Form N181, the directions questionnaire used for fast track, intermediate track, and multi-track civil claims in England and Wales, is sent to every party once a defence has been filed and the court issues a notice of proposed allocation. You have at least 28 days from service of that notice to complete the form, file it with the court, and serve a copy on every other party.1Justice UK. Part 26 – Case Management – Preliminary Stage Your answers decide the track, the complexity band, the timetable for disclosure and witness statements, and the trial window, so the questionnaire shapes the whole run-up to your hearing.
Where to Get the Form
If you do not have a legal representative, the court sends the form directly with the notice of proposed allocation.2GOV.UK. Directions Questionnaire – Fast Track, Intermediate Track or Multi-Track: Form N181 You can also download the PDF from GOV.UK and complete it in the free version of Adobe Reader. A large-print version is on the same page. For a physical copy, contact the court handling your claim; the address is on the notice of proposed allocation.
What to Gather Before You Start
The form moves through settlement, court location, pre-action compliance, track allocation, expert evidence, witnesses, trial length, costs, and proposed directions. Have the following to hand before you open it:
- Your settlement position, including whether you want a one-month stay to try mediation. If you do not, you need a reason.
- A preferred court or hearing centre, if you have one, and your reason for asking (nearby witnesses, a related case already running there).
- Confirmation that you followed the relevant pre-action protocol, or a short explanation of any gap.
- The names of every witness of fact you plan to call at trial.
- Whether you need expert evidence, and if so, the expert’s name, field, and whether a single joint expert shared with the other side would work. On the fast track, the court normally limits each party to one expert per field.3Justice UK. Part 35 – Experts and Assessors
- A realistic estimate of trial length. Fast track trials are capped at one day.4Justice UK. Extending Fixed Recoverable Costs – A Note on the New Rules
- Any dates when you, your witnesses, or your experts cannot attend court.
Completing Each Section
The form runs from Section A through Section J. Not every part applies to every case; multi-track questions about costs budgets and electronic disclosure can usually be skipped if your claim is firmly on the fast track.5HM Courts and Tribunals Service. N181 Directions Questionnaire Fast Track, Intermediate Track and Multi-Track
Section A: Settlement
The Civil Procedure Rules expect parties to try to settle before trial. This section asks whether you want a one-month stay to negotiate or mediate. Tick “Yes” and all deadlines pause. Tick “No” and you must explain why settlement is not appropriate at this stage. An unreasonable refusal to engage can count against you on costs later.
Section B: Court
If your claim was issued in the High Court, this section asks whether it should stay there or transfer to a County Court hearing centre. Most fast track claims move to a County Court. If you want a specific hearing centre, name it and explain why.
Section C: Pre-Action Protocols
Confirm whether you followed the relevant pre-action protocol. If compliance was partial, say so and explain. Not acknowledging a gap the other side can see from the correspondence damages your credibility with the judge.
Section D: Case Management Information
This is the longest part of the form, with several sub-topics:
- Any applications you have already made to the court.
- Track allocation. Tick “Fast Track” and note whether the other side agrees. Fast track is the normal route for claims valued between £10,000 and £25,000 where the trial will take no more than a day.6HM Courts & Tribunals Service. EX305 – The Fast Track and the Multi-Track in the Civil Courts
- Complexity band. Fast track cases are assigned to one of four bands. Pick the one you believe fits, with brief reasons. If the other party disagrees, the judge decides.
- Disclosure. State your proposed directions for sharing documents. The electronic disclosure questions referencing Practice Direction 31B apply mainly to multi-track cases, but address them if your claim involves significant electronic records.
Section E: Experts
If you want expert evidence, tick “Yes” and give the expert’s name, field, and estimated cost. Say whether any report has already been shared and whether a single joint expert would be suitable. Courts strongly prefer a single joint expert on the fast track to keep costs down, so if you want separate experts you need to explain why one shared expert would not work.3Justice UK. Part 35 – Experts and Assessors Even where separate experts are permitted, the court will not normally direct an expert to attend the hearing in person unless it is necessary in the interests of justice; written reports are the default.
