Consent Order: Recording Settlement with the Court (2026 Guide)

A consent order is the court’s stamp on a deal the parties have already struck. It turns a private agreement into an enforceable court order — with all the teeth that brings. Whether you are settling a civil claim on the steps of court, or wrapping up the financial side of a divorce, the consent order is the document that tells the judge, and anyone who comes later, exactly what was agreed and how it is to be performed.

When Do You Need One?

Civil proceedings: claim issued, parties negotiated (WP or Part 36), deal emerges. Rather than trial, ask court to record settlement and dispose of proceedings. Commercial, debt, boundary, contract, professional negligence — all end this way.

Family proceedings: almost unavoidable for clean financial break on divorce. Verbal agreements do not bind future court. Only consent order made within financial remedy proceedings (Form A) closes the door on future claims against pensions, property, maintenance, lump sums.

Also in: children proceedings, Inheritance Act claims, possession matters, ET settlements (COT3).

What It Involves

Hybrid creature: court order (signed by judge, sealed, enforceable) + contract (parties agreed, judge approved). Dual character matters: enforce through court + set aside on contract principles.

Body: recitals (background, agreed facts), definitions, operative paragraphs (what each party must do), standard provisions (costs, liberty to apply, permission to disclose).

Fees

Family consent order: £58 (2026). Civil consent order disposing of proceedings: no separate fee where already issued. Tomlin order: no additional fee. Fee remission available via EX160.

How to Draft — Step by Step

1. Confirm settlement in writing first

Heads-of-terms email on open basis. Every line of future order should map to something both sides agreed.

2. Choose the right vehicle

Civil: straight consent order (terms on face, public) or Tomlin order (terms in confidential schedule, proceedings stayed). Tomlin preferred for confidentiality, terms beyond what court could order, keeping settlement private.

Family: consent order approved by court within financial remedy proceedings. No Tomlin equivalent.

3. Draft the recitals

“UPON the parties having reached agreement following mediation on [date]”, “AND UPON the Respondent undertaking not to dispose of the property…”, “AND UPON the Applicant confirming full and frank disclosure has been given”.

4. Operative paragraphs

“IT IS ORDERED” paragraphs. Specific, dated, enforceable without further interpretation. “Respondent shall pay Applicant £25,000 by 4pm on 30 June 2026” — enforceable. “Reasonable sum shortly” — not.

5. Schedule (Tomlin only)

Order stays proceedings “save for enforcing terms of schedule”. Confidential schedule holds commercial terms. The split gives Tomlin its flexibility: non-competes, confidentiality, assignment of IP, future arrangements.

6. Standard provisions

Costs, liberty to apply, permission to disclose to HMRC/pension trustees, clean-break declaration (family s.25A MCA 1973).

7. Family only — D81 Statement of Information

Judge cannot approve without D81 disclosing financial positions, effect of order, housing plans. How judge assesses fairness under s.25 MCA 1973. Incomplete D81s are #1 rejection reason.

8. File, approve, seal

Civil: CPR 40.6 court officer or District Judge approves on papers. Family: judge considers on papers; if fair, seals.

Key Deadlines

• Civil consent order: file within 28 days of agreement
• Family consent order: after Conditional Order (formerly Decree Nisi), before Final Order
• Payment deadlines: specific calendar dates, not “within 28 days”
• Enforcement: 6 years under Limitation Act 1980
• Set-aside: must be prompt on discovery of ground

What Happens After You File

Civil: approval usually routine. Sealed copy by post/MyHMCTS. Enforceable like any judgment — charging orders, attachment of earnings, third-party debt orders, bailiffs.

Family: judge has statutory s.25 MCA 1973 duty to consider fairness even though parties agreed. Not rubber stamp. If D81 raises concerns, order sent back with queries or listed for short hearing. Routine.

Tomlin order: stays proceedings on schedule terms. Breach → apply under liberty to apply to enforce.

Common Mistakes

• Vague operative paragraphs — “parties will cooperate” is not an order
• No dates — every obligation needs a deadline
• Schedule terms in body of civil order — put in Tomlin schedule
• Skimpy D81 — family judges reject
• No clean-break wording — claims stay alive
• Forgetting pension sharing annexes (Form P1)
• Ambiguity on costs
• Not reading draft aloud

The Rules That Apply

Civil: CPR 40.6 (entry by court officer without hearing); PD 40B (form and content); CPR Part 36 (Part 36 offers); CPR 70 + Parts 71–73, 83–84 (enforcement).

Family: FPR Part 9 (financial remedy); FPR 9.26 (consent orders); FPR PD 9A (content); Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 ss.25 and 25A (fairness and clean-break).

Key cases: Rose v Rose [2002] EWCA Civ 208 — consent binding from agreement at FDR. Sharland v Sharland [2015] UKSC 60 — fraudulent non-disclosure entitles innocent party to set aside. Gohil v Gohil [2015] UKSC 61 — material non-disclosure set aside; full and frank disclosure is bedrock.

Tax Implications

Family: transfers between spouses in tax year of separation generally CGT-free; after may trigger charge. Lump sums not taxable in recipient. Spousal maintenance paid from taxed income, received tax-free. Pension sharing CGT-neutral but pension taxable on drawdown.

Civil: settlement sum may have own tax character — PI damages tax-free; interest taxable; contract settlements may be taxable trading receipts. State whether inclusive/exclusive of VAT.

Setting Aside

Not as final as it looks. Set aside where: fraud, material non-disclosure, mistake, duress, undue influence, supervening event (Barder in family). Sharland and Gohil guard disclosure. Civil: rarer, tracks contract-law principles. Applications prompt — sitting on grievance fatal.

How Chris Can Help

Consent order drafting is where precision earns its fee. Single loose phrase can cost more than a year of correspondence. Chris drafts consent orders, Tomlin schedules, D81 statements, pension-sharing annexes to the standard the court expects.

7-day money-back guarantee. We refund. We are miracle-makers, not miracle-workers.

Just one order: Litigator £30. Complex financial remedy with pensions, trusts, business valuation: Hybrid £1,000.

Subscribe: Email hello@elitigant.com with subject line “Application update” and say hello with your given name.

FAQ

Solicitor to draft?

No. Court accepts well-drafted orders from LiPs. Must meet CPR 40.6 (civil) or FPR 9.26 (family), with complete D81 in family.

Consent vs Tomlin?

Straight consent: terms on face, public record. Tomlin: stays proceedings on confidential schedule terms, can go beyond what court could order. Tomlin is civil only.

Can judge reject agreed order?

Yes, particularly family — statutory s.25 MCA 1973 duty. Civil: approval more routine but court retains power to refuse.

When binding?

From sealing. Following Rose, agreement binding from terms announced at FDR.

Set aside for hidden assets?

Yes. Sharland and Gohil. Application must be prompt.

Filing fee?

Family: £58 (2026). Fee remission available.

Non-compete in civil consent order?

Use Tomlin order. Non-compete in confidential schedule, enforceable as contract.

Breach?

Enforceable like any court order. Money: charging order, attachment, TPDO, bailiff. Non-money: contempt possible. Tomlin: liberty to apply to enforce schedule.