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.
How do I start a claim?
A simple procedure claim can be made:
- for payment of a sum of money where the value of the claim is £5000 or less;
- for delivery or for recovery of possession of moveable property, but only where there is an alternative claim for payment of a sum of money of £5000 or less; or
- for an order to make someone do something specific, but only where there is an alternative claim for payment of a sum of money of £5000 or less.
Simple procedure cannot be used for a claim for delivery or recovery of possession of moveable property, or a claim for an order to make someone do something specific which:
- does not have an alternative claim for payment of a sum of money;
- has an additional claim for payment of a sum of money of £5000 or less.
You may receive free advice and assistance from any of the following:
Please note that sheriff clerks and their staff cannot give you legal advice, although they can help you understand court procedures.
Which court do I go to?
There are 39 courts in Scotland and you will now have to decide in which one your claim should be brought.
In most cases, the court which will hear the claim will be the one within whose area the person the claim is to be made against (the respondent) lives or has a place of business.
Sometimes, the court closest to where you live can be the one which will hear the case.
There are some cases where special rules apply, for example, a special rule applies, in most circumstances, to what are known as ‘consumer contracts’. An example of a consumer contract would be where you have reached an agreement with a shop to purchase goods and pay for them by instalments. If you, as the consumer, (the person purchasing the goods), wished to take court proceedings for any reason against the shop, you could choose to raise the proceedings either in the court within whose area you live or in the one within whose area the shop premises are situated. However, if the shop wished to take proceedings against you, it could only do so in the court within whose area you live.
It is possible, in certain circumstances, to raise a claim in cases even where the defender does not live in Scotland, or when you do not know where he or she is.
Deciding which court is appropriate is, in most cases, quite straightforward. If in doubt, you might wish to seek advice from one of the organisations listed above.
How do I make a claim?
You should submit a simple procedure claim using the SCTS civil online portal.
It is important to follow the guidance within the form and make sure as much information as possible is contained in the form to allow the sheriff or summary sheriff to fully consider your claim. The information also gives the respondent fair notice of what the claim is about.
Part 3 of the rules explains how to make a claim.
If you feel you cannot submit your claim electronically using the SCTS civil online portal, and wish to submit it in paper format you should complete two copies of the Simple Procedure Claim Form (Form 3A) and take or send both copies to the sheriff court that should deal with your claim. You must also send a brief note outlining the circumstances preventing you from submitting the claim using the civil online portal. The note does not require to be a formal letter and a few sentences is usually sufficient.
You should make sure that you include the names and addresses of parties at the top of your note.
The Sheriff will consider your note and decide if your claim can be registered or whether it must be submitted online. If the Sheriff requires further information then the sheriff clerk will contact you for same.
Please also inform the sheriff clerk if you wish them to serve the claim for you.
You will need to pay a fee when submitting your claim form. A fee must be paid at the point of online submission**. Fees can be paid online by credit or debit card. If your claim is rejected by the court, any fee paid will be refunded automatically. Professional users can use a SCTS credit account.
** or with approval from a sheriff, when lodging the claim with the Sheriff Clerk.
The current fees can be accessed in the Sheriff Court Fees section. You may be entitled to fee exemption, for example, if you receive certain state benefits. Further information can be found in the Court Fees section along with the fee exemption application form.
What will the court do with the claim form?
The sheriff clerk will check that you have filled in the claim form correctly. If there are any problems which mean that the claim cannot be registered, the sheriff clerk will return the claim form and the fee to you for correction. If you submitted the claim online, the fee will be automatically refunded and the form returned to you for correction. Some problems might include:
- The claim form not being accompanied by the correct fee.
- The claim form being sent to the wrong sheriff court.
- The claim form asking for something that is not possible in simple procedure, such as making a claim for over £5,000.
- The claim form being incomplete.
In some circumstances, the sheriff clerk may need to ask the sheriff or summary sheriff for approval before registering the claim. Please refer to Part 3 of the simple procedure rules.
