How to Take a Money Claim to the UK Small Claims Court (Money Claims Online / MCOL)
You have already sent a Letter Before Action and the deadline has passed without a substantive response. This guide shows you how to escalate to the small claims track via Money Claims Online (MCOL): which court, what issue fee, what evidence bundle to prepare, and how to fill the MCOL form so the claim has the best chance of being heard on the day.
Escalation only after the LBA window has expired: You must have already sent a properly drafted Letter Before Action citing the right Pre-Action Protocol and allowed the full response window to run. Issuing before that window expires is a protocol breach and can lead to a stay of proceedings or costs sanctions. If you have not yet sent an LBA, start with our Letter Before Action UK guide first.
When You Escalate From a Letter Before Action
Already sent an LBA and had no substantive response? See our Letter Before Action UK guide for the CPR PD 7A step that comes before this one. The small claims court and MCOL are the next escalation — not a replacement for the LBA.
The path is: LBA → wait the Pre-Action Protocol window → (optional chase letter) → issue in the County Court. The escalation route depends on value:
- £10,000 or less: small claims track (CPR Part 27). No solicitor required. Can be issued online via Money Claims Online.
- £10,000.01 to £25,000: fast track. Standard directions, Disclosure, witness statements, costs budgeting. Issued via MCOL.
- £25,000.01 to £100,000: intermediate track (as of October 2023 reforms). Issued via MCOL.
- Over £100,000: multi-track. Must be issued on paper using the N1 claim form at the County Court Money Claims Centre. A solicitor is normally instructed.
This guide focuses on the small claims track and on Money Claims Online — the routes that together cover the bulk of consumer and small-business claims.
What the Law Says
Civil Procedure Rules Part 27 — The Small Claims Track
Part 27 of the Civil Procedure Rules sets out the procedure for claims allocated to the small claims track: a simplified, judge-led process designed for straightforward disputes. The financial limit is £10,000 (Part 27.1). The general rule (Part 27.14) is that each side bears its own costs. Hearings are normally short, evidence is given on a less strict basis than in the fast or multi-track, and the court has wide case management powers to dispose of the case on paper or after a short oral hearing.
Practice Direction 27 — Allocation and Hearing in the Small Claims Track
Practice Direction 27 supplements Part 27. It sets out the small claims costs cap (currently £1,500 per side for the costs of the hearing itself, with a fixed £50 court fee recoverable on a defended claim and £25 on an undefended one), the format of hearings (usually in person before a District Judge), and the court's power under paragraph 7 to dispose of the case on the papers without an oral hearing where the financial value is £500 or less and both parties have filed their evidence.
Money Claims Online (MCOL) — moneyclaims.service.gov.uk
Money Claims Online is the HMCTS online portal for issuing a Part 7 claim for a fixed or unliquidated sum of money up to £100,000. The portal handles issue, service, and Directions Questionnaires. It is the standard route for small claims, fast-track, and intermediate-track claims. Claims above £100,000 are not accepted on MCOL and must be issued on paper using the N1 claim form at the County Court Money Claims Centre (PO Box 527, Salford, M5 0BY).
Court Fees Order 2008 — Issue Fee Structure
The amount of the court fee on issue depends on the value of the claim. For a small claims track claim (£10,000 or less), fees range from £35 for claims up to £300, rising in bands to £455 for claims between £5,000.01 and £10,000. The fee is recoverable from the defendant on judgment (the court adds it to the amount the defendant must pay). The full issue-fee table is below.
MCOL Route Lookup Table
Use the table below to identify the right issue route for your claim. The portal in column 3 is where you start. The fees in column 4 are what you pay on issue and can recover from the defendant if you win.
| Value band | Track | Issue route | Issue fee (approx.) | Hearing expectation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £0–£300 | Small claims | MCOL | £35 | Often disposed of on the papers |
| £300.01–£500 | Small claims | MCOL | £50 | Often disposed of on the papers |
| £500.01–£1,000 | Small claims | MCOL | £70 | Short hearing, 30 min |
| £1,000.01–£5,000 | Small claims | MCOL | £205 | Oral hearing, 30 min–1 hr |
| £5,000.01–£10,000 | Small claims | MCOL | £455 | Oral hearing, 1–2 hrs |
| £10,000.01–£25,000 | Fast track | MCOL | £tbc (5% of claim value) | Oral hearing, half-day–full day |
| £25,000.01–£100,000 | Intermediate track | MCOL | £tbc (5% of claim value) | Oral hearing, full day |
| Over £100,000 | Multi-track | County Court Money Claims Centre (N1 paper form) | £tbc (5% of claim value, capped) | Oral hearing, 1+ day |
Note on issue fees > £10k: exact values for the fast, intermediate and multi-track are set out in the Court Fees Order 2008 Schedule 1 and scale at 5% of the claim value with a cap. Use the HMCTS fees calculator on moneyclaims.service.gov.uk to get the precise figure before issuing.
