How to take a claim in the civil court - at a glance
This table is part of a series of guides about how to take someone to a civil court to sort out a dispute, and is designed to be used alongside the other guides. It provides a quick and useful way of checking your understanding and what you need to do and what to expect for small claims, fast track claims, breach of contract, debt, loss or damage which is someone else’s fault (negligence) with no personal injury, and personal injury (including road traffic accidents and accidents at work).
This information is about the law in England and Wales only.
Last updated: March 2024
| Breach of contract, or Debt | Loss or damage which is someone else’s fault (negligence) with no personal injury | Personal injury (including road traffic accidents) | |
Time limits (This is the basic time limit. For exceptions and special cases see our guide to time limits) | 6 years | 6 years | 3 years |
| Is it a small claim? | Yes, if the value is under £10,000. | Yes, if the value is under £10,000. | Yes, if
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| Is it a fast track claim? | Yes, if the value is over £10,000 and under £25,000 | Yes, if the value is over £10,000 and under £25,000 | Yes, if
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| Is there a pre-action protocol? | Yes, if your case is about debt or money owed. Otherwise, no. You need to follow the guidelines for pre-action conduct. See our guide to pre-action conduct and pre-action protocol. | No. You need to follow the guidelines for pre-action conduct. See our guide to pre-action conduct and pre-action protocol. | Yes. Unless it is a small claim, when you need to follow the guidelines for pre-action conduct. See Things you need to know about court procedure before you start a civil case If your claim is for personal injury caused by a car accident that occurred on or after May 31st 2021, and the total value is under £10,000, and value of personal injury element is under £5,000 you need to use the new pre-action protocol. You do this by using the Official Injury Claim service. See How to make a claim about injuries caused by a car accident. |
Can I use Money Claim? (see How to start a claim | Yes, if the value is under £10,000. See our guide to How to start a small claim. | Yes, if the value is under £10,000. See our guide to | No. You will have to complete the paper form. See How to start a civil case. |
| Can I use Money Claims Online (MCOL)? (See How to start a civil claim e.g. if there are more than two defendants, or they don’t have an address in England and Wales) | Yes, for debt or a fixed amount of money up to £100,000. See How to start a civil case. | Only if you are claiming a fixed amount of money up to £100,000. See How to start a civil case. | No. You will have to complete the paper form. See How to start a civil case. |
| Will I have to pay the other side’s legal costs if I lose my small claim? | No, except for court fees, witness expenses, and any expert’s report, unless you have behaved unreasonably. | No, except for court fees, witness expenses, and any expert’s report, unless you have behaved unreasonably. | No, unless you have behaved unreasonably. |
| Will I have to pay the other side’s legal costs if I lose my fast track claim? | Yes. See our guide to legal costs for more information. | Yes. See our guide to legal costs for more information. | Not if your case started before 1st October 2023, unless you have failed to beat a Part 36 offer, or your claim was fundamentally dishonest. Yes if your case started after 1st October 2023. See Legal costs for more information. |
| What award can the court make if I win? | Debt:
Breach of contract:
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About this guide
Disclaimer
The law is complicated. We have simplified things in this guide. Please don’t rely on this guide as a complete statement of the law. We recommend you read the other guides in this series and try to get advice from the sources we have suggested.
The cases we refer to are not always real but show a typical situation. We have included them to help you think about how to deal with your own situation.
Acknowledgements
This guide was produced by Law for Life's Advicenow project. We would like to thank everyone who has commented or helped with the guide including editorial teams at Thomson Reuters who kindly reviewed this updated version.
This guide was updated thanks to funding from the Ministry of Justice.
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