Directions questionnaire (N180)

A short form with outsized consequences — it decides which track your case runs on, whether mediation is offered, and where the hearing will be.

What is a directions questionnaire?

A short court form, sent after a defence is filed, that helps the judge decide the track, the hearing length and what each side must do next. Form N180 is the small claims track version.

What triggers the N180 being sent out?

It is sent once the defendant files a defence. Until then there is nothing to allocate: an undefended claim ends in a default judgment rather than a hearing. When the defence arrives, the court sends a notice of proposed allocation with the questionnaire attached and a date by which both parties must return it.

What happens if I don't return my N180?

In a money claim, the court sends a further notice giving you 7 days to return it. If you still do not, your claim or defence is struck out without any further order, and you can be ordered to pay the costs your delay caused (CPR 26.4). It is not a form to leave in a pile, and if the deadline is genuinely impossible you should write to the court and explain before it passes.

What is the deadline for the directions questionnaire?

The return date is on the notice of proposed allocation that comes with the form. For the small claims track it must be at least 14 days after the notice is treated as served, and the parties cannot agree between themselves to move it.

What happens after the directions questionnaire?

Once every party has filed one, the court allocates the claim to a track and gives directions: what each side must send and by when, and the hearing date. If the defendant is an individual and the claim is for a fixed sum, the claim is normally sent to the defendant's home court at this point, unless the questionnaire asks for a different court.

Where do I get form N180?

If you are representing yourself, the court sends it to you with the notice of proposed allocation. The form is also published on gov.uk if you need another copy.

Should I tick yes or no to mediation on the N180?

Saying yes costs nothing and closes nothing off. The Small Claims Mediation Service is free, runs by telephone, usually takes about an hour, and any settlement is recorded in a binding agreement. Refusing mediation without a reason can attract criticism from the judge later. Saying yes does not oblige you to accept an offer you do not think is fair.

Can I ask for the hearing to be at a court near me?

The form asks whether there is any reason the claim should be heard at a particular court, and for an individual defendant the claim is normally transferred to their home court automatically. If travel, disability, caring responsibilities or the location of witnesses genuinely affects where you can attend, say so on the form with the reason rather than assuming the court will guess.

Do I have to name my witnesses at this stage?

The questionnaire asks how many witnesses will give evidence and whether any need special arrangements such as an interpreter or step-free access. You are not filing their statements yet, but understating the number can cause difficulty later when the court has allowed a hearing slot based on what you said.

Is there a fee to file the N180?

There is no fee for the questionnaire itself. If the claim goes on to a small claims hearing, the claimant usually pays a hearing fee, which is banded by the value of the claim and listed in the EX50 court fees list. If money is a barrier, Help with Fees applies to court fees generally.

What is the difference between N180 and N181?

N180 is the directions questionnaire for the small claims track. N181 is used for claims that look like fast track or intermediate track cases.

Why a short form matters so much

The directions questionnaire arrives at the moment a claim stops being a piece of paperwork and becomes a case with a timetable. The court has a defence in front of it, and it needs to decide three things: which track the claim belongs on, how long a hearing will take, and what each side must do before then. The N180 is how it finds out.

Because it is short — a couple of pages of tick boxes and dates — it is easy to treat as a formality. That is a mistake. The answers you give shape the allocation decision, the hearing length, the court you travel to, and whether the free mediation service is offered before any of that happens. Several of those choices are hard to undo.

Filling in the N180, question by question

Here is what each part of the form asks, what to put, and the mistake people most often make.

Should I tick yes or no to mediation?

Saying yes costs nothing and closes nothing off. The Small Claims Mediation Service is free, takes place by telephone and usually lasts about an hour. If no agreement is reached, the case carries on to a hearing. Refusing mediation without a reason can attract criticism from the judge later.

The Small Claims Mediation Service is the most under-used advantage available to a self-represented party. It is provided by HMCTS at no cost, it is conducted by telephone with a mediator who shuttles between the parties, and it usually finishes inside an hour. Nothing said in mediation is reported to the judge, and if no agreement is reached the case simply carries on to a hearing.

The practical case for agreeing is straightforward. A hearing costs a day, exposes both sides to an outcome neither controls, and produces a judgment that still has to be enforced if the losing party does not pay. A mediated settlement is agreed by the parties, can include a payment plan a judge would not order, and tends to get paid because the payer chose it.

There is a wider direction of travel here too: the courts have become progressively more willing to treat unreasonable refusal to engage in dispute resolution as conduct that matters. On the small claims track, where costs recovery is tightly limited, the consequences are usually modest — but a judge who reads “no” without a reason on the questionnaire has formed a small impression before anyone has said a word.

N180 or N181: which form do I have?

N180 is for the small claims track. Claims that look like fast track or intermediate track cases get form N181 instead. The notice of proposed allocation that comes with the form says which track the court has in mind, and you can say on the form if you disagree.

Next steps: the small claims process from start to finish, how track allocation works, what happens at small claims mediation and preparing for the hearing.

Two neighbours dispute a £4,100 fencing and landscaping bill. The defendant files a defence saying the work was incomplete and partly defective. The court issues a notice of proposed allocation to the small claims track with N180s attached, returnable in two weeks.

The claimant ticks yes to mediation, says the claim is suitable for the small claims track, lists two witnesses, and gives three weeks in October when she is abroad. The defendant ticks no to mediation, argues the claim needs an expert surveyor and should go to the fast track, and lists no unavailable dates.

The judge allocates to the small claims track anyway — the value and the issues fit — and refuses permission for expert evidence, because the alleged defects can be shown in photographs and described by the parties. Mediation does not happen, because it requires both sides to agree. The hearing is listed for a date outside the claimant's stated absence. The defendant's refusal of mediation does not decide the case, but it is on the file, and it removed the cheapest route out of the dispute for both of them.

Small Claims Mediation Service

CPR Part 26 — case management and allocation

CPR Part 27 — the small claims track

Form N180 — directions questionnaire

What happens after you make a court claim

EX50 — civil and family court fees

Form N180 Directions Questionnaire: How to Fill It In

What form N180 asks, the return deadline, what happens after the directions questionnaire and if you miss it. The small claims questionnaire, explained.