Need a Letter Before Action first? You cannot issue an MCOL claim unless a Protocol-compliant LBA has already been sent and the response window has expired. If you have not yet sent an LBA, the LBA is the first move; the small claims track is the second.
Generate your Letter Before Action — £2.99CPR PD 7A-compliant. Auto-selects the right Pre-Action Protocol.
What Your Bundle Must Contain
By the time you reach the small claims hearing, the court expects a single indexed bundle. Missing documents are the single most common reason even good claims fail at hearing. The bundle should contain:
Small Claims Hearing Bundle Checklist
- Contract / agreement / lease / booking confirmation (the document that creates the obligation)
- Invoices, receipts, statements of account (proof of money owed or paid)
- Correspondence file: emails, letters, WhatsApp/SMS logs (in chronological order)
- The Letter Before Action you sent — full PDF/print of every page, including attachments
- Royal Mail Signed For receipt / proof of postage — prove the Protocol response window started
- Email read receipt / delivery confirmation — second layer of delivery proof
- Any reply received from the defendant (even partial or non-substantive — the court needs to see the gap)
- Photographs (dated) — for disrepair, defective goods, or condition evidence
- Expert reports (where retained) — surveyor, engineer, IT specialist
- Witness statements — yours and any supporting witnesses, signed and dated
- Chronology — one-page timeline of the dispute in date order
- Schedule of Loss — one-page itemised list of the heads of loss, with amounts
- Statement of the issues — one-page summary of what the court has to decide
- Copies of any relevant statute / regulation extracts (e.g. Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.9 / s.23, Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998)
- Three copies of the entire bundle — one for the court, one for the defendant, one for you (for larger bundles, a single indexed PDF plus a printed chronology is enough)
Key tip: the LBA + Royal Mail Signed For receipt + email read receipt is what proves the Protocol window was given. Without them the court will assume less favourably about your compliance with Practice Direction 7A, and even if you win the underlying claim a costs penalty can follow.
MCOL Form-Filling Helper
The Money Claims Online portal collects a strictly-set sequence of fields. Listing the section labels in the order the screen will ask for them: this is the structure of every MCOL claim for an English/Welsh County Court money claim.
MCOL Form Sections (in screen order)
Tick these off as you complete the MCOL portal. Particulars of claim (the verbatim text the court will read) is the field where most claimants stumble — scroll down for a copy-and-paste template.
- 1. Claimant detailsName, address, phone, email. If you are a business, the trading name and company number.
- 2. Defendant detailsFull name (or company name) and last known postal address. The MCOL service uses first-class post — the address is critical.
- 3. Particulars of the basis of the claimFree-text box. The court reads this verbatim at any hearing. See boilerplate below.
- 4. Claim amountThe principal sum. Break this down if the claim has multiple heads (e.g. outstanding invoices + repair costs).
- 5. Interest under section 69 County Courts Act 1984Tick "Yes". Set the rate (usually 8%) and the start date (the date the cause of action arose).
- 6. Court feeAuto-calculated from claim amount. Pay by card.
- 7. Statement of truthType your name. Tick to confirm you believe the facts in the particulars are true. Understand that knowingly false particulars are contempt of court.
Boilerplate Particulars of Claim (copy and adapt)
Replace every [BRACKET] with your own facts. The structure (cause of action → amount → interest → compliance with the Protocol) is what the court expects.
1. The Claimant is [YOUR FULL NAME] of [YOUR ADDRESS]. 2. The Defendant is [DEFENDANT FULL / COMPANY NAME] of [DEFENDANT ADDRESS]. 3. By a contract dated [DATE] between the Claimant and the Defendant [DESCRIBE THE CONTRACT — for example, "the Defendant agreed to provide roofing repair services to the Claimant's property at 12 High Street for the sum of £3,500" / "the Defendant sold the Claimant a kitchen appliance for the sum of £700 under a contract dated 12 March 2026"] the Defendant became liable to pay / perform [DESCRIBE THE OBLIGATION]. 4. The Defendant has failed to pay / perform that obligation in breach of the said contract, despite being notified of the breach by the Claimant on [DATE(S)]. 5. In accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for [Debt Claims / Housing Conditions Claims / general Practice Direction 7A — pick the one that applies], the Claimant sent a Letter Before Action to the Defendant on [DATE OF LBA] by Royal Mail Signed For and by email, requiring the Defendant to respond within [30 days / 20 working days / 14 days as applicable]. The response window expired on [DATE] without any substantive response from the Defendant. 6. By reason of the matters aforesaid the Claimant has suffered loss and damage, the amount of which is [£AMOUNT]. 7. The Claimant claims interest on the said sum pursuant to section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of [8]% per annum from [DATE CAUSE OF ACTION AROSE] to the date of judgment, amounting to approximately £[X] at the date of issue (subject to the limit that total interest may not exceed the judgment sum). 8. The Claimant accordingly claims: (a) The sum of £[AMOUNT]; (b) Interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at [8]% per annum from [DATE] to judgment; (c) Costs.
