Form N138: Harassment Act Injunction Application (2026 Guide)

Form N138 is the application form used to seek a civil injunction under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. It is distinct from general injunction applications because it rests on a specific statutory cause of action — the civil wrong created by section 3 of the 1997 Act. If someone has pursued a course of conduct against you that amounts to harassment, you do not need to wait for a criminal prosecution. You can apply to the civil court for an injunction in your own name, without any police involvement. This guide sets out precisely how to do that, what the court requires, and how to build a case that stands up.

When Do You Need Form N138?

You need Form N138 when you are seeking a civil injunction against a person who has harassed or is harassing you, and you are using the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 as your legal basis. This route is appropriate where:

• A course of conduct has occurred. Under section 7(3) of the 1997 Act, a “course of conduct” means conduct on at least two occasions. A single incident does not meet the threshold, however serious. You must be able to point to at least two linked incidents.
• The conduct amounts to harassment. Section 1(1) defines harassment to include alarming a person or causing them distress. The conduct must be of a kind that a reasonable person in possession of the same information would recognise as harassment — section 1(2).
• You do not wish to wait for criminal proceedings. The police may or may not charge. The civil route is entirely independent. Many victims of harassment find it quicker and more certain to proceed civilly under section 3.
• You want both compensation and a restraining order. Section 3 gives the civil court power to award damages for anxiety and financial loss, and to grant an injunction restraining the defendant from further conduct that amounts to harassment.
• Criminal proceedings have concluded but harassment continues. If the defendant was convicted and a restraining order made under the criminal courts’ powers, but that order has been breached or you need additional civil protection, Form N138 remains available.

You should consider criminal reporting to the police alongside (not instead of) your civil application. The two routes are not mutually exclusive, and evidence gathered in parallel may support both.

What Form N138 Is Used For

Form N138 formally applies to the county court for an injunction under section 3(3) of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. It initiates civil proceedings in which the court can:

• Grant an injunction restraining the defendant from pursuing any conduct that amounts to harassment of the applicant.
• Award damages under section 3(2) for anxiety caused by the harassment and any financial loss resulting from it.
• Issue a warrant of arrest under section 3(3) and (4) where an injunction has been granted and the applicant has evidence of an actual or apprehended breach — without the need to first seek committal. This is a powerful provision and one of the main practical advantages of the civil route.

The application under Form N138 is typically made as part of civil proceedings, whether freestanding or alongside a damages claim. It can be made on notice or — in genuine emergencies — without notice.

How to Apply Using Form N138: Step by Step

1. Identify Your Cause of Action Under the 1997 Act

Before you complete Form N138, confirm that your facts satisfy the statutory elements:

• There has been a course of conduct — at least two incidents of conduct by the defendant that are connected.
• That conduct amounts to harassment of you — it was targeted at you, it was oppressive, and a reasonable person would recognise it as harassment.
• The defendant knew or ought to have known that the conduct amounted to harassment — section 1(1)(b). Where a reasonable person in possession of the same information as the defendant would recognise the conduct as harassment, this is treated as satisfied.

Keep in mind that certain conduct is excluded from the 1997 Act under section 1(3): conduct pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime, conduct pursued under any enactment or rule of law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any enactment, and conduct that was reasonable in the particular circumstances. If the defendant might raise any of these defences, address them in your evidence.

2. Record Everything

Your witness statement is the foundation of this application. Before you draft it, assemble a chronological record of every incident you are relying on. For each incident, note:

• The date and time.
• What happened — in specific, factual terms (not conclusions such as “he harassed me” but “he attended my home address at [address] at approximately 6pm, rang the doorbell repeatedly for ten minutes, and shouted through the letterbox that I was a liar”).
• Who else witnessed it.
• What documents exist — text messages, emails, social media posts, voicemail recordings, CCTV footage, photographs of damage, written diary entries made at the time.
• The effect on you — anxiety, inability to sleep, having to change your routine, financial costs incurred (for example, changing locks, installing security).

The effect on you is relevant both to the harassment threshold and to your damages claim. The 1997 Act section 3(2) expressly allows damages for anxiety, which is an important departure from the ordinary rules on general damages.

3. Prepare Your Witness Statement

Your witness statement must comply with CPR r.32.4 and Practice Direction 32. It should:

• Open with your full name, address, and position in the proceedings (“I am the claimant/applicant in these proceedings”).
• Set out a clear chronological account of the course of conduct, with each incident separately narrated.
• Exhibit all supporting documents as numbered exhibits.
• Address the question of why damages alone would not adequately compensate you — the court needs to be satisfied that an injunction is necessary, not merely that you have a monetary claim.
• If you are applying without notice, include a full explanation of why notice has not been given and comply with the duty of full and frank disclosure (see Article N16A for detail on this requirement, which applies equally here).

