In short
Form N244 is the application notice (CPR Part 23) used to ask a civil court in England and Wales to make an order in an existing case — to set aside a judgment, extend time, strike out, adjourn or seek relief from sanctions. Complete the case heading, state the exact order you want in Box 3 citing the CPR rule, attach a witness statement with a signed statement of truth and a draft order, then serve every other party at least three clear days before any hearing. The fee is £313 on notice or £123 by consent or without notice (Help with Fees may reduce it). eLitigant’s Chris drafts this for you to a court-ready standard for £30 — you check, sign and file.
① Draft it from scratch
Tell Chris what order you need. It builds the N244, the witness statement, the skeleton argument and the draft order — court-ready, from your facts.Rather not tackle an N244 application notice’s 5 pages yourself? Chris drafts it to counsel standard in about 30 seconds — what can take the better part of a day alone — then you check, sign and file. A full day with Chris is £30 (a worked sample is further down this page).
Draft mine in 30 seconds — £30 →② Check the draft you’ve written
Already had a go? Upload your draft. Chris reviews it against your documents and the CPR test the judge will apply — and tightens it.③ You’ve been served — respond
The other side filed an N244 against you? Run it by Chris. Understand what they’re asking, where you stand, and draft your response.
In short: Form N244 is the application notice used in civil proceedings in England and Wales (CPR Part 23). You use it to ask the court to make an order during an existing case — to set aside a default judgment, extend a deadline, strike out a statement of case, or seek relief from sanctions. A strong N244 is a bundle: the form (with a precise order sought in Box 3), a witness statement with a statement of truth, a skeleton argument, and a draft order — served on every other party at least three clear days before any hearing (CPR 23.7). eLitigant drafts the whole bundle to elite-counsel standard — or checks the one you’ve written — for £30.
N244 court fee (2026)
| How your application is made | Court fee |
|---|---|
| On notice (the other parties are told and can respond) | £313 |
| By consent, or without notice | £123 |
| On a low income or qualifying benefits | Help with Fees — fee reduced or waived |
Fees per the HMCTS civil court fee list (EX50), current at June 2026. Pay when you file; a fee paid on a successful application is usually recoverable from the other side.
Why the N244 is the most important form in civil litigation
Once a case is underway, almost every request you make to a civil court is made on one form: the N244 application notice. Need to adjourn a hearing? Set aside a judgment entered against you? Strike out a weak claim, ask for summary judgment, more time, relief from sanctions, permission to appeal, or to vary an order? It is all done on the N244.
No other single document does so much. The N244 is the universal key to the civil courts: master it and you can move almost any case; get it wrong and even a strong case can stall on a technicality. That is why it is the document that litigants in person — and the lawyers who charge for it — rely on more than any other. eLitigant drafts yours to the same standard, for £30.
How to fill out an N244 application — and why it decides most cases
Most people picture a trial. In reality, very few civil disputes ever reach one. The overwhelming majority are resolved earlier — by settlement, or by applications decided on the papers or at a short hearing. A claim can be ended early by strike-out (CPR 3.4) or summary judgment (CPR Part 24); it can be kept alive by applying to set aside a judgment, extend time, adjourn, or for relief from sanctions. Every one of these is made on the N244. In today’s civil courts, the N244 application — not the trial — is where most cases are decided.
That is exactly why a properly drafted N244 matters. A clear, well-evidenced application gives a judge every reason to grant what you ask; a thin or muddled one can sink a perfectly good case on a technicality. eLitigant exists to level that field — so the outcome turns on the merits of your case, not on whether you could afford a lawyer to prepare the papers. Impartial justice, accessible to everyone.
What an N244 application involves: the four parts
A complete N244 application is rarely just the form. To give a judge what they need to decide in your favour, it usually has four parts:
- 1. The N244 application notice (the form). It states what order you want the court to make and why (your grounds), and how you would like it dealt with — on paper, by telephone, or at a hearing.
- 2. A witness statement in support. This is the heart of the application. Because applications are usually decided on the documents rather than live evidence, your account must be in writing: the facts, in your own words, set out clearly and verified by a statement of truth (CPR Part 22). This is where your case is actually made. See how to draft a witness statement with Chris →
- 3. Exhibits to the witness statement. The documents that prove what you say — the contract, the letters, the order, the correspondence. Each is referred to in the statement and labelled (for example “JS1”) so the judge can turn straight to it.
