Where money claims are filed: the official portal is www.moneyclaims.service.gov.uk — HMCTS’s own Money Claims service. It is new (still badged beta), and following the 181st Practice Direction update there is no upper limit on the amount you can claim through it — and if you qualify for Help with Fees, the issue fee itself can be reduced to zero, whatever the size of the claim. New to the portal? Read our step-by-step walkthrough.
Free to start · no sign-up · no card. Tell Chris what has happened and see whether we can help before you pay anything. One matter · one case folder · a full day of drafting. If the drafts are not up to the standard you expected, email us within 7 days of paying for a full refund. If money is tight, Help with Fees can remove the court fee entirely, and Citizens Advice is free — we will always tell you when you do not need us.
Last reviewed: August 2026 · For use in England & Wales · eLitigant is a Community Interest Company (No. 16566612), not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
In short
Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC), GOV.UK’s ‘Make a money claim’ service, is the online way to start most County Court claims for a fixed (‘specified’) sum — with no upper limit on the claim amount since the 181st CPR Practice Direction Update (in force 27 February 2025) removed the former £25,000 cap from PD 51R. If you have no lawyer you can use it or claim on paper Form N1 by post; only claimants with a legal representative must use it for an eligible claim (PD 51R para 2.1). You register, enter the parties, the amount and any interest, write your particulars of claim (the part most people get wrong), then pay the court fee. There is no form to ‘fill’ — it’s a web journey, so eLitigant’s Chris drafts the exact wording for every box, to a professional standard — you paste, check and submit.
Your papers could be done in minutes.
We download and compose it for you — you just answer a few plain-English questions, and out comes a document drafted to an elite, professional standard. No stress, no jargon, no re-typing. We take the boring out of bureaucracy.
① Draft it from scratch
Tell Chris who owes you what and why. Chris drafts your OCMC particulars of claim and the details the online service asks for, tuned for E&W civil procedure.
② Check the draft you have written
Already written your particulars or completed an N1? Upload it and Chris reviews it for clarity, structure and the right defendant details before you commit it online.
③ You have been served — respond
Received a claim or notification pack? Run what you got past Chris so you understand the deadline to respond and your options before the clock runs down.
How to Start a Money Claim in 2026: Online Through OCMC or on Paper Form N1 — Here’s What You Need to Know
If you are owed money and want to take someone to court in England and Wales, the process has changed significantly. If you have a legal representative, an eligible specified money claim must be started through the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) service (PD 51R para 2.1(5A)). If you are a litigant in person, OCMC is open to you but not compulsory: PD 51R para 2.1(1)(a) says claimants who are not legally represented “may use” it, and GOV.UK says you can claim online or by post on paper Form N1. The older Money Claim Online (MCOL) service is a separate system.
This is a major shift for anyone who has previously issued proceedings the traditional way. But it is also, on balance, a considerable improvement — particularly for self-represented litigants. This guide explains what has changed, how the new system works, when you still need a paper N1, and how to navigate the OCMC process from start to finish.
Why this mattersWhen Lord Justice Briggs reviewed the structure of the civil courts, he called their “single, most pervasive and indeed shocking weakness” the failure to give ordinary people and small businesses reasonable access to justice on small or moderate claims (Briggs, Civil Courts Structure Review). Moving money claims online is meant to narrow that gap — but only if your claim is set out correctly. Research consistently finds it is the forms, the steps and the deadlines, rather than the merits, that too often decide the outcome, which is exactly why getting your OCMC claim right from the start is worth the effort — and well within reach.
What Has Changed? Online Is Now the Main Route for Most Money Claims
Form N1 has been the standard claim form for civil proceedings in England and Wales for decades. You would download it from the HMCTS website, complete it by hand or on screen, print it, and post it to the relevant county court with your court fee. The court would then issue the claim and serve it on the defendant.