4. Draft the Injunction Order

As with all injunction applications, you must provide a draft of the order you are seeking. Practice Direction 25A paragraph 2.4 requires this. Your draft should:

• Identify the parties by full name.
• Set out precisely what the defendant is restrained from doing — for example: “the defendant shall not contact the claimant directly or indirectly by any means whatsoever; attend at or within [distance] of [address]; approach the claimant in any public place.” Each prohibition must be specific and clear.
• Include a penal notice prominently on the face of the order: “If you the defendant [name] disobey this order you may be held to be in contempt of court and may be imprisoned, fined, or have your assets seized.”
• State the duration of the order — whether until trial, until further order, or for a fixed period.
• Include the undertaking in damages by the applicant where an interim order is sought.

5. Issue the Claim

Form N138 is filed together with:

• A claim form (Form N1) if you are bringing a claim for damages under section 3(2) as well as seeking an injunction — the two remedies are usually sought in the same proceedings.
• Your witness statement and exhibits.
• Your draft order.
• The appropriate court fee.
• Form EX160 if you are applying for a fee remission.

File at the county court hearing centre for the district where you live or where the defendant lives or carries on business. In cases involving domestic violence or where attending your local court would place you at risk, the court office can advise on alternative arrangements.

6. Apply for an Urgent Hearing if Necessary

If the harassment is ongoing and the risk is immediate — for example, daily contact, threats, or physical proximity — apply for the matter to be listed urgently or make a without notice application. Explain the urgency clearly in a covering letter to the court and in your witness statement. Courts take Protection from Harassment Act applications seriously when supported by cogent evidence of ongoing conduct.

7. Attend the Hearing

At the hearing, be ready to:

• Summarise the course of conduct briefly and clearly.
• Direct the judge to the key exhibits.
• Address why damages alone are inadequate.
• Offer the undertaking in damages.
• Confirm your position on the terms of the draft order.

If the order is granted, the defendant must be served with a sealed copy. Where a without notice order has been made, a return date will be fixed. You must attend the return date, as the defendant can apply to discharge or vary the order at that hearing.

Key Deadlines

What Happens After You File Form N138?

If an interim injunction is granted on notice or without notice:
The sealed order must be personally served on the defendant. This is essential: an injunction cannot be enforced against someone who has not been served with it, save in exceptional circumstances. Once served, any breach of the order is a contempt of court, enforceable by committal application under CPR r.81.

The warrant of arrest power:
Section 3(3) and (4) of the 1997 Act gives the court power, on the application of the person who obtained the injunction, to issue a warrant for the arrest of the defendant without needing to prove breach to committal standard first. This is a significant provision. If you believe the defendant has breached or is about to breach the order, you may apply to the court for a warrant. You will need to provide evidence of the breach by way of a further witness statement.

Proceedings to trial:
If damages are claimed, the case will proceed through the standard CPR allocation and directions process. The court will allocate to the appropriate track, direct exchange of evidence, and list the matter for trial. The injunction granted at the interim stage may be continued until trial as a condition of the proceedings.

If the defendant is not served:
An order that is not served on the defendant cannot be enforced. You must make every reasonable effort to serve. If service proves impossible, you may apply for an alternative method of service under CPR r.6.15 (for example, service by email, by leaving documents at a known address, or by social media where no other method is practicable).

Common Mistakes on N138 Applications

1. Relying on a single incident. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 requires a course of conduct — a minimum of two incidents. A single, even very serious, incident does not satisfy the statutory definition. If you have only one incident, consider whether your facts support an alternative cause of action instead.

2. Describing conduct in conclusions rather than facts. Witness statements that say “he harassed me constantly” without setting out specific incidents with dates and details will not carry the hearing. Every incident relied upon must be particularised: what happened, when, where, and what evidence supports it.

3. Failing to exhibit documentary evidence. Text messages, emails, voicemails, and social media messages are typically the most compelling evidence in a harassment case. They must be exhibited to your witness statement, clearly referenced in the body of the statement, and legible. Screenshots should show the sender’s name, number, or profile, and the date and time of each message.

4. No draft order. This is as important here as in any injunction application. The court will not draft the order for you. Without a draft, the application may be adjourned.

5. Serving the application on the defendant too late. On-notice applications require not less than three clear days’ notice under CPR r.23.7. Serving the day before the hearing is not sufficient and can result in the hearing being adjourned, wasting your filing fee and hearing slot.

