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.
This guide is one chapter of our main Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) resource — start there for the complete picture.
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In short: if someone owes you a fixed sum of money in England & Wales, you can claim it back yourself online through the County Court’s Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) service — no solicitor needed. This walkthrough takes you the whole way: warning letter, choosing your route, the fees (and how to pay nothing if you’re on a low income), starting the claim, what happens after you file, and how to get paid if you win.
Reviewed by the eLitigant drafting team · Last reviewed July 2026 · Sources: GOV.UK, reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is self-help information for litigants in person, not legal advice — you remain the claimant and are responsible for your own case.
Why this matters
Of the roughly 1.2 million county court judgments made in England & Wales in 2025, 93% were default judgments — entered simply because no valid response was filed in time, not after a contested hearing (Ministry of Justice, Civil Justice Statistics, 2025). In his review of the civil courts, Lord Justice Briggs called the failure to provide reasonable access to justice for ordinary people and small businesses with small or moderate claims the system’s “single, most pervasive and indeed shocking weakness” (Briggs, Civil Courts Structure Review). The encouraging part is that this is a paperwork gap, not a merits gap: getting your claim filed correctly and on time is well within reach.
The money-claim journey at a glance
| Your claim | Where it goes | Court issue fee |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £10,000 | Small claims track (most DIY claims) | £35–£455, by value |
| £10,000–£25,000 | Fast track | Higher, by value |
| On a low income? | Apply for Help with Fees (apply online) | Reduced — or £0 |
OCMC has no upper value limit (the £25,000 cap was removed from PD 51R by the 181st CPR Practice Direction Update, in force 27 February 2025) — the value decides your track, and unspecified sums go by the paper Form N1 route. The court fee is the same online or on paper, and if you win, the court normally orders the defendant to repay it on top of what they owe you. Full fee scale: court fees explained.
Stage 1 — Before court: send a Letter Before Claim
You should almost always write to the other side before you issue a claim — the pre-action rules expect it, and a well-drafted letter settles a great many disputes without a court fee at all. Set out who owes what, why, and give them a deadline (usually 14 days) to pay or respond.
Guides for this stage: Letter Before Claim (the pre-action letter that often settles it) · final demand letter · without-prejudice settlement offer. If a letter has landed on you, see how to respond to a Letter Before Claim.
Stage 2 — OCMC or the paper route: which is right for you?
OCMC (Online Civil Money Claims) is the modern online service under Practice Direction 51R for specified (fixed-sum) claims. It replaced the old N1 paper claim for most people — see how OCMC replaces the N1. OCMC itself has no upper value limit. If your claim is unspecified, involves multiple claimants or three or more defendants, a party without an England or Wales address, or a government department — or OCMC doesn’t otherwise fit — you use the paper Form N1 (Part 7 claim) instead. Not sure which? OCMC vs County Court — which route compares them side by side.
Stage 3 — What it will cost (and how to pay nothing)
You pay a court issue fee when you start the claim — from £35 for the smallest claims up to £455 near the £10,000 line. There may be a separate hearing fee later only if the case is listed for a hearing. If you’re on a low income or certain benefits, Help with Fees (apply online) can reduce or completely waive both — a core part of keeping justice open to everyone.
Stage 4 — Starting your claim online
On OCMC you set out your claim in plain English: who the defendant is, the amount, and the story of why you’re owed it (your particulars of claim). You can usually add interest — often claimed at 8% a year under section 69 of the County Courts Act, with a higher statutory rate for commercial debts — and list your evidence. This is the part people find hardest, and where a clear, correctly-structured claim matters most: a muddled claim invites a defence; a tight one invites payment.
August 2026 — the new “Money Claims” beta. HMCTS is testing a new Money Claims service alongside OCMC. The official way in is GOV.UK’s make a court claim for money page, which takes you to moneyclaims.service.gov.uk — you sign in with an HMCTS account. Its eligibility questions start with “Do you know the amount you are claiming?” — the service checks your claim fits as you answer.
One restriction to know before you start: in the beta service, “any claim for interest is made at the same rate and from the same date”. If you need interest at different rates or over different periods, you make a paper claim instead.
Stuck on a screen? The service helpdesk is contactocmc@justice.gov.uk or 0300 123 7050, Monday to Friday, 8.30am–5pm.
