Form N225: Request for Default Judgment — Specified Amount (2026 Guide)

What Form N225 is

Form N225 is titled “Request for judgment and reply to admission (specified amount)”. It is the single form that does two jobs in a money claim for a fixed sum:

• Request for default judgment — where the defendant has not responded to your claim within the time the rules allow, you ask the court to enter judgment because the claim is, in effect, unopposed.
• Reply to admission — where the defendant has admitted the whole or part of your claim (usually by returning Form N9A), you reply to that admission, accept it, and ask for judgment to be entered on the admitted amount.

“Specified amount” is the key phrase. It means a fixed, calculable sum — an unpaid invoice, a personal loan, an agreed contractual debt, arrears of rent expressed as a precise figure. If your claim is for an amount the court has to assess (for example damages for an injury or a loss that is not yet quantified), that is an unspecified claim and you use Form N227 instead — the court enters judgment on liability and decides the amount at a later stage.

When you can use it: the response windows

You cannot file N225 the moment the claim is served. The defendant has a period in which to respond, and you must let that period expire before you are entitled to default judgment. The clock runs from the deemed date of service of the particulars of claim, not the date you posted them.

Broadly, a defendant who wishes to fight the claim can either:

• File a defence within the period for filing a defence; or
• File an acknowledgment of service first, which buys additional time to then file the defence.

If the defendant does neither within the time allowed, the door to default judgment opens. If they acknowledge service but then fail to file a defence in the extended period, the same applies. Because the exact number of days is the single most common point at which N225s are filed too early and rejected, check the current deadline for filing an acknowledgment of service, and the current deadline for filing a defence (including the extended period after acknowledgment) against the live Civil Procedure Rules before you file.

The two legal frameworks: CPR Part 12 and Part 14

Default judgment — CPR Part 12

Part 12 of the Civil Procedure Rules governs default judgment: judgment entered without trial because the defendant has not responded as required. The principle is that a defendant who is properly served and chooses not to engage cannot hold up a legitimate claim indefinitely. For a specified sum, the court can usually enter judgment administratively on your N225 request, without a hearing, provided the conditions are met (service was effective, the response period has expired, and no defence or acknowledgment was filed in time).

There are claims and defendants for which default judgment is restricted and a separate application is needed instead — for example certain defendants who require particular protection. If anything about your defendant or claim type is unusual, confirm that the straightforward N225 route is open to you before relying on it.

Judgment on admission — CPR Part 14

Part 14 governs admissions. If the defendant returns an admission of a specified sum, they are conceding the debt and proposing how to deal with payment. Your N225 reply lets you accept the admission and ask the court to enter judgment. Where the defendant has offered to pay by instalments and you do not accept their proposal, the court can determine the rate of payment — so the form asks you to say whether you accept the defendant’s offer or want the court to decide.

Completing the form, section by section

The figures on N225 are not decorative — the court enters judgment for exactly the amounts you state, so accuracy here is what makes the judgment stick.

1. The claim details

Identify the claim number, the court, and the full, correct names and addresses of claimant and defendant exactly as they appear on the claim form. A mismatch here is a frequent reason judgments are queried or later challenged.

2. The debt

State the amount of the original claim — the specified sum you sued for.

3. Interest to the date of judgment

You are usually entitled to interest. It runs from when it began accruing up to the date judgment is entered, so it must be brought right up to date — not left at the figure from your claim form. Interest may be claimed under a contract (if your agreement provides a rate) or under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 where there is no contractual rate. Calculate the daily rate, multiply by the number of days, and show your working. Check the current statutory interest rate and any threshold that affects how interest must be presented before finalising the figure.

4. Fixed costs

For a straightforward specified-sum judgment, you are generally entitled to fixed costs under CPR Part 45 — a set amount the rules prescribe, not the actual cost of your time. The form is structured to capture the court issue fee you paid plus the applicable fixed commencement and entry costs. Because these are set figures that change, do not assume an amount from memory — check the current fixed-costs figures and the court fees you are claiming back.