6. Failing to address why damages alone are inadequate. Courts do not grant injunctions automatically simply because a tort has been committed. You must explain why the defendant, if left unrestrained, will continue the conduct and why financial compensation would not adequately protect you. This is usually straightforward in harassment cases — ongoing anxiety and psychological harm are not easily compensated by a money award — but you must say it explicitly.

7. Not serving the sealed order promptly. Once the order is made, every day that passes before the defendant is served is a day during which the order is effectively unenforceable. Arrange personal service immediately after collection of the sealed order from the court.

Form N138 and the Civil Procedure Rules

The key legislation and rules governing this application are:

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Related Court Forms & Guides

• Form N260: Statement of Costs — the costs schedule used at summary assessment.
• Form N244: Application Notice — the form for interim applications.
• Start a Money Claim Online (OCMC) — where most civil money claims begin.
• Particulars of Claim — setting out the basis of your claim.
• Civil Court Forms Index — every civil court form guide in one place.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need a police report before I can apply for a civil harassment injunction?
A: No. The civil route under section 3 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 is entirely independent of the criminal justice process. You do not need to have reported the harassment to the police, and there does not need to have been any arrest, charge, or conviction. You bring the application yourself, in your own name, to the county court.

Q: What is the difference between a civil harassment injunction under Form N138 and a non-molestation order?
A: A non-molestation order is made under the Family Law Act 1996 and is available where the parties are “associated persons” within the meaning of that Act — for example, current or former partners, family members, or people who share a household. It is obtained through the family court. A civil harassment injunction under the 1997 Act and Form N138 is available in the county court regardless of the relationship between the parties, and is appropriate where the parties are not associated persons (for example, a neighbour, a work colleague, or an online troll).

Q: How many incidents of harassment do I need before I can apply?
A: The 1997 Act requires a “course of conduct”, which means conduct on at least two occasions under section 7(3). However, you are not limited to two incidents — the more incidents you can document, the stronger the evidence of a pattern and the more compelling your application. Courts will assess the cumulative effect of the conduct, not simply whether the two-incident threshold is technically met.

Q: Can I apply for compensation as well as an injunction?
A: Yes. Section 3(2) of the 1997 Act expressly allows the court to award damages for anxiety caused by the harassment and for any financial loss resulting from it. You can seek both the injunction and damages in the same proceedings. If you are claiming damages, you will need to quantify your loss in your Particulars of Claim and address the effect the harassment has had on you in your witness statement.

Q: What happens if the defendant breaches the injunction?
A: Breach of the injunction is contempt of court. You have two enforcement routes. First, you may apply under section 3(3) of the 1997 Act for a warrant of arrest — this allows the court to direct that the defendant be arrested and brought before the court without you first needing to prove breach to the criminal standard. Second, you may bring committal proceedings under CPR r.81, which requires you to prove the breach to the criminal standard (beyond reasonable doubt) and can result in a fine, suspended or immediate imprisonment, or sequestration of assets.

Frequently asked questions

What is Form N138 used for?

Form N138 applies to the county court for an injunction under section 3 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. It can lead the court to restrain the defendant from conduct amounting to harassment, award damages for anxiety and financial loss under section 3(2), and issue a warrant of arrest under section 3(3) and (4) where there is evidence of an actual or apprehended breach.

Do I need the police to be involved first?

No. The civil route under Form N138 is entirely independent of any criminal proceedings. You can apply in your own name whether or not the police charge anyone, and the two routes are not mutually exclusive — evidence gathered in parallel may support both.

How many incidents do I need to show?

You must point to a course of conduct, which section 7(3) of the 1997 Act defines as conduct on at least two occasions. A single incident, however serious, does not meet the threshold. The conduct must amount to harassment that a reasonable person with the same information would recognise as such.

What do I file with Form N138?

Form N138 is typically filed together with a claim form (Form N1) where damages are also claimed, your witness statement and exhibits, your draft order, the appropriate court fee, and Form EX160 if you are applying for a fee remission. File at the county court hearing centre for where you or the defendant lives or carries on business.

Why do I need to draft the order myself?

As with any injunction application, you must provide a draft of the order you are seeking — Practice Direction 25A paragraph 2.4 requires it. The court will not draft it for you. Your draft should name the parties, set out precisely what the defendant is restrained from doing, include a prominent penal notice, and state the duration of the order.

What happens if I apply without notice?

In genuine emergencies the application can be made without notice, but you must give a full explanation of why notice has not been given and comply with the duty of full and frank disclosure. The court will fix a return date, which you must attend, as the defendant can apply to discharge or vary the order at that hearing.

Related guides: All civil court forms