For most money claims, the online route is now the default in practice. But it matters a great deal who you are. Practice Direction 51R paragraph 2.1(1) provides that claimants “who are not represented by a legal representative may use the pilot to make their claim”. The obligation to use OCMC falls on legally represented claimants; if you are a litigant in person, the online route is available to you, not imposed on you. The pilot is currently authorised to run until 6 April 2027.
There is also no upper limit on the value of a specified money claim you can issue through OCMC. The £25,000 figure was the pilot’s original cap at Practice Direction 51R paragraph 2.1(3)(a); it was removed by the 181st Practice Direction Update, in force 27 February 2025. PD51R paragraph 2.1(3) asks only that the claim is “for a specified amount of money only” — the widely-quoted £25,000 figure is about track allocation and post-defence case management, not about whether you can issue. Our PD51R guide explains what that figure really means.
In practical terms, this means:
- If your money claim is for a specified amount and you are unrepresented, you may issue it online through OCMC — and for most people it is the faster, simpler route.
- If you are legally represented and your claim is eligible, filing a paper N1 will not work: the Civil National Business Centre (CNBC) in Northampton will return your form and direct you to the online service.
- OCMC generates a document called an OCON1, which replaces the traditional N1 format. It contains all the same essential information but is structured differently.
Why OCMC Is Actually Better for Self-Represented Litigants
The shift to online claims has been met with some resistance, particularly from people who are not confident with technology. But for litigants in person, OCMC solves several chronic problems that plagued the paper N1 process.
The Service Problem Is Largely Eliminated
Under the old paper system, serving a claim form was one of the most common points of failure. The court would post the claim to the defendant’s address, and service was deemed to have occurred on the second business day after posting under CPR 6.14 — regardless of whether the defendant actually received it. If you had the wrong address, the claim was served into thin air. If the defendant had moved, you might not discover this until months later when no defence was filed and you applied for judgment.
Worse still, the claim form had to be served within four months of issue (CPR 7.5). If it was returned undelivered and you needed to re-serve at a new address, you could easily run out of time. Extending the four-month period required a separate application, with associated fees and delay.
OCMC changes this fundamentally. Claims are served electronically. Defendants who are individuals receive a notification pack directing them to respond online. Companies and organisations receive electronic service. The result is that defendants are notified faster, and the ambiguity around deemed service dates is significantly reduced.
Built-In Guidance Reduces Errors
The OCMC system walks you through each step of the claim. It prompts you for the information the court needs, in the order it needs it. This is a significant advantage over Form N1, which provided a blank box for your “Particulars of Claim” with minimal guidance on what to include or how to structure it.
Court Fee Calculation Is Automatic
Under the paper system, many litigants in person submitted N1 forms with the wrong court fee — either too little (claim returned) or too much (refund headache). OCMC calculates the fee automatically based on your claim amount.
Faster Processing
Paper N1 forms sent to the CNBC could take weeks to be processed and issued, particularly during busy periods. OCMC claims are typically issued within 24 to 48 hours of submission.
When You Still Need a Paper Form N1
Not every claim can be issued through OCMC. You will still need to use a paper N1 in the following situations:
- Unspecified claims — if you cannot state a precise monetary figure (e.g., claims for “damages to be assessed”), OCMC cannot handle these
- Claims involving protected parties — if the claimant or defendant is a child (under 18) or a protected party (someone who lacks mental capacity), the claim must be issued on paper with a litigation friend
- Non-money claims — claims for injunctions, specific performance, declarations, or other non-monetary remedies are outside the scope of OCMC
- Claims against the Crown — proceedings against government departments under the Crown Proceedings Act 1947
- Claims by vexatious litigants — anyone subject to a civil restraint order or general civil restraint order may need permission before issuing
- Personal injury claims — PD51R paragraph 2.1(3) excludes claims for personal injury from the pilot entirely
- More parties than PD51R permits — if you are unrepresented, the pilot allows one claimant and one defendant only. Where both sides are legally represented, one or two of each is permitted.
