How to Fill Out Form N24: Drafting, Consent Orders, and Filing

To fill out Form N24, download the one-page PDF from GOV.UK, enter the court name and address, the claim number, and the names of the claimant and defendant, then record the judge’s directions in the order section as short numbered paragraphs that mirror exactly what was said at the hearing.¹ File it with the court within seven days so it can be sealed. Form N24 is the general form civil courts in England and Wales use to turn a judge’s ruling into a binding written order.

First, Confirm You Are the One Drawing It Up

Under CPR Rule 40.3, the court draws up most judgments and orders itself. You only prepare the Form N24 when the judge directs you to, when you volunteer and the court gives permission, or when the order is a consent order under Rule 40.6.² There is one broad exception: in the King’s Bench Division at the Royal Courts of Justice, the parties draw up every order unless the court made it on its own initiative.

If the judge has directed you to draw the order up, you have seven days from that direction to file the completed form. Miss the window and the other side can draft it instead and file their version.³ You then lose control over the precise wording, which is often the whole point of being asked to draft it in the first place.

The Fields on the Form

CPR Rule 40.2 sets the mandatory contents for every judgment and order. It must state the name and judicial title of the person who made it, carry the date it was given or made, and be sealed by the court.² A few routine orders are exempt from the judge-name requirement, including default judgments entered by a court officer and consent orders processed under Rule 40.6(2), but anything a judge decided at a hearing must name them.

The form itself provides fields for the following.

Court name and address: the full title of the court issuing the order.
Claim number: the unique reference assigned when the case was issued.
Claimant and defendant: names, with any solicitor reference numbers.
The order: where the judge’s directions are recorded.

If anyone applied for permission to appeal at the hearing, the order must also state whether an appeal lies, which court would hear it, and whether permission was granted.²

Writing the Order Section

This is the part that matters most. Record the judge’s directions in short, direct, imperative language that mirrors exactly what was said at the hearing. Leave out narrative background and reasons for the decision. Each direction should sit in its own numbered paragraph so there is no ambiguity about what each party has to do.

A clear direction looks like this: “The Defendant shall pay the Claimant £12,000 by 4:00 p.m. on 15 August 2026.” A paragraph summarizing the dispute does not belong on the form.

If the judge directed the court to check your draft before sealing, file it within seven days with a written request for that check.³ Where the court instead directed the parties to agree the terms first, both sides must file an agreed statement of those terms within seven days too, unless the judge sets a different deadline.

If It Is a Consent Order

When all parties agree the terms, CPR Rule 40.6 allows the order to be entered without a hearing. A court officer can seal a consent order directly if it falls into one of the permitted categories, such as payment of money, dismissal of proceedings, a stay on agreed terms, or payment of costs, and if no party is unrepresented and no rule requires judicial approval first.²

A consent order has three extra requirements. It must be drawn up in the agreed terms. It must carry the words “By Consent” on its face. And it must be signed by the solicitor or counsel acting for each party, or by the party personally if that party is a litigant in person.³ If the terms fall outside what a court officer can handle, any party may apply for the court’s approval, and the judge can deal with the application on paper.

Filing, Sealing, and Service

An order is not enforceable until the court seals it. CPR 40.2(2)(b) makes sealing mandatory for every judgment and order. When you file your draft, include enough copies for the court file and for every other party. Once the court seals the order, it sends a copy to each party.²

Who serves the sealed order depends on who prepared it. Under CPR 6.21, the court serves documents it prepared, and a party serves documents that party prepared. Permitted methods of service under CPR Part 6 include first-class post or another next-business-day delivery service, and personal service.⁴ For orders made outside of trial, service goes to the applicant, the respondent, and anyone else the court directs.

When the Order You Just Drafted Takes Effect

A judgment or order takes effect from the day it is given or made, not the day the written document is sealed or received. If the judge specified a later effective date, that date controls.² Compliance deadlines run from that effective date, not from the moment a sealed copy arrives.

For any order requiring payment of money, including costs, the default compliance deadline is 14 days from the date of the judgment or order. That 14-day period applies unless the order itself sets a different date, another CPR rule specifies a different period, or the court has stayed the proceedings or the judgment.² Orders requiring non-monetary steps, such as disclosure of documents or attendance at a further hearing, will normally state their own compliance dates on the face of the form. Draft those dates carefully, because once sealed, they bind the parties and the clock starts running.

1
GOV.UK. File a Draft of an Order or Judgment: Form N24
2
Justice UK. Part 40 – Judgments, Orders, Sale of Land Etc.
3
Justice UK. Practice Direction 40B – Judgments and Orders
4
Justice UK. Part 6 – Service of Documents