Independent, practical help for litigants in person in England & Wales.
Written by John Barwell
A demand to pay into court or drop your claim is not a court order. Security for costs under CPR Part 25 Section VI has a two-stage test and a closed list of conditions — and an individual claimant’s poverty, on its own, is not one of them. How the regime works, what a real application looks like, and how to respond with evidence.
Written by John Barwell
Since April 2021 the civil courts’ overriding objective has included making sure parties can participate fully and give their best evidence — and Practice Direction 1A gives judges a toolkit of directions to make that real. Many litigants in person have never heard of it. This guide sets out the menu of participation directions, who counts as vulnerable, and the wording of a short application you can file.
Written by John Barwell
Issue stops the limitation clock, but it does not bring the defendant into the claim. Under CPR rule 7.5 the claimant must complete the step required for the chosen method of service – posting, delivering, or sending the email – within four months of issue. This guide explains the step-required table, deemed service, the 14-day particulars deadline, the narrow rule 7.6 extension gateway, and the defendant’s rule 7.7 notice.
Written by John Barwell
A defendant can admit liability and still keep you waiting months while quantum is assessed. CPR Part 25 Section V lets the court order part of the likely award to be paid early. This guide explains the gateways in rule 25.23, the fixed 14, 7 and 3-day service deadlines, what the evidence must show, the reasonable-proportion cap, how payments are adjusted or repaid, and why the trial judge is never told.
Written by John Barwell
A defence is rarely the end of the exchange. This guide explains CPR Part 20 for litigants in person: what counts as an additional claim, when a defendant can counterclaim without permission, the contribution and indemnity notice route, the permission and service rules for other additional claims, and how to respond when one lands against you.
Written by John Barwell
Once a defence is filed, CPR Part 26 begins the sorting exercise that decides where your case lives: small claims, fast, intermediate or multi-track. The directions questionnaire carries a fixed deadline the parties cannot extend, an automatic strike-out sanction for ignoring it, and answers that shape the timetable, the costs band and the hearing format. This guide explains the machinery – and how to complete the form so the answers work for you.
Written by John Barwell
Two applications can end a civil case before it ever reaches trial. This guide explains the difference between strike out under CPR rule 3.4 — including the new SLAPP ground — and summary judgment under Part 24, the notice and evidence deadlines both sides must meet, and how a litigant in person can resist an application or use the same procedure against a hopeless claim or defence.
Written by John Barwell
A Part 36 offer is not an ordinary settlement letter — it is a formal costs instrument with a clock attached. Reject one and fail to beat it at trial, and the court must, unless it would be unjust, make you pay the other side’s costs from the day the offer period expired, even though you won. This guide explains the formalities, the 21-day relevant period, and how to evaluate, answer or match a Part 36 offer.
Written by John Barwell
The court will not collect your judgment for you. This guide walks through the four main enforcement routes for litigants in person — goods, wages, savings and property — with the current court fees and the thresholds that decide which route is realistic for your debtor.
Written by John Barwell
Three digital systems now sit between a claimant and the County Court, each with its own rulebook. Online Civil Money Claims is live and mainstream; the damages claims service is a pilot closed to litigants in person; Money Claim Online endures as the legacy layer. This inventory, built from the practice directions and official sources, maps which portal your claim belongs in.