If your claim falls into any of these categories, you should obtain Form N1 from the HMCTS forms finder. Where the claim is for money only and started under Part 7, Practice Direction 7A paragraph 5.1(1) requires it to be sent to the Civil National Business Centre in Northampton — not to your local hearing centre. Claims seeking non-monetary relief go to the appropriate court instead.
And where what you need is the court’s decision on a point unlikely to involve a substantial dispute of fact — rather than a sum of money — the right vehicle may be a Part 8 claim issued on Form N208: the Part 8 claim form.
Before you claim: send a Letter Before Action first
Prevention is better than cure. In most money disputes the right first move is not the claim — it is a properly-drafted Letter Before Action. The courts expect it: the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct requires the parties to exchange enough information to understand each other’s position and try to settle before proceedings, and for debts owed by individuals the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims gives the other side 30 days to respond. Skip this step and the court can penalise you on costs — even if you win.
Already written to them and been ignored? Start with the ignored letter before claim — your next step to a money claim.
A letter drafted to an elite professional standard does two jobs at once. It is often enough to get you paid without issuing a claim at all — and if you do have to claim, pre-action conduct is among the first things the court considers, so a clean, protocol-compliant paper trail strengthens your position from day one. Chris drafts the Letter Before Action from your facts, ready to send — and if the deadline passes without payment, everything you built carries straight into the money claim below. Draft your Letter Before Action first →
August 2026 update: the new “Money Claims” beta service
HMCTS is now testing a new online service for money claims, running in beta alongside OCMC — its own banner says designs are being tested and changed based on user feedback. The official route in is unchanged: start at gov.uk — Make a court claim for money, which takes you to the service at moneyclaims.service.gov.uk (you sign in with your HMCTS account).
Before you can claim, the service asks eligibility questions — the first is simply whether you know the amount you are claiming, so there is a route through even where the exact figure is still being worked out. One restriction to know in advance, in the service’s own words: “any claim for interest is made at the same rate and from the same date” — if you need interest at different rates or for different periods, the claim goes on paper instead (see the gov.uk page above for how).
Service help desk: contactocmc@justice.gov.uk · 0300 123 7050, Monday to Friday 8.30am–5pm.
How eLitigant fits this portal
Build the claim with Chris first. Chris drafts everything the portal will ask you for — your particulars of claim, the amount, the interest wording, each answer in order — to a professional standard, in minutes rather than hours. Then sign in to the official service and copy each answer across, question by question: the portal turns what you enter into the issued claim and its PDF. You stay in control at every step — paste, check, continue. Start your claim with Chris →
Step-by-Step Guide: Starting a Claim on OCMC
Here is what the process looks like from beginning to end.
Step 1: Create an Account and Sign In
You will need to create an account and sign in to use OCMC. If you do not already have one, you can create it as part of the sign-up process. You will need an email address and a way to verify your identity.
Step 2: Access the OCMC Service
Navigate to the Online Civil Money Claims service from GOV.UK’s ‘Make a claim’ page. You will be asked whether you are making a claim for a specified amount of money. If yes, you will be directed into the OCMC process, whatever the value of the claim.
Step 3: Enter Your Details (the Claimant)
Provide your full name, address, contact details, and date of birth. If you are claiming as a business or sole trader, you will enter the trading name and registered address. Accuracy here is essential — errors in your own details can cause problems later if the defendant challenges the claim.
Step 4: Enter the Defendant’s Details
You need the defendant’s name and address. For individuals, use their full legal name. For companies, use the registered company name and registered office address (you can find this on Companies House). Getting the defendant’s name wrong is one of the most common reasons claims fail, so check this carefully.
Step 5: Enter the Claim Amount
Specify the amount you are claiming. OCMC will prompt you to break this down into the principal debt, any contractual or statutory interest, and court fees. The system will calculate the total and the appropriate court fee.
