Guidance on this page should be read in conjunction with the appropriate Simple Procedure Rules depending on the date your claim was initiated. New rules apply to claims initiated on or after 31 May 2023.
What is an application?
As your claim progresses, you may want to ask the sheriff to order that something specific is done in the case, for example to help progress or to settle the claim. You can do this by making an application to the court.
What type of applications can be made to the court?
You may wish to ask the court to:
- Pause or restart a case: (pausing a case means to temporarily suspend the progress of a case; restarting a case means resuming the progress of a paused case)
- Add an additional respondent to the case (a person who has not been named by the claimant in the Claim Form would use this application to ask the sheriff to allow them to be a respondent in the case)
- Amend the Claim Form or Response Form
- Abandon a claim
There may of course be other specific things you want to ask the court to order.
How do I make an application?
You should complete an Additional Orders Application (Form 9A).
Part 9 of the simple procedure rules explains about applications.
An application must be sent to the other party. A copy of the application must also be sent to the court, along with evidence that the application was sent to the other party (for example a postal receipt or copy of an email).
All types of applications can be sent to the court using Civil Online.
You must set out clearly the reasons for any application that you make.
How do I object to an application?
To object to an application, you must set out your objections in the application form that you received and send the application form to the court, within ten days of it being sent.
What can the sheriff do when considering the application?
The sheriff will consider the application and any objections that may have been sent to the court. The sheriff may then do one of three things:
- Grant the application
- Refuse the application, or
- Order both parties to appear at a discussion in court, where the sheriff will consider whether the order requested in the application should be made.
Please Note: The information above cannot cover every situation which might arise in the course of a claim. You should also note that this information is not the authority upon which the procedure is based. The formal authority is contained in the Simple Procedure Rules.