Courts

Court user email guidance

What you can file by email
What you cannot file by email
Form and content of emails
Where to send your email
What the court will do with your email
Points to remember

What you can file by email

If you are filing a document by email that contains a statement of truth you are reminded that you should retain the document containing the original signature. The version of the document which is filed by email must satisfy one of the following requirements: -

(a) the name of the person who has signed the statement of truth is typed underneath the statement:

(b) the person who has signed the statement of truth has applied a facsimile of his signature to the statement in the document by mechanical means; or (c) the document that is filed is a scanned version of the document containing the signed original statement of truth.

Below is a list of the work that will be accepted by the court if filed by email in accordance with the Practice Direction.

Please consider this list carefully before continuing with your email correspondence with the court.

Pre-trial check list (listing questionnaire), provided that no fee is payable by the party filing the check list (N170)
Allocation questionnaire, provided that no fee is payable by the party filing the questionnaire; (N150)
Particulars of claim (after filing of claim form)
Notice by solicitor of acting (N434)
List of documents (N265)
Certificate of service (N215)
Notice of change of address
Request for judgment in default under rule 12.4(1), or for judgment upon admission under rule 14.4(3), 14.5(6), 14.6(4) or 14.7(5) (N225)
Acknowledgement of service (N9)
Claimant's response to notice of admission under rule 14.5(3) or rule 14.7(3); (N225A)
Admission, other than one under rule 14.4 (N9C)
Claimant's response to notice under rule 15.10, where defence is that money claimed has been paid (N236)
Defence, provided that no counterclaim is made (N9B)
Notice of discontinuance, provided that the claimant does not require permission to discontinue, and is not required to attach to the notice the consent of another party (N279)
Reply to defence
Notice of change of solicitor (N434)
Re-issue/amend process, no hearing (provided that no fee is payable) (N446)
Re-issue/amend process, hearing (provided that no fee is payable) (N446)
Admission of Liability (unspecified amount) (N226)
Notice of Admission (ROG) (N228)
Amended Defence
Part Admission not accepted (N225A)
Intention to proceed with states paid defence
Statement of witness (provided the document is no more than 10 pages and the total size of the email does not exceed 2Mb as set out in 3.5 of PD 5B)
Claimant/Defendant List of Documents (provided documents comply with 3.5 of PD 5B) (N265)
Experts Reports
Skeleton Arguments/Case Summaries
Draft Judgments and editorial suggestions for them
Request for Interlocutory Judgment (provided that no fee is payable) (N227)
Notice of acceptance and request for payment (N243A)
Application to Claimant to vary judgement (N294)
Request for Certificate of Judgment (N293A)
Any other document which the court has specifically directed to be filed by email

You may also correspond with the court by email, making general enquiries about the progress of a case, or providing information to the court, for example: -

Information for the bailiff
Confirmation of appointments
Listing information such as dates to avoid
Chasing up replies

What you cannot file by email

A party must not use email to take any step in a claim which requires a fee to be paid. If a party sends a document by email for which a fee is payable upon filing, the document will be treated as not having been filed.
Anything in Family Proceedings. The Practice Direction does not apply to family proceedings but general correspondence may be addressed to the court by email provided that it does not contain sensitive information.
Anything in Insolvency or Adoption proceedings

Form and content of emails

When you email the court the subject line of your mail must contain (in the following order): -

The claim number
The title of the claim (abbreviated if necessary) **
The subject matter (e.g. defence)
If relating to a hearing the date and time of hearing

**If your email is in relation to a family matter please refer to the initials only.

Your message should also contain the name, telephone number and email address of the sender. If you email us we will normally send any reply to you by email.

Correspondence and documents may be sent as either text or attachments. Where there is a practice form, it must be sent in that form by attachment.

Attachments must be in one of the following formats and the complete email (including any attachment(s)) must not exceed 2Mb

Document file types

Rich Text Format files (.rtf)
Plain/Formatted Text files (.txt)
Hypertext documents files (.htm)
Microsoft Word viewer/reader files (.doc) minimum Word '97 format
Adobe Acrobat files (.pdf) minimum viewer version 4

Spreadsheet file types

Hypertext document files (.htm)
Delimited files (.csv)

Presentation file types

Hypertext document files (.htm)

General and compressed file types

Zipped (Compressed) files (.zip, .gz, .tgz, .tar)

Graphics file types

Joint Photographic Experts Group (ISO 10918) files (.jpg)

Vector graphics file types

Scalable Vector Graphics files (.svg)

Where to send your email

Document Filing

Participating courts will have a single email address for filing of documents at court e.g. efiling@leicester.countycourt.gsi.gov.uk

Correspondence

There are 4 or 5 standard email addresses to choose from when sending correspondence by email to the court (depending whether the court has family jurisdiction).

Court email addresses

e-filing@(name of court).countycourt.gsi.gov.uk
family@(name of court).countycourt.gsi.gov.uk
bailiffs@(name of court).countycourt.gsi.gov.uk
hearings@(name of court).countycourt.gsi.gov.uk
enquiries@(name of court).countycourt.gsi.gov.uk

NOTE: The family@ email address should only be used at courts with family jurisdiction. Please check the jurisdiction of the court before continuing.

To decide which address to send your email to there are some examples listed below to help.

e-filing@(name of court).countycourt.gsi.gov.uk

Experts reports
List of documents
Skeleton arguments/case summaries

family@(name of court).countycourt.gsi.gov.uk
Progress in family cases

bailiffs@(name of court).countycourt.gsi.gov.uk

Progress on a warrant
Confirmation of appointment
Correspondence for a bailiff

hearings@(name of court).countycourt.gsi.gov.uk

Queries about dates of hearings
Dates to avoid

enquiries@(name of court).countycourt.gsi.gov.uk

Chase up letters
Court opening hours

What the court will do with your email

The court will check your email and either respond to your enquiry or, where further action is required, will confirm in due course: -

a) that your document has been accepted, and
b) the date of filing

The date of filing will normally be the date of receipt unless the time of receipt is recorded as after 16.00 in which case the date of filing will be the next day the court office is open.

If your email does not comply with the requirements of the Practice Direction you will be sent a reply stating that it has been rejected and the reasons why.

The court will, where possible, reply to you electronically, although for the present orders oif the court will generally be despatched by post as they are not currently produced in electronic form.

Points to remember

This guide does not replace the Practice Direction.
When you file documents by email you must still comply with any rule or Practice Direction requiring the document to be served on any other person.
There is nothing in the Practice Direction that requires any person to accept service of a document by email.
Where a time limit applies it is the parties responsibility to ensure that the document is filed in time.

Warning

Internet email is not a secure medium. Any message or reply to your message could be intercepted and read by someone else. Please bear that in mind when deciding whether to send an email.

If you require any assistance or have an enquiry regarding the email service please contact the appropriate court direct.