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What cases you can bring to the court

You can use the court for a wide range of technically complex cases, such as over:

• construction, building or engineering (including adjudicators鈥� or arbitrators鈥� decisions)
• the design, installation or supply of computer systems
• advice provided by engineers, architects, surveyors or accountants

You can also ask a judge from the court to act as an arbitrator in your dispute.

See a longer list of

Cases worth up to 拢250,000 can be dealt with in a local county court, but your case will be heard in the High Court if it involves:

• more than 拢250,000
• very complex issues
• an international dispute
• adjudication or arbitration

High Court hearings usually take place in the Rolls Building in London but can be held in certain other courts around England and Wales.

Help and support

You can get legal advice from a

Court staff can explain how the process works, but can鈥檛 give you legal advice.

Before you start

In most cases the court will expect you to write to the other side and to meet at least once before you start legal action.

You may be able to discuss other ways of solving the dispute, for instance by using an independent adjudicator or arbitrator named in your contract.

How to start a case

To start court action, fill in the relevant form below.

Write 鈥楾echnology and Construction Court鈥� in the top-right hand corner of the form.

• claim form (part 7)
• claim form (part 8)
• arbitration claim form

Use the part 8 form if the main facts aren鈥檛 in dispute 鈥� eg you disagree on the interpretation of a contract or the law.

Where to take or send your form

You can file your documents electronically. This online service also enables you to search cases, order copies of documents and pay fees.

You can take or send your form to one of the two courts in London or your local court centre.

London courts

• for High Court claims
• for county court claims

Local court centres

Pay the court fee

You will need to pay a court fee to start the case. This will be based on how much you want to claim from the other side.

Claim amount up to鈥�	Court fee
拢300	拢35
拢500	拢50
拢1,000	拢70
拢1,500	拢80
拢3,000	拢115
拢5,000	拢205
拢10,000	拢455
拢200,000	5% of the amount

If your case is worth more than 拢200,000 the fee is 拢10,000.

You can pay with cash, a credit/debit card, or a postal order or cheque (paid to 鈥楬M Courts and Tribunals Service鈥�).

You may have to pay another fee of 拢1,090 for a court hearing later on.

Arbitration cases cost 拢2,455 for each day of the hearing.

Serve the form

The court will stamp a copy of your claim form. Give or send this copy to the person or company who will be defending the claim (known as the defendant).

You must also give them:

• an acknowledgment of service form
• notes for the defendant
• details of your case, known as the

The particulars should include all of the arguments and facts you want to use to support your case.

You can send the particulars with the form or within the next 14 days afterwards.

Send the court a certificate of service to confirm you鈥檝e sent the documents.

After you serve the form

The defendant has 14 days to acknowledge the claim and 28 days to respond.

They can ask for more time to reply (up to 3 months).

If they don鈥檛 respond or defend the claim you can ask the court to decide the case in your favour.

If they defend the claim you will have the chance to reply to their points.

Case management conference

The court will arrange a 鈥榗ase management conference鈥� to discuss the next steps.

The conference is a meeting to agree on the date for the hearing, and how the case will be handled.

The judge will ask you about:

• the value of the dispute
• what you鈥檝e spent so far on the case
• which experts you鈥檇 like to use

You and the defendant may be asked to use the same experts, to save on costs.

You will also be given a timetable for producing documents and making other arrangements, such as lining up witnesses.

There may be a follow-up 鈥榩re-trial review鈥� meeting, to check you鈥檙e ready for the hearing.

The hearing

Your hearing will usually be attended by:

• a , or or a 鈥� who will decide your case
• the defendant and their lawyer
• you and your lawyer
• any witnesses and experts

During the trial, your lawyer will have the chance to:

• make opening and closing statements
• call expert witnesses
• present expert reports
• question the witnesses

The courtroom will usually be open to the public.

What to expect coming to a court or tribunal

The decision

In most cases you won鈥檛 find out the judge鈥檚 decision on the day of the hearing.

The court will usually send you a copy of the draft judgment, to check for typos or other textual errors.

The judge or registrar will then formally issue the judgment.

If you disagree with the decision

You can ask the court for permission to appeal.

Include your reasons for appealing.

Find out more about appealing to the Court of Appeal.

Hearing list

Details of hearings for the next day are published on the daily cause list.

You may have to wait several months for a trial in London 鈥� or longer if the trial is likely to last more than a few days. Check the London Technology and Construction Court hearing times for details.

Decisions on previous cases

The court鈥檚 decisions on earlier cases are published on the

Rules and legislation

You can find detailed rules on using the court in and of the Civil Procedure Rules.