40 where you accept the payment proposal or £55 where the court decides the rate, for judgments of £5,000 or less (PD 45 Table 3). A judgment for instalments cannot be enforced by warrant unless an instalment is missed (County Courts Act 1984 s.86).

Many claimants accept a realistic instalment plan rather than insist on payment forthwith: a judgment that cannot be paid at once may cost more to enforce than it recovers. See enforcing a judgment.

If the defendant admits part of the claim

The defendant sends the part admission (N9A) and a defence to the balance (N9B) to the court within the time limit. The court asks whether you accept the part admission. If you accept the amount admitted in full settlement, judgment is entered for that sum, with any instalment terms dealt with as above. If you do not accept, you give written notice that the claim is to continue (CPR 14.4(2)) and the claim proceeds as a defended claim for the balance.

If the defendant files a defence or counterclaim

Once a defence is filed the court officer provisionally decides the track and serves a notice of proposed allocation with a directions questionnaire (form N180 for small claims). The return date must be at least 14 days after the notice is deemed served (CPR 26.4(6)); a party who fails to return it gets a further 7-day notice and then has their statement of case struck out (CPR 26.4(9)).

In Online Civil Money Claims the court first asks you whether you accept the defence; if you do not respond within 33 days the claim is stayed (PD 51R 6.2). Your online directions questionnaire is submitted with your decision to proceed, and for a defended claim of £10,000 or less the claim is stayed for 28 days and referred to the Small Claims Mediation Service.

A counterclaim is included in the same document as the defence (CPR 15.7) and attracts a fee. In Online Civil Money Claims a counterclaim must be made on paper N9B; in MCOL, if the counterclaim fee is not paid the case proceeds as if a full defence alone had been filed. You may file a defence to the counterclaim.

From here the defended route is: directions questionnaire, automatic referral to free telephone mediation (PD 51ZE pilot, to 6 April 2027), allocation to the small claims track, and if necessary a hearing. Where the defendant is an individual and the claim is for a specified sum, the claim is sent to the defendant’s home court once the questionnaires are in (CPR 26.3(3)).

If the defendant ignores the claim

Once the time for responding has expired with no acknowledgment, admission or defence, you may request judgment in default (CPR 12.3). Online requests through Online Civil Money Claims or MCOL are processed automatically; paper requests on N225 wait about 27 working days before processing begins. A reply from the defendant that arrives before your request is processed takes priority. Full details, including how the defendant can apply to set the judgment aside, are in default judgment.

If you are the defendant: Be Small Claims Wise is written for people who are owed money. If you have received a claim, respond to the court by the deadline using the response forms, and get free advice from Citizens Advice, National Debtline or StepChange.

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Sources

Quick answers

Who serves the claim on the defendant?

Normally the court does, by posting a printed copy of the claim form to the defendant’s address. This applies to Online Civil Money Claims, Money Claim Online and paper N1 claims. You can ask to serve it yourself, in which case you must file a certificate of service (N215).

The defendant has offered to pay by instalments. Do I have to accept?

No. If you reject the offer the court decides the rate of payment. For amounts up to £50,000 a court officer makes that decision without a hearing from the defendant’s statement of means, and either party can ask a judge to re-determine it within 14 days.

What if the defendant admits part of the claim?

You choose whether to accept the amount admitted. If you accept, judgment is entered for that sum. If you do not, you give notice that the claim continues and it proceeds as a defended claim for the balance.

What happens if the defendant counterclaims?

The counterclaim is dealt with alongside the claim. The defendant must pay a fee calculated as if the counterclaim were a separate claim; in MCOL an unpaid counterclaim fee means the case proceeds as a defence only. You may file a defence to the counterclaim.

Can the defendant get more time to respond?

Yes. Filing an acknowledgment of service extends the defence deadline on a paper or MCOL claim from 14 to 28 days after service, and the parties can agree up to a further 28 days. In Online Civil Money Claims the parties can agree an extension of up to 28 days in total.

Where will a defended claim be heard?

Where the defendant is an individual and the claim is for a specified sum, the claim is sent to the defendant’s home court once all directions questionnaires are filed. Otherwise it goes to the claimant’s preferred hearing centre.