- 4. A draft order. The order you are asking the judge to make, written out in full so the court can simply approve and seal it. A clean draft order makes it easy for a judge to say yes (Practice Direction 23A asks for one wherever practicable). See how to draft a draft order with Chris →
How to assemble the bundle. Keep the N244 at the front: it is the operative document — the application the court issues and seals — so it must stay as the face of your bundle. The witness statement (with its exhibits) and then the draft order sit behind it. A short covering letter goes at the back, not the front — conversely to an ordinary cover letter — precisely so the sealed N244 remains on top. Order: N244 → witness statement & exhibits → draft order → covering letter.
eLitigant drafts all four — the N244, the witness statement with its exhibits, the draft order and a covering letter — from your own facts, to counsel standard, for £30. See the full worked example above.
What Form N244 actually is
Form N244 is the standard application notice in civil proceedings in England and Wales. Prescribed by CPR Part 23, it is the form you use to ask the court to make an order, give a direction, or exercise a power during existing proceedings — to adjourn a hearing, extend a deadline, compel disclosure, set aside a judgment made in your absence, or seek relief from a sanction. For a litigant in person, using the N244 well is one of the most valuable procedural skills there is. A clean, properly-evidenced application reads as competent and assists the court. A vague one is far more likely to be refused.The N244 bundle — its four parts
A strong N244 application is rarely just the form. It is a bundle, and each part does a job:| Part | What it does | Common trap |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The N244 form | Names the order you want and the rule it rests on | Box 3 (the order sought) left vague — the most common reason applications fail |
| 2. Witness statement | The evidence: the facts, the CPR test, the documents, the prejudice | Missing statement of truth — makes it invalid |
| 3. Skeleton argument | The legal argument the judge reads first | Often omitted, leaving the judge to guess your case |
| 4. Draft order | The order you’d like the judge to sign | Not enclosed, so the court drafts it from scratch |
Chris produces all four parts, drafted to work together.
Don’t write them from scratch — Chris drafts your witness statement, your skeleton argument and your draft order alongside the N244, in one go.
Draft my N244 bundle — £30 →When do you need an N244?
If the rules direct you to apply and no specialist form is named, N244 is almost always the one. The most common applications:| Application | CPR rule | Hearing usually needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Set aside default judgment | CPR 13.3 | Yes |
| Relief from sanctions | CPR 3.9 | Yes |
| Strike out a statement of case | CPR 3.4 | Yes |
| Summary judgment | CPR Part 24 | Yes |
| Extend time for compliance | CPR 3.1(2)(a) | Depends on consent |
| Adjourn a hearing | CPR 3.1(2)(b) | Often on paper |
| Specific disclosure | CPR 31.12 | Yes |
Strike-out and summary-judgment applications are decided on the statements of case themselves — so before attacking (or defending) one, it helps to know what properly drafted particulars of claim must contain.
How to complete Form N244, section by section
The form is a fillable PDF from the HMCTS forms page. Complete it digitally or in legible black ink.Header — case details
Claim number exactly as on your court documents, plus the names of all parties.Box 3 — the order you are seeking (the make-or-break field)
State precisely what you want the court to order. The judge grants, refuses, or modifies the specific order you request. Strong examples:- “That the Defendant’s defence be struck out pursuant to CPR 3.4(2)(a) on the grounds that it discloses no reasonable grounds for defending the claim.”
- “That time for the Claimant to file a Reply be extended to [date] pursuant to CPR 3.1(2)(a).”
- “That the hearing listed for [date] be adjourned to a date not before [date], for the reasons in the supporting witness statement.”
The basis for your application
Tick the box and cite the rule you rely on — CPR 13.3 (set aside), CPR 3.9 (relief from sanctions), Part 24 (summary judgment), CPR 3.4(2) (strike out).Hearing preference, time estimate, level of judge
Choose at a hearing for anything the other side will oppose; without a hearing for consent or simple procedural matters; telephone for short matters. Give a realistic time estimate. For the county court, District Judge is usual; leave blank if unsure.Supporting evidence — where applications are won
Either use the box on the form (simplest cases only) or — far better — attach a witness statement covering: the facts; the legal test the court must weigh and how you meet it; the documents (exhibit them); and the prejudice if the order is refused. A witness statement needs a signed, dated statement of truth.Statement of truth & service
Sign and date the statement of truth — an unsigned application is invalid and returned. Then serve a copy of the N244 and all evidence on every other party, at least three clear days before any hearing (CPR 23.7). “Clear days” excludes the day of service and the day of the hearing.If your application is listed for a contested hearing, two further documents help the judge follow your case: a legal chronology setting out the key dates, and — for anything substantial — a properly indexed hearing bundle prepared to court standard.
