Guidance notes for submitting an N245 Application

If you have a ‘joint judgment’, you can complete one set of forms provided that you reside at the same address and are both intending to request the same instalment amount. Include both of your names on the application form, list joint income and expenditure details and ensure that you both sign the forms.

Sections 1 - 5 Quote your Claim number in the relevant box on the top right of the N245. Enter your details in Section 1. Complete Sections 2 – 5.

Sections 6 & 7 If you already have a Financial Statement, please state in sections 6 – 10 ‘see financial statement’ and attach a copy. If you do not have a financial statement, complete sections 6 – 10 in full. If you have a partner you must also state their income / expenses in sections

6 & 7 or include their financial statement. If any of your income/benefits or expenses do not appear on the N245, clearly state

the type of income / expense and amount under ‘Other income’ (Section 6) / ‘Others’ (Section 7).

Sections 8 - 10 State priority debts, court orders or credit debts that you have, and for each one

clarify how often and how much the repayments are.

Sections 11 -12 An offer of repayment must be stated in the ‘I can pay’ section. We cannot accept

applications with an offer of Nil. If you wish to make a payment on the judgment, please remember that it should be

forwarded to the claimant’s solicitors, as the Court does not accept payments. Sign and date the application. Ensure you attach either the fee or completed EX160 form with supporting

evidence. If you do not comply with the above the application will be returned to you.

What happens next? Once you have paid the fee or fee remission has been granted, we will send a copy of your N245 to the claimants for them to consider your offer of payment. The Court will then send you an order stating how much you should pay each month. If the claimants object to your offer they will ask the Court to decide what you should pay when making the order. The guidelines contained within this letter are not legal advice. Court staff are not legally trained or responsible for the outcome of your case. You may wish to seek assistance from a solicitor or local Citizens Advice Bureau. Alternately, you may be able to obtain advice on debt via Community Legal Advice on 0845 345 4345 or www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk.

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Guidance notes for EX160 fee remission applications

You may be eligible for a fee remission if you receive one of the benefits listed below or if you have a low income. To apply for remission you will need to send a completed EX160 form and supporting evidence with your N245 application. The EX160 form and instructions on completing it are available as part of booklet EX160A, which can be downloaded from the Court FormFinder at http://www.justice.gov.uk/global/forms/hmcts/index.htm. If you do not have internet access, please contact us and we will post you a booklet. Please read the booklet carefully before completing the form. Ensure you enclose all necessary evidence in support of your application for fee remission. All evidence must be original, photocopies cannot be accepted. If you require the evidence to be returned to you, please enclose a covering letter requesting this. Incomplete / incorrectly completed forms or forms with incorrect or missing evidence cannot be processed and will be returned to you.

If you are in receipt of benefits You will need to provide evidence from the benefit provider that you are currently receiving benefits. Any of the benefits below automatically entitles you to a full remission:

Income Support Income-Based Job Seeker’s Allowance Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

Your award letter(s) for any of the above three benefits must be dated within the last calendar month.

State Pension Guarantee Credit Working Tax Credit with no element of Child Tax Credit

Your evidence letter(s) for either of the above two benefits must be dated within the last year and refer to the current financial year (April – March).

You must ensure that you enclose all the pages of your benefit award letter showing your full name and address. The award letter must be original or your application will be refused.

If you are not in receipt of any of the listed benefits but still cannot afford the fee You may still be able to apply for help with the fee on the basis of low income. Please see pages 7 to 14 of the EX160A booklet for more information. If you are living with a partner, please ensure that you state both of your income and expenditure details when completing the EX160.