DMBM665340 - Enforcement action: county court proceedings: preparation and service of the claim: defendants details to be shown on form N1

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What to show for each type of defendant

Show the defendant's details in accordance with the following table.

Type of defendant

What to show on the form

Individuals

The full forenames, surname and the title by which they are known (for example Mr Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr Carl Kennedy).  The date of birth (if known).  The usual or last known residence.

Individuals trading under another name

The full forenames, surname and title by which they are known.  The full name under which they are trading, for example Mr Reginald James Mitchell (trading as Aero Design).  The date of birth (if known).  The usual or last known residence, or place of business or last known place of business.

Partnerships (excluding a limited liability partnership)

For the vast majority of partnership cases you will be suing the partners as individuals

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Partners sued as individuals

The full forenames, surnames and the titles of each partner by which they are known.  Include the trading or business name, for example Mr David Lynch 1972 Mulholland Drive, Tinseltown and Miss Norma Jean Baker 36 Bellevue, Tinseltown (trading as M M Productions).  The date of birth of each partner (if known).  The usual or last known residence of each partner whenever possible, otherwise the place of business or last known place of business.

Other cases (where the composition of the partnership was almost constantly shifting, e.g. large accountancy practices which are not LLPs).

The full name of the business followed by the suffix ‘a firm’. For example Drake, Grenville and Raleigh (a firm).  The usual or last known residence of each partner whenever possible, otherwise the place of business or last known place of business.

Limited liability partnership

The full name of the partnership followed by the suffix LLP (for example Pot and Tung LLP).  The place of business or last known place of business.

Company registered in England or Wales (including charities registered under  the Companies Act)

The registered name of the company (This must be correct in every detail, including punctuation, brackets and initials, and either 'Ltd' or 'plc').  The registered office of the company.

Corporation incorporated in England or Wales other than a company

The full name of the corporation and any suffix as appropriate.  The principal office of the corporation or any place within the court's jurisdiction where the corporation carries on its activities and which has a real connection with the claim.

Any other company or corporation

The full name of the corporation or company and any suffix as appropriate.  Any place within the court's jurisdiction where the corporation carries on its activities or any place of business of the company within the court's jurisdiction.

Overseas company (as defined by S744 of the Companies Act 1985)

The full name