Four tracks, one questionnaire: how CPR Part 26 decides where your case goes after a defence is filed

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.

The intermediate track and fixed recoverable costs: where your claim lands now

Since October 2023 the County Court has had four case management tracks, and the newest — the intermediate track — now covers the defended claims worth between £25,000 and £100,000 that are too big or too complex for the fast track. Track allocation decides procedure and, through fixed recoverable costs, almost exactly what the winner recovers. Here is what to check before you return the directions questionnaire.