Step 6: Write Your Statement of Case (Particulars of Claim)
This is the most important part of your claim. Your statement of case must set out:
- The facts giving rise to your claim — what happened, when, and between whom
- The legal basis for your claim — breach of contract, debt, negligence, or other cause of action
- The loss you have suffered and how it is calculated
- Any interest you are claiming and the statutory or contractual basis for it
OCMC provides a text box with a character limit. You should draft your particulars in a word processor first, ensuring they are clear, concise, and contain all the necessary elements. If your case is complex, you may wish to attach a separate document — OCMC allows you to upload additional files.
Step 7: Review and Pay
Before submission, OCMC will show you a summary of the entire claim. Review every detail carefully. Once you submit and pay the court fee (by debit or credit card), the claim is issued. You will receive a claim number and confirmation.
Step 8: Wait for the Defendant to Respond
The OCMC deadline is not the paper deadline — this catches people out. Under PD51R paragraph 5.1(1), where the parties are unrepresented the defendant must respond by 4pm on the 28th day after the claim form is issued. Note both halves of that: 28 days, not 14, and it runs from issue, not from service. Paragraph 6A.2(1) applies the same 28-day period where a party is represented.
There is also no acknowledgment of service in OCMC. The two-stage 14-day-then-28-day timetable in CPR 15.4 belongs to paper claims; the pilot replaces it with a single 28-day response window. The defendant can admit the claim, defend it, or make a counterclaim. If they do nothing by the deadline, you can apply for default judgment — but count the days from issue, or you will apply early and be rejected.
Understanding the OCON1 Document
When your claim is issued through OCMC, the system generates a document called the OCON1. This is the OCMC equivalent of the traditional N1 claim form, but it looks different. The OCON1 contains all the same essential information — parties, claim amount, particulars of claim, statement of truth — but is formatted as a system-generated document rather than a fillable PDF form.
You may encounter the OCON1 if you need to refer to your claim form at a later stage, such as during case management or at trial. It serves the same legal purpose as an N1 — it is the document that commenced your proceedings.
If the defendant files a defence, the claim moves towards allocation and directions — our guide to responding to a defence in the county court covers exactly what to do next.
Court Fees for OCMC Claims
Court fees for money claims are based on the amount you are claiming. These are the issue fees on the official fee schedule, Civil court fees (EX50), last updated 13 July 2026:
- Claims up to £300: £35
- Claims £300.01 to £500: £50
- Claims £500.01 to £1,000: £70
- Claims £1,000.01 to £1,500: £80
- Claims £1,500.01 to £3,000: £115
- Claims £3,000.01 to £5,000: £205
- Claims £5,000.01 to £10,000: £455
If you cannot afford the fee, apply for Help with Fees (apply online), either before or during the online claim process. Above £10,000 the issue fee is worked out differently: EX50 sets it at 5% of the value of the claim for claims of more than £10,000 but no more than £200,000, and a flat £10,000 for claims above £200,000.
Issue fees are only the start — hearing fees, application fees and enforcement fees can follow. For the full picture (and Help with Fees eligibility), see our guide to court fees in England and Wales.
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.
- 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
Can I still use Money Claim Online (MCOL) instead of OCMC?
Yes, MCOL is still available for straightforward money claims. The official fee schedule (EX50) puts the ceiling precisely: “The maximum amount for Secure Data Transfer (SDT) or Money Claim OnLine (MCOL) is £99,999.99.” However, MCOL is an older system with fewer features. OCMC offers a more guided experience and handles the post-issue stages (directions, mediation, allocation) more seamlessly. For most new claims, OCMC is the better option.
What happens if I send a paper N1 instead of claiming online?
