Check the clock and the contract
Two checks come before anything else. The first is time. You have six years from the breach to bring a claim on an ordinary contract, and twelve if it is a deed, and letters do not stop the clock. If time is short, issue first and talk afterwards.
The second is the contract itself. A dispute resolution clause may oblige you to mediate or arbitrate before you go anywhere near a court, and a court claim brought in the face of one can be stayed. How long you have is covered in more depth in the contract disputes guide, along with whether you have a claim in the first place.
The letter before claim
The court expects a letter before claim, and the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct says what it should contain: what you say happened, what you want, and how you have worked the figure out. The other side is entitled to a reasonable time to reply, 14 days in a straightforward case and up to three months in a very complex one. Both sides are expected to consider settlement, mediation included.
Skip it and the court can penalise you on costs and interest even if you win. It is also the first document a judge reads when working out who behaved reasonably.
Issuing the claim
You issue by filing a claim form, N1, with your particulars of claim. The particulars set out the contract, the breach, the loss and the figure, and they are the document the whole case is argued from, so they repay care. Many claims can be issued online. It is not available where the amount is unknown, there is more than one claimant, there are three or more defendants, a party has no address in England or Wales, or the defendant is a government department.
The issue fee is scaled to the claim and includes any interest you claim: £455 for £5,000 to £10,000, then 5% of the claim up to £200,000, then £10,000 above that, as at 13 July 2026. Once the court issues the claim you have four months to serve it.
The defendant responds
The defendant has 14 days after service to acknowledge the claim. They then have 14 days after service of the particulars to file a defence, or 28 days if they filed an acknowledgment, and you can agree to extend that by up to 28 days. They can admit the claim, defend it, or defend and counterclaim.
If no defence arrives in time, you can ask for default judgment, which is a judgment without a trial. It is common where a defendant has simply gone quiet, and it is also the point where people discover a judgment is not the same as being paid.
Allocation, and what comes next
Once the defence is in, the court allocates the claim to a track. Up to £10,000 is small claims, up to £25,000 the fast track, up to £100,000 the intermediate track, and anything bigger or more complex the multi-track. Each side completes a directions questionnaire, the court gives directions, and the case runs towards a hearing or, far more often, a settlement.
From here the track decides almost everything: the procedure, the paperwork and how much of your spend you get back. That is the subject of the guide on how to sue a business, which takes the route from here through to enforcement, with the fees and fixed costs in full.
Frequently asked questions
What is a letter before claim?
A letter sent to the other side before you issue, setting out what you say happened, what you want and how you have calculated it. It is required by the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct, gives the other side a reasonable time to reply, and ignoring it can cost you on costs and interest even if you win.
How much does it cost to issue a breach of contract claim?
The court fee is £455 for a claim of £5,000 to £10,000, 5% of the claim between £10,000 and £200,000, and £10,000 above that, as at 13 July 2026. The fee includes any interest you claim. Legal costs are on top, and you recover only part of them if you win.
What happens if the other side does not respond to the claim?
If they do not file a defence in time, you can ask the court for default judgment, a judgment without a trial. You then still have to collect the money, which may mean enforcement such as a third party debt order or a charging order, each with its own fee.
Do I need a solicitor to bring a breach of contract claim?
No. A company can bring its own claim, though it needs the court’s permission for an employee to represent it at trial. Advice at the start usually pays for itself, because the track and the costs sum decide whether the claim is worth bringing. We advise on strategy and drafting, and you go on the court record.
Before you issue anything
Silva reads the contract and the correspondence, tells you how strong the claim is and which track it is likely to land on, and gives you the honest arithmetic before you commit to a letter, let alone a claim form.