Admitting a County Court money claim

A defendant who admits the full amount of the claim must complete Form N9A and return it to the claimant within 14 days of the date of service of the claim. If the particulars of claim were served after the claim form, the 14 days runs from the date of service of the particulars.[1]

The defendant can send the N9A by recorded delivery and send a copy to court in case the claimant states they did not receive it.

Form N9A contains boxes for the defendant to fill in with details of their:

• income

• regular household expenditure

• payments towards priority debts

• payments to court orders

They must also list their payments to credit debts. A debt adviser can help the defendant to negotiate lower payments to credit debts, or to look into insolvency options which could remove the need to make any payments at all.

Money Helper contains a budgeting planner that a defendant can complete before they enter their details on the N9A form. The defendant can submit a financial statement that has been prepared by a debt adviser instead of filling in the boxes on the form.[2]

Make an offer

Form N9A contains a box for the defendant to enter their offer of payment. This could be an offer to pay in full by a specified date, or to pay by monthly instalments.

The defendant can use the money they have left over after paying essential expenditure and priority debts to make the monthly payment offer.

The defendant can explain anything that looks unusual in a letter to the creditor and the court. This could include excessive expenditure caused by the increased costs of living with a disability.

Claimant's response

The claimant can either accept the defendant's offer, or send the admission to the court.

The defendant can admit part of the claim if they dispute the claim amount.[3]

The defendant must complete and send form N9A to the court to admit part of the claim. They can indicate on the form how much of the claim they admit to. The form must be completed in the same way as if they were admitting the whole claim, and contain a payment proposal.

The defendant must also complete a defence on form N9B to explain why they do not owe the full amount of the claim. The defence form is sent to the court with the admission.

The court sends notice of the partial admission to the claimant. The claimant then informs the court that they:[4]

• accept the amount admitted in satisfaction of the claim

• do not accept the amount admitted in satisfaction of the claim

• accept the amount admitted, but not the repayment offer

If the claimant rejects the admission, the court proceedings continue. The court sends out documents for the next steps to prepare the case for a trial.

Read more about defending a money claim.

The claimant can agree to a judgment on the terms the defendant has offered by filing a request for judgment on form N225A.

The court enters judgment for payment at the time and rate specified in the defendant's response.[5]

The claimant must file a notice at the court stating they do not accept the defendant's payment proposal. They must enclose a copy of the defendant's admission and request for time to pay.[6]

Payments set by a court officer

For claims with a value of less than £50,000, a court officer can set the rate of payment without a hearing.[7]

Court officers are supposed to follow the Determination of Means – guidance to court staff. The guidance is not publicly available.

The guidance requires court staff to compare income with expenses, ignoring frivolous or non-essential expenditure, to arrive at an appropriate rate of payment.

If the figure that the court officer arrives at is less than the amount of the defendant's offer, the judgment should be made at the rate offered.

Payments set by a judge

A judge can set the time and rate of payment without a hearing.[8]

If the court requires a hearing for a judge to set the time and rate of payment, the case is transferred to the defendant's nearest County Court hearing centre.[9]

The court must give the claimant and the defendant at least 7 days notice of the hearing.

The court can set terms for the payment of a judgment debt by instalments without holding a hearing. If a hearing did not take place, the defendant can ask for the rate of payment to be reconsidered by a district judge. This is called an application for redetermination.

The defendant's request must be made in writing within 14 days of the date of service of the judgment. It can be made in a letter and does not have to be submitted on a court form. There is no fee to pay. The letter should state that it is a request for a redetermination under rule 14.13 Civil Procedure Rules. In support of their request, the defendant should provide an explanation of their personal and financial circumstances in a witness statement.

Court hearing for redetermination

If the rate of payment was originally set by a court officer, the defendant's application for redetermination can be decided without a hearing. The defendant can ask for a court hearing if they would prefer to have one. The court can grant the request for a hearing or refuse it.

The court will arrange a hearing to decide the application if the rate of payment was originally set by a district judge. The redetermination hearing is normally held at the defendant's local County Court hearing centre.

The defendant can apply to vary the amount of the payments if their circumstances have changed since they made the admission.

Read more about applying to vary the rate of payment.