If there are no such problems the sheriff clerk will register the claim, assign the claim a case reference number and issue a timetable (Form 3D).
The timetable contains two dates:
- the last date for service and
- the last date for a response.
The last date for service is the last date by which the claim form should be served on the respondent. This must normally be at least three weeks before the last date for a response. The last date for response is the last date by which the respondent must send a Response Form to the court and to the claimant; or if the respondent admits the claim, sends a time to pay application to the court.
Part 3 of the Simple Procedure Rules explains how to make a claim and what the court will do with that claim.
How is the claim form served on the respondent?
The claim form has to be served on the respondent. You cannot serve the claim form on the respondent by yourself.
Service involves sending the claim form along with other forms to the respondent by recorded delivery letter, or in some cases email. If delivery by post is unsuccessful, the claim form and other forms will be returned to the court, and you will be informed of this. The claim form and other forms must then be served by a sheriff officer.
Who can serve a claim form?
If you are raising a claim as an individual, or as a sole trader, you can ask the sheriff clerk to serve the claim form for you.
The sheriff clerk will not do so in any other case.
If the sheriff clerk is serving the claim for you, the sheriff clerk will do so by recorded delivery mail. The sheriff clerk cannot formally serve a claim by email. You should send to the court the claim form that you have filled in and a copy of that form. If you have chosen to submit your claim online you do not need to send these to the court. The copy claim form will be served on the respondent. The sheriff clerk will keep the principal claim form. If delivery by post is unsuccessful, and you want to continue with your claim, the claim will have to be served by sheriff officer. The sheriff clerk will write to you to tell you that this has happened. There is an additional fee payable to the sheriff clerk for arranging this service. The sheriff clerk will advise you of the current fees, or you can check on the sheriff court fees.
If the sheriff clerk cannot serve the claim form for you, or if you would prefer, a solicitor or a sheriff officer can serve a claim form on your behalf. They will charge a fee for this service.
If you are asking a solicitor or sheriff officer to serve the claim form on the respondent you will need to provide them with a copy of the claim form and the timetable (Form 3D). If you have chosen to submit your claim online, you will be able to view and print these forms from the Civil Online system.
If you have chosen to submit your claim in paper form, the sheriff clerk will return the copy claim form to you with the timetable (Form 3D) and the sheriff clerk will keep the principal claim form.
You should then take the forms to the solicitor or sheriff officer who will be serving the claim for you.
What if I do not know or cannot find out the respondents address?
If the respondent’s address is unknown, you must take all reasonable steps to find out the address. If after doing so, you still do not know the address and cannot find it out, you must complete a Service by Advertisement Form (Form 6B).
You can send an electronic version of this form to the court using the Civil Online system. Alternatively, you can send a completed paper version of the form to the court along with a copy of the claim form and the correct fee.
Once the claim is registered by the sheriff clerk, the sheriff or summary sheriff may order the details of the claim to be advertised on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals website. The sheriff clerk will arrange this for you. A copy of the timetable (Form 3D) will be sent to you for your information.
Part 6 of the Simple Procedure Rules explains what has to be done when the Rules require something and or a document to be sent or formally served on someone.
Part 18 of the Simple Procedure Rules explains how to formally serve a document on someone living in Scotland.
Part 19 of the Simple Procedure Rules explains how to formally serve a document on someone outside Scotland.
What do I do if no response form is received by the court?
If no response form is received by the court, you must within two weeks of the last date for a response send to the court an Application for a Decision (Form 7A). You can send an electronic version of this form to the court using the Civil Online system. Alternatively, you can send a completed paper copy of the form to the court.
The sheriff may:
- Make a decision awarding all or part of the claim or dismissing the claim.
- Consider that a decision cannot be made awarding all or part of the claim and order you to attend a hearing to discuss this decision.
Please note that if you do not send the court an application for decision within two weeks of the last date for a response, the sheriff will dismiss your claim.
Rule 7.4 of the simple procedure rules explains what happens when no response form is received.
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.