What Happens After You Issue the Claim
Once the court fee is paid and the MCOL declaration is submitted, the court issues the claim. From there:
The court serves the claim on the defendant
By first-class post to the address you provided. The court will also send you a notice of issue / N1 confirmation with a case number. Your particulars of claim and exhibits are served at the same time. Note that the date of service on the defendant is the date the court believes the post was delivered — usually the second working day after posting.
Defendant has 14 days to respond (or 28 days if served by post)
Under CPR Part 9 and Part 10, the defendant has 14 days from the date of service to file an acknowledgement of service, and 28 days to file a defence (or longer if served out of jurisdiction). If they don't respond at all, you can request judgment in default after the time limit expires. If they do respond, the court will issue a Directions Questionnaire for both sides to complete.
The court allocates the claim to the appropriate track
Once the Directions Questionnaires are filed, the court will review the value, the complexity, the number of witnesses, and any non-monetary relief claimed, and will allocate the claim to the small claims track, the fast track, or the intermediate/multi-track. The allocation decision is usually communicated within 6–8 weeks of issue.
Hearing date is set, typically 4–8 weeks after allocation
The court gives a hearing date for the small claims track. You should prepare and file your bundle by the deadline set by the court (usually 14 days before the hearing). The hearing itself is short — usually 30 minutes to 2 hours — and you will be expected to take the witness stand and present your documents to the District Judge.
Default judgment: if the defendant files neither an acknowledgement of service nor a defence within the time limits, you can apply for judgment in default using MCOL. The court will enter judgment for the amount claimed plus interest and costs. The defendant can apply to set the judgment aside but only within strict time limits and only if they have a real prospect of defending.
Need professional help?
Speak to a solicitor specialising in civil litigation
If your claim is over £10,000, involves a complex multi-track matter, or the defendant is a business that has instructed solicitors, we can connect you with a solicitor who specialises in County Court civil litigation and Money Claims Online procedure.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the UK small claims track, Money Claims Online, the £10,000 limit, whether you need a solicitor, what happens at a hearing, and what costs you can recover.
What is the maximum value of a small claims court claim in the UK?
The small claims track in England and Wales is for money claims of £10,000 or less, and non-money claims where the financial value is £10,000 or less. The limit is set by Civil Procedure Rules Part 27.1. Two categories of claim cannot be allocated to the small claims track even if the total claim is below £10,000: personal injury claims where the damages exceed £1,000 and housing disrepair claims where the cost of repairs exceeds £1,000.
Do I need a solicitor for a small claims hearing?
No. Most small claims hearings are designed to be conducted by claimants and defendants in person. The judge will explain the procedure and apply a more relaxed approach to evidence. If the claim is complex (multi-track, construction/engineering, professional negligence, or you are the defendant facing a strongly-pleaded claim) a solicitor should be instructed. On the small claims track the other side's solicitor costs are not normally recoverable from you (CPR Part 27.14).
What happens at a small claims court hearing?
A District Judge hears the case in an open court room. Each side gives a short opening statement, then the claimant presents their case with documents and any witnesses, then the defendant responds, then each side gives a short closing submission. The judge may give judgment orally on the day or "reserve" judgment and send a written judgment later. Hearings typically last 30 minutes to 2 hours. For claims of £500 or less where both sides have filed their evidence, the court may dispose of the case on paper (CPR PD 27 para 7).
Will an MCOL claim automatically be allocated to the small claims track?
Not automatically. After the defendant files their defence or the time for filing expires, the court allocates the claim to the appropriate track (small claims, fast track, intermediate track, or multi-track) under CPR Part 26. The court looks at the financial value, the complexity, the number of witnesses, and the value of any non-monetary relief. In practice, claims issued via MCOL for £10,000 or less are routinely allocated to the small claims track unless the claim is unusually complex.
How much interest can I claim under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984?
Section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 gives the court discretion to award interest on a money claim from the date the cause of action arose to the date of judgment, at a rate the court considers reasonable (in practice usually 8% per annum). Total interest cannot exceed the amount of the judgment itself. For commercial debts, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 gives a statutory right to interest at 8% above Bank of England base rate — but s.69 CCA 1984 is the route available to all claimants including consumers.
What costs can I recover on the small claims track?
The general rule under CPR Part 27.14 is that no costs are recoverable from the losing party — each side bears its own costs. The court has discretion to award fixed costs (£50 for a defended claim, £25 for an undefended claim) and limited court fees, and to award limited expert costs (capped at £500 by default). Where there has been unreasonable conduct, the court can depart from this rule. The practical implication: an unrepresented claimant will normally walk away with the judgment sum, the hearing fee, and interest, and will not recover the time spent preparing the case.