Section F: Witnesses
List every witness of fact you intend to call. You do not need to attach statements yet, but the judge uses this list to gauge trial length. Leaving someone off and trying to add them later means an application and possible cost penalties.
Section G: Trial or Final Hearing
Give an estimate of the total hearing time and list dates when you, your legal representative, witnesses, or experts are unavailable. Underestimating forces a rushed trial; overestimating can push the case toward the intermediate track.
Section H: Costs
For fast track claims this section is short. Fixed recoverable costs apply to most fast track cases, so you generally do not file a costs budget (Precedent H).7Justice UK. Part 45 – Fixed Costs The complexity band you propose in Section D feeds directly into the costs you can recover if you win, and face if you lose, so the two sections should be answered consistently.
Section I: Other Information
Use this section to flag anything else the judge should know: upcoming applications, interpreters, video links, or other unusual features. Leave it blank if nothing applies.
Section J: Directions
You are expected to try to agree proposed directions with the other party before filing. If you have agreed, attach a draft order setting out the timetable for disclosure, exchange of witness statements, expert reports, and the trial window. If you cannot agree, explain the points of disagreement and propose your own timetable. A clear, agreed draft order often saves a case management conference.
Filing and Serving
File the completed questionnaire with the court and serve a copy on every other party by the deadline in the notice of proposed allocation. For fast track, intermediate track, and multi-track cases the deadline is at least 28 days from the date the notice is deemed served on you.1Justice UK. Part 26 – Case Management – Preliminary Stage The notice states the exact date and the court address.
File any proposed directions required by the notice at the same time. Serving the form on the other side means sending a complete copy by post, email, or whatever method of service you have been using in the case. Keep proof: a certificate of service, posting receipt, or delivery confirmation protects you if the other party later claims non-receipt.
There is no separate court fee for filing the directions questionnaire. The fees you pay in a civil claim are the issue fee and, later, the hearing fee, both listed on form EX50. The questionnaire itself costs nothing to file.
If You Miss the Deadline
The consequence depends on the type of claim. For money claims started in the County Court, which covers most fast track cases, the process is automatic: the court sends a second notice giving you a further seven days, and if you still do not comply, your statement of case is struck out without any further order.1Justice UK. Part 26 – Case Management – Preliminary Stage A claimant loses the claim; a defendant loses the defence.
For other claims the court has broader discretion. It can strike out the claim, strike out the defence and enter judgment for the claimant, give directions itself, or list a case management conference. The defaulting party will usually also be ordered to pay the costs caused by the failure. Missing this deadline is one of the fastest ways to lose a case without the court ever considering the merits.
What Happens After You File
Once every party has filed, the court allocates the claim to a track and serves a notice of allocation. For a fast track case that notice carries a binding timetable, measured from the date of allocation:8Justice UK. Practice Direction 28 – The Fast Track and the Intermediate Track
- Disclosure: 4 weeks
- Exchange of witness statements: 10 weeks
- Exchange of expert reports: 14 weeks
- Court sends pre-trial checklists (listing questionnaires): 20 weeks
- Filing completed pre-trial checklists: 22 weeks
- Trial: 30 weeks
The judge can adjust these periods based on what the parties proposed in their questionnaires, but 30 weeks to trial is the benchmark. You will have at least three weeks’ notice of the actual trial date.
Fast Track or Intermediate Track
Since October 2023 a new intermediate track sits between the fast track and the multi-track. The fast track remains the normal route for claims valued up to £25,000 where the trial will take no more than one day and oral expert evidence is limited to one expert per party in any field.4Justice UK. Extending Fixed Recoverable Costs – A Note on the New Rules The intermediate track covers less complex cases valued up to £100,000 that previously would have gone to the multi-track. Both tracks use Form N181, and the form asks which track you believe fits.
If your claim sits near the £25,000 boundary, allocation turns on complexity, trial length, and the volume of expert evidence. Your answers in Section D on the proposed track, complexity band, and disclosure directions feed directly into that decision. If you think the case is straightforward enough for the fast track despite being near the upper limit, say so and explain why the trial will fit in a single day.