Not sure your wording will hold up?
Upload your draft N244 and witness statement — Chris checks them against your documents and the test the judge will apply.Check my N244 draft — £30 →Court fees
The fee is £313 for an application made on notice, or £123 for an application made by consent or without notice — see the fee table at the top of this guide (HMCTS civil fee list EX50, current at June 2026). If you are on a low income or receiving qualifying benefits, you may get the fee reduced or waived through Help with Fees (Form EX160 or apply online). A fee paid on a successful application is usually recoverable from the other side under a costs order — summarised for the judge on Form N260, the statement of costs.
Copies, and what happens after you file
Provide one original for the court, one sealed copy for each party to be served, and one for the court to stamp and return to you. The court will then either list a hearing, deal with it on paper, or ask for more information. Flag genuine urgency in a covering letter explaining why it can’t wait for a standard listing.Without-notice applications
Occasionally you may apply without giving notice — where notice would defeat the purpose, the matter is genuinely urgent, or a rule permits it. The court is cautious: you must give full and frank disclosure of all material facts, including those against you. The court usually adds a return date so the other side can argue to vary or discharge the order.Common mistakes that sink an N244
| Mistake | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Vague order in Box 3 | Court can’t identify what you want — refused |
| No supporting evidence | Judge has no basis to grant it |
| Wrong fee | Not processed until corrected |
| Unsigned statement of truth | Application invalid |
| Failure to serve the other party | Adjourned or struck out |
| Late service (under 3 clear days) | Court may refuse to hear it on the date |
Frequently asked questions
How do I fill out an N244 form?
Complete the heading (court name, claim number and parties), then in Box 3 state exactly what order you want and why — citing the Civil Procedure Rule that gives the court power. Attach a draft order and a witness statement with a statement of truth, say how you want it dealt with (on paper or at a hearing), and sign it. eLitigant drafts the whole bundle from your own facts for £30.
What are common N244 mistakes?
The most common are: a vague or missing ‘order sought’ in Box 3; no draft order attached; no witness statement, so the court has no evidence to act on; not citing the CPR rule relied on; not serving the other side in time (at least three clear days before any hearing, CPR 23.7); and an unsigned or missing statement of truth.
What is question 10 on the N244 form?
Question 10 asks what evidence you rely on in support of your application — usually ‘the attached witness statement’. Because applications are normally decided on the papers, your evidence must be in writing: tick the witness statement box and attach the statement.
What court do I send my N244 to?
Send it to the court handling your case — the court named on your claim form or most recent order. If proceedings haven’t started, it goes to the court that will deal with the matter. Always check the address on your court paperwork before filing.
Can I make more than one application on one N244?
Yes — provided they arise from the same proceedings. If they need different hearing types or legal tests, separate forms can be cleaner.What’s the difference between N244 and N161?
N244 asks the court to make an order within existing proceedings (including asking the same judge to reconsider under CPR 3.1(7)). Form N161 (Appellant’s Notice) is for appealing a decision to a higher court.How far ahead should I file?
Early enough for the court to list a hearing and for you to serve the other side at least three clear days before it. Contact the court for urgent listings.Can I withdraw an N244 after filing?
Yes, in writing to the court and the other party — but the issue fee is generally not refundable, and the other side may seek their costs of responding.Will eLitigant draft the whole bundle?
Yes — the N244, the witness statement, the skeleton argument and the draft order, built from your facts to elite-counsel standard. You can also upload a draft you’ve written and have it checked. eLitigant is a drafting tool, not a law firm; you remain the litigant in person and no outcome is guaranteed.See what Chris produced — the full N244 bundle
A real, complete Form N244 application bundle — application notice, witness statement, draft order & covering letter — drafted to counsel standard. Download the full PDF →
Illustrative example · not a real client matter · names & details removed
Your N244, drafted to counsel standard — today, for £30.
Draft my N244 — £30 →Related guides: Set aside a default judgment · Form N260 statement of costs · Form N161 appeal · All civil court forms
See it done — your Form N244 application notice in 30 seconds
A sample of what Chris can deliver, once briefed — drafted to counsel standard. Scroll the full document below.
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