If you are a litigant in person, a paper claim is a valid route: GOV.UK says you can claim online or by post, sending Form N1 to the Civil National Business Centre with the fee or a Help with Fees reference, and PD 51R para 2.1(1)(a) says unrepresented claimants may use the online service, not that they must. Only a claimant with a legal representative must start an eligible specified money claim through OCMC (PD 51R para 2.1(5A)). Paper claims can take longer to issue, so allow time if limitation is close.
Can I claim interest through OCMC?
Yes. You can claim statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (for business-to-business debts), or at 8% under Section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984. OCMC allows you to specify the interest rate, the date interest started accruing, and the daily rate.
What if my claim is for more than £25,000?
You can still issue it through OCMC. There is no upper limit on the value of a specified money claim under PD51R paragraph 2.1(3). What changes above £25,000 is what happens after a defence is filed: the claim falls outside the fast track (CPR 26.9(5)) and, in practice, is sent out of the OCMC platform to a County Court hearing centre for case management. Unspecified claims — where damages are to be assessed — are a different matter and must be issued on paper using Form N1, sent to the CNBC in Northampton for money-only claims.
How long does it take for an OCMC claim to be issued?
Most OCMC claims are issued within one to two working days of submission and payment. This is significantly faster than the paper process, which could take two to four weeks during busy periods.
Do I still need to serve the claim myself?
No. When you issue through OCMC, the court handles service electronically. This is one of the major advantages of the system — it removes the burden and risk of personal service from the claimant.
What if the defendant does not respond to my OCMC claim?
If the defendant fails to respond within the time allowed — for OCMC, by 4pm on the 28th day after issue — you can apply for default judgment. For specified amount claims issued through OCMC, you may be able to request this directly through the online system. For more detail, see our guide to Form N225 and default judgment.
Is there a deadline for the OCMC pilot?
The OCMC pilot is currently authorised until 6 April 2027 (PD51R paragraph 2.1(1) — the pilot runs from 7 August 2017 to 6 April 2027). It is widely expected to be extended or made permanent, given the scale of investment and the direction of HMCTS reform. However, if you are reading this after April 2027, check the current position on the HMCTS website.
This guide was last updated in August 2026 and reflects the law and procedure in England and Wales. Court rules can change — always verify current procedures on the HMCTS website.
Now you know WHAT to do. Chris does THE WORK.
General-purpose chat tools can explain the law. What they do not produce is a document drafted to a professional standard — the right phrasing patterns, a properly worded statement of truth, and a bundle-ready format. They also forget your case the moment you close the tab.
Chris drafts your professional document in minutes and gives you what you actually need to file at court — not a markdown blob you have to reformat.
Not sure you have a claim? Start with Chris.
Before you register anything, have a chat with Chris first — tell him what happened and he’ll help you check whether you actually have a money claim worth bringing. Once you share your case details, he drafts each section to a professional standard in minutes, ready for you to paste in. The claim itself is made on the government’s official Money Claims service — you complete and submit it yourself, so create your free account there when you’re ready.
Ready to register? Create your free account on the official government service here → Money Claims (GOV.UK sign-in)
See it done — your Online Civil Money Claims answers, drafted by Chris
The online money claim (OCMC) is a web journey, not a form — there’s no PDF to fill. So Chris drafts the exact wording for every box, ready to paste straight in. Here’s a sample claim (Jane Smith v Acme Ltd, £4,500 in unpaid invoices):
Get your paste-ready answers →
Illustrative example · fictional parties · you paste, check & submit · not legal advice
The OCMC journey, step by step
Making the claim online · OCMC vs county court — which route · common mistakes that get claims rejected · what happens after you file · default judgment if they don’t respond
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Would you rather not write it yourself?
Send us what you have and we draft it for you — back to you within one working day. You read it, check every date and figure, sign it and send it. It stays your document throughout. We quote on an individual basis, on the size of the document and the time it needs; nothing is agreed or charged until you say go. How the drafting service works →
Cannot face a form? Just email hello@elitigant.com and attach whatever you have.
eLitigant CIC is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. You remain the author of your documents.