5. How you want to be paid

You choose the basis of judgment:

• Immediate payment — the whole sum becomes due at once. This is the route that opens enforcement soonest.
• Payment by instalments — at a stated rate, often where a defendant has admitted and offered terms you accept, or where you would rather have a realistic schedule than a lump sum the defendant cannot meet.

If you ask for immediate payment and the defendant does not pay, you can move straight to enforcement. If you accept instalments and the defendant defaults on them, the unpaid balance becomes enforceable.

N225 versus N227 at a glance

Judgment is not recovery: the enforcement step

This is the point most people miss. Entering judgment on N225 establishes, in law, that the defendant owes you the money. It does not move a single pound into your account. If the defendant still does not pay, you must enforce the judgment — a separate process with its own forms and its own fees.

Common enforcement routes include sending the debt to enforcement officers to seize goods, attaching the debtor’s earnings, obtaining a charging order against property, or a third-party debt order against money held for the debtor. Each has different costs, timescales and suitability depending on what the defendant owns and earns. Treat judgment as the first half of the job and enforcement as the second.

Common mistakes

• Filing too early. Requesting judgment before the response period has genuinely expired (from the deemed date of service) leads to rejection or a judgment that can be set aside.
• Stale interest. Copying the interest figure from the claim form instead of recalculating it to the date of judgment.
• Wrong form. Using N225 for an unspecified claim that needed N227, or vice versa.
• Name and address mismatches. Tiny differences from the claim form give the defendant grounds to apply to set the judgment aside.
• Ignoring a part-admission. Failing to decide clearly whether you accept a part-admission and take judgment on it, or press on for the balance.
• Assuming the money will arrive. Stopping at judgment and never starting enforcement.
• Out-of-date figures. Relying on remembered fees, costs or interest rates rather than the current published figures.

Related Court Forms & Guides

• Form N227: Request for Default Judgment — Amount to Be Decided by the Court
• Form N245: Application to Vary a CCJ Payment
• Apply to Set Aside a Judgment or Stay Execution
• OCMC Default Judgment: What Happens if the Defendant Does Not Respond
• Form N1: Part 7 Claim Form
• How to Start a Money Claim Online (OCMC)
• Civil Court Forms Index

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Form N225 and Form N227?

N225 is for a specified claim — a fixed sum you can state exactly. N227 is for an unspecified claim where the amount has to be assessed by the court. If you sued for a precise figure such as an unpaid invoice, you almost certainly need N225.

How long after issuing my claim can I file N225?

Only after the defendant’s time to respond has expired without an acknowledgment of service or a defence being filed in time. The period runs from the deemed date of service of the particulars of claim. Check the current acknowledgment and defence deadlines in the Civil Procedure Rules before filing, because filing early is a frequent reason requests are rejected.

Do I add interest, and how much?

Usually yes. Interest runs to the date judgment is entered, under your contract if it sets a rate, or otherwise under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984. Recalculate it up to date — do not reuse the figure from your claim form. Check the current statutory rate before completing the form.

Can I claim my costs on N225?

For a straightforward specified-sum judgment you are generally entitled to fixed costs under CPR Part 45, plus the court fees you paid, rather than your actual time. These are set figures that change, so check the current amounts.

The defendant admitted owing the money — do I still use N225?

Yes. N225 doubles as your reply to an admission under CPR Part 14. You accept the admission and ask the court to enter judgment, choosing immediate payment or instalments and saying whether you accept any payment offer the defendant made.

I have my judgment — why hasn’t the defendant paid?

A judgment confirms the debt is owed; it does not collect it. If payment does not follow, you enforce the judgment through a separate process — taking control of goods, attachment of earnings, a charging order or a third-party debt order — each with its own form and fee.

Can a default judgment be undone?

Yes. A defendant can apply to set aside a default judgment under CPR Part 13, for example if they can show service was defective, the request was premature, or they have a real prospect of defending. Getting the form, the timing and the figures right is your best protection against that.