What the online service actually asks you — screen by screen
We walked the live GOV.UK service so you know exactly what is coming before you start. First, a short eligibility check: whether you know the amount you are claiming; whether you are claiming against more than one person or organisation; whether the defendant has a postal address in England & Wales; who you are claiming for; a tenancy-deposit check; whether you are claiming against a government department; that both sides are 18 or over; and whether you need help paying the court fee.
Then the claim itself — seven short sections:
- Resolving this dispute — confirm you have tried to settle first (your Letter Before Claim).
- Completing your claim — a warning that changing a name or the basis of your claim later costs an extra fee, so get the details right first time.
- Your details — whether you claim as an individual, sole trader, company or organisation; your address, date of birth and phone number.
- Their details — who owes you (person or company) and their address in England or Wales.
- Claim amount — itemise what you are owed; interest is optional; the service calculates the court fee for you. In our worked example, a £2,400 claim produced a £115 issue fee — £2,515 in total, with the fee repayable by the defendant if you win.
- Claim details — the crucial free-text box: “Briefly explain your claim” (your particulars of claim), plus a dated timeline of events and an optional evidence list. This one box decides how seriously your claim reads — and it is exactly what Chris drafts to a professional standard.
- Check and submit — review every answer, then pay the fee (or enter your Help with Fees reference) and submit.
Stage 5 — What happens after you file
Once issued, the claim is served on the defendant. The deadline that matters is precise: on OCMC the defendant must respond by 4pm on the 28th day after the claim was issued — counted from the date of issue, not from the day the papers arrive. See the full OCMC timeline — what happens after you file so you know every date and deadline in advance.
Stage 6 — The defendant responds (or doesn’t)
- They admit it → they may pay or propose instalments (an admission, Form N9A).
- They defend it → they file a defence (Form N9B) and the case moves toward a hearing.
- They ignore it → you can ask the court to enter default judgment in your favour.
Stage 7 — If it’s defended: the Directions Questionnaire
If the defendant fights it, the court sends a Directions Questionnaire to allocate the case to the small claims track. Complete it carefully — see Form N180: the small-claims Directions Questionnaire.
Stage 8 — You won — now get paid
A judgment (a CCJ) is not the same as the money in your account. If the defendant still won’t pay, you enforce it: how to enforce a County Court judgment, using tools such as a order to obtain information, an attachment of earnings order, or a charging order over property.
The 7 mistakes that get claims rejected
Most rejected claims fail on avoidable errors — wrong defendant name, missing pre-action steps, vague particulars. Read the 7 OCMC mistakes before you file. Claiming against a bank or lender? See bringing a claim against a financial institution.
OCMC vs paper vs letter-only — when to use each
| Route | Best when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Letter Before Claim only | First step, always — often settles it | No court order if ignored |
| OCMC (online) | A fixed sum owed, up to the limit | Must be a “specified” claim |
| Paper N1 (Part 7) | Unspecified sums, or OCMC won’t fit | More manual, same fee |
Common questions
Do I need a solicitor to make a money claim? No. Money claims are designed so people can bring them themselves; the small claims track is deliberately litigant-in-person friendly. Getting the paperwork right is what matters — and that’s what we help with.
How much can I claim through OCMC? There is no upper limit: the £25,000 cap was removed from PD 51R by the 181st CPR Practice Direction Update, in force 27 February 2025 — six- and seven-figure specified claims can be issued online. GOV.UK directs you to the paper Form N1 route where the amount is not yet known, and in the other listed paper-route cases. Within the service, the amount decides which track your case is sent to: small claims up to £10,000, then the fast, intermediate or multi-track above that.
Is there free help too? Yes — Citizens Advice and, at many courts, Support Through Court offer free guidance, and Help with Fees can cover the court fee. We sit alongside those: free guides to read, or Chris to draft it for you.
Prefer to skip the paperwork? Watch 60 seconds:
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)
Ready to claim what you’re owed?
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The Money Claim Series: This guide is one chapter of the series. Start at the hub — Make a Money Claim Yourself: the complete guide — then go deeper: make a money claim online (OCMC) · the step-by-step walkthrough of every screen · OCMC vs County Court: which route to use · what happens after you file · how OCMC replaced the paper N1.
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