Service of documents

The rules that decide how, and on what date, a court document is treated as having reached the other side — which matters because time limits and deadlines are often counted from that date, not from when the document actually arrived.

Does it matter if the other side actually received the document?

Not for working out the deemed date of service. The deemed date is fixed by the rules depending on the method used, and it generally cannot be challenged by proving the document was received earlier or later than that date — the point of a fixed rule is that everyone counts from the same date without arguing about actual receipt.

What counts as a business day for service purposes?

Any day except Saturday, Sunday, a bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day. If a step would otherwise fall due, or be deemed to occur, on a day that is not a business day, the rules move it to the next business day.

Can I serve court documents by email?

Only where the other party, or their solicitor, has indicated in writing that they are willing to accept service by email, and has provided a suitable email address for that purpose. Serving by email without that agreement in place does not count as valid service under the rules.

What is the deemed date for first class post?

The second day after it was posted, provided that day is a business day. If the second day is not a business day, the deemed date moves to the next business day after that.

What happens if I serve a document the wrong way?

The other side may be able to argue the document was never validly served, which can affect time limits that run from the date of service, or in some cases the validity of a step taken in reliance on it. The court has some discretion to validate defective service in certain circumstances, but it is far safer to use a permitted method correctly in the first place.

Is serving a claim form the same as serving other documents?

The general service rules in CPR Part 6 apply to both, but claim forms have some extra requirements of their own — including a strict time limit for serving a claim form after it is issued, and a specific deemed date rule for service within the UK under CPR 7.5. Always check the claim-form-specific rules separately from the general rules for other documents.

The permitted methods

CPR Part 6 sets out the methods by which a document can be validly served: personal service (handing it to the person, or in some cases leaving it with them), first class post or another service that provides for delivery on the next business day, leaving the document at a specified address, fax, and email or another electronic method — but only where the recipient has agreed in writing to be served that way and given a suitable address for it.

Each method has its own deemed date of service, which is the date the rules treat the document as having been served, whether or not that matches the day it physically arrived. Personal service, document exchange, fax, or email completed before 4.30pm on a business day is treated as served that same day; after 4.30pm, or on a day that is not a business day, it is treated as served on the next business day. First class post, or another service with next-business-day delivery, is deemed served on the second day after posting, again moved to the next business day if that second day falls on a weekend or bank holiday.

Why the deemed date matters even if you know the real one

The whole point of a deemed date rule is certainty. If the rules allowed either side to argue about exactly when a document actually arrived, every deadline calculated from service would become a potential dispute in itself. Instead, the rules fix the date in advance based on the method used, and that date generally stands even if you can prove the document actually arrived a day earlier or later.

This cuts both ways. A party cannot usually extend a deadline by claiming a document served by first class post did not physically arrive until later than the deemed date, and equally cannot usually shorten the other side's time to respond by proving a document served by post actually arrived unusually quickly.

Service of a claim form needs extra care

The general rules above apply to documents generally, but a claim form has its own, stricter regime under CPR Part 7. A claim form must usually be served within a fixed period after it is issued, and a claim form served within the United Kingdom under the Part 6 rules is deemed served on the second business day after the relevant step was taken, rather than following the method-by-method deemed dates used for other documents. Missing the time limit for serving a claim form can be far more serious than a late document elsewhere in the case, since it can affect whether the claim survives at all.

A claimant posts a witness statement to the defendant by first class post on a Wednesday. The defendant has not agreed to accept documents by email, so the claimant does not try to send it that way as well.

Second day after posting

Is Friday a business day?

Deemed date of service

Any deadline that runs from service of this document — for example, a set number of days to respond — is counted from Friday, regardless of which day the statement actually landed on the defendant's doormat.

Application notice (N244)

Civil Procedure Rules, Part 6

Civil Procedure Rules, Part 7

Service of Documents — Small Claims Glossary

How court documents must be served under CPR Part 6, the deemed date of service for each method, and why claim forms follow stricter rules.