Last reviewed: July 2026 · For use in England & Wales · eLitigant is a Community Interest Company (No. 16566612), not a law firm. Always check the current official form on GOV.UK before you file, and sign the statement of truth yourself.
In short
CE-File is HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s online filing system for the senior courts — the Business & Property Courts (Rolls Building), the High Court (Chancery, Commercial, the Insolvency & Companies List, King’s Bench) and others. You can register as a litigant in person and file documents, issue claims and pay fees online, 24/7. eLitigant drafts your professional document; you then file it yourself on CE-File — we never file for you, because filing on someone’s behalf is ‘conducting litigation’ (a reserved legal activity). eLitigant’s Chris drafts your documents to a professional standard — you check, sign and file.
What is CE-File?
CE-File (the electronic filing and case management system under Practice Direction 5C — which replaced the old ‘Electronic Working’ pilot, PD 51O, on 1 October 2025) is HMCTS’s portal for filing and issuing court documents electronically. It is used by the Business & Property Courts and the senior courts at the Rolls Building and the Royal Courts of Justice — Chancery, Commercial, the Insolvency & Companies List, Technology & Construction, the Admiralty and King’s Bench — together with the B&PC and King’s Bench District Registries in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, the Senior Courts Costs Office, the Administrative Court and the Court of Appeal (Civil Division). If your matter is a High Court / B&PCs claim, application, petition or appeal, CE-File is usually how it is issued and filed. eLitigant CIC is not a law firm; this is information, not advice.
Can a litigant in person use CE-File?
Yes. While legal representatives in the B&PCs must use it, an unrepresented party can register a CE-File account as an individual and file electronically too (you can still file on paper at the relevant court if you prefer). You register online, verify your details, and can then start a new case or file documents into an existing one.
How filing works
- Register for a CE-File account as an individual at efile.cefile-app.com (choose ‘Other’ as the account type — the other options are for firms and chambers).
- Start a case or open the existing case by its claim/case number.
- Upload your document as a PDF (each document separately, correctly named), select the filing/document type, and add any fee.
- Pay the court fee online (card or fee account) — check the current fee on GOV.UK.
- Submit. You get an electronic receipt; the court then ‘accepts’ the filing.
Filing time — when your document counts as filed
CE-File accepts filings 24/7, and under PD 5C there is no 4pm cut-off: a document is filed at the date and time of submission shown on your submission confirmation — except that a fee-bearing document is only filed when the fee is paid, and the electronic seal bears that date. Two timing traps remain. First, a rejected submission has not been filed — if the court rejects it (wrong fee, missing pages, unreadable file, wrong case), your resubmission gets a new filing date, which can be fatal near a limitation deadline. Second, do not submit a fee-bearing document and leave the fee for later — it is not filed until payment. Against a deadline, file early in the day and check your confirmation.
Common pitfalls
- Filing in the wrong court/division — CE-File is for the B&PCs/senior courts, not the County Court money-claims (use OCMC) or the family/probate online services.
- Cutting a limitation deadline fine — a rejected submission is not a filing, and resubmitting gets a new filing date.
- Poorly named or merged PDFs, or the wrong document type selected.
- Forgetting the fee, or that some documents need a draft order or supporting evidence filed alongside.
eLitigant’s role — we draft, you file
eLitigant drafts your claim, application, witness statement or petition to a professional standard. You then upload and file it on CE-File and pay the fee. We do not file or issue documents for you — doing so would be conducting litigation, a reserved legal activity under the Legal Services Act 2007, and you remain the litigant in person throughout.
Frequently asked questions
Which courts use CE-File? The Business & Property Courts and senior courts (Rolls Building / RCJ) — Chancery, Commercial, Insolvency & Companies List, TCC, Admiralty and King’s Bench. County Court money claims use OCMC; divorce and probate use their own online services.
Can I file as a litigant in person? Yes — register an individual CE-File account, or file on paper at the court if you prefer.
Does eLitigant file for me? No. We draft the professional document; you file it yourself on CE-File. Filing for you would be a reserved legal activity.
eLitigant drafts it; you file it. Not a law firm; information, not advice.