Small Claims Track: Procedure, Fees and Costs

The small claims track is the normal track for any claim with a financial value of not more than £10,000, subject to special provisions for personal injuries and housing disrepair. Personal injury claims qualify only if the whole claim is £10,000 or less and the personal injury damages element is within the relevant sub-limit (£5,000, £1,000 or £1,500 depending on the category under CPR 26.9). Tenant claims for repairs qualify where the estimated cost of the work and any other damages are each £1,000 or less.

Send a letter before claim and consider mediation first — litigation should be a last resort. Then issue online or on paper form N1. The issue fee is banded by value: £35 (up to £300), £50 (to £500), £70 (to £1,000), £80 (to £1,500), £115 (to £3,000), £205 (to £5,000) and £455 (£5,000.01 to £10,000). Help with Fees is available on low incomes.

If your claim is for £10,000 or less and the defendant disputes it, you will be told you must attend mediation, organised by the court and free — a telephone appointment of up to an hour with an HMCTS mediator. Agreements reached are legally binding. If you are told to attend and do not, the judge can sanction you, including striking out your case or ordering you to pay all court costs even if you win.

After allocation the court gives directions and fixes the final hearing. The standard directions require each party, at least 14 days before the hearing, to file and serve copies of all documents (including any expert's report) they intend to rely on. The court must give at least 21 days' notice of the final hearing date unless the parties agree to accept less, and it will tell you how much time is allowed for the hearing.

The small claims hearing fee is based on claim value: £27 (up to £300), £59 (£300.01–£500), £85 (£500.01–£1,000), £123 (£1,000.01–£1,500), £181 (£1,500.01–£3,000) and £346 (over £3,000). You must pay, or apply for Help with Fees, by the date in the court's order — otherwise the claim is struck out with immediate effect. If the parties settle before the hearing fee is due, it does not need to be paid.

No expert may give evidence, written or oral, at a small claims hearing without the court's permission — where expert evidence is allowed, the court can direct a single joint expert. Bring all documents you rely on, and remember most of the formal CPR machinery (standard disclosure, Part 36 offers, most evidence rules) does not apply on this track.

The court may adopt any method of proceeding it considers fair: hearings are informal, the strict rules of evidence do not apply, evidence need not be taken on oath, and the judge may limit cross-examination. The court must give reasons for its decision. Claims under £10,000 are often heard in the judge's room in a county court, and you get the decision on the day plus a copy by post. If all parties agree, the court can even decide the claim on the papers without a hearing.

Under CPR 27.14 the court may not order the losing party to pay the winner's costs, fees and expenses except in narrow categories: the fixed costs attributable to issuing the claim, court fees paid, reasonable travel and overnight expenses of a party or witness, limited sums (set in Practice Direction 27A) for loss of earnings and experts' fees, and further costs the court assesses against a party who has behaved unreasonably. Rejecting a settlement offer does not of itself count as unreasonable behaviour.

If you were neither present nor represented and had not given written notice, you can apply within 14 days of the judgment being served to have it set aside and the claim re-heard — you need a good reason for not attending and a reasonable prospect of success. To appeal, you must act within 21 days of getting the decision: on the small claims track you use form N164 (appellant's notice, small claims track only) to ask for permission to appeal, and the filing fee in the county court is £151. If the losing party will not pay, use the normal enforcement menu (warrant of control £96, attachment of earnings, third-party debt order or charging order at £139 each).