Judgment on admission

When a defendant admits some or all of what you are claiming, you do not need a trial to get an enforceable judgment — but how you respond to a partial admission shapes what happens next.

What form does a defendant use to admit a claim?

Form N9A is used to admit the whole or part of a claim for a specified (fixed) amount of money. Form N9C is used where the claim is for an unspecified amount, such as damages to be assessed. Both are sent out alongside the claim form, and the defendant returns whichever applies to their situation.

What happens if the defendant admits the whole claim?

You can apply for judgment for the full amount admitted, either immediately if the defendant proposes to pay straight away, or on the payment terms the defendant proposes, if you accept them. If you do not accept the proposed payment terms, you can ask the court to decide a reasonable rate instead.

What if the defendant only admits part of the claim?

You have a choice. You can accept the partial admission in full and final settlement, and get judgment for that amount, ending the case. Or you can reject it and continue the claim for the full amount, in which case the case proceeds in the normal way and you will still need to prove the rest at a hearing if it is not otherwise resolved.

Can the defendant propose to pay by instalments?

Yes. An admission can include a proposal to pay a lump sum by a set date, or to pay by instalments at a stated rate. If you think the proposed rate is too slow, you can ask the court to redetermine it — a court officer will consider both sides' financial circumstances and decide what is reasonable, and either party can ask for that decision to be reconsidered by a judge.

Is judgment on admission the same as default judgment?

No. Default judgment is obtained when a defendant simply fails to respond at all within the time allowed. Judgment on admission follows a positive step by the defendant, who has actively accepted that some or all of the claim is owed. The practical outcome — an enforceable judgment — is similar, but the route there is different.

Can a defendant withdraw an admission later?

Only with the court's permission, and it is not granted routinely. Once an admission is made, the court will look at factors such as how much time has passed, whether new evidence has emerged, and whether allowing withdrawal would be fair to the claimant, who may have already relied on the admission.

Full admission versus partial admission

When a defendant is served with a claim for a specified sum, one option is to admit it on form N9A, rather than defending or ignoring it. A

accepts the whole amount claimed, and the claimant can then apply for judgment for that sum, generally on whatever payment terms are proposed or, if those are disputed, on terms the court decides are reasonable.

is more common where the defendant genuinely accepts part of the debt but disputes the rest — for example, agreeing they owe for materials but disputing the labour charge. Here the claimant has a real decision to make: accept the admitted amount and end the case there, or push on for the full sum and risk recovering nothing more than the admitted figure if the rest cannot be proved.

How the process runs

• Defendant returns N9A or N9C.
• Admitting all or part of the claim, and proposing how and when they will pay.
• Claimant decides how to respond.
• Accept a full admission's proposed payment terms, request a court decision on the rate, or accept/reject a partial admission.
• Court enters judgment.
• For the admitted amount, on the agreed or court-determined terms.
• Any disputed balance continues.
• If a partial admission was rejected, the claim proceeds for the outstanding amount in the normal way.

A claimant sues a former tenant for £2,400 in unpaid rent arrears. The tenant returns form N9A admitting £1,600 of the claim, saying the rest relates to a period when the property had no working heating and disputing that portion.

The claimant weighs up the strength of the heating complaint and decides it is genuinely arguable. She accepts the £1,600 admission, taking judgment for that amount straight away, rather than risking further cost and delay contesting a disputed £800 she may not recover in full.

N245 — application for time to pay

Civil Procedure Rules, Part 14

Make a court claim for money

Judgment on Admission — Small Claims Glossary

What judgment on admission means, the difference between a full and partial admission, and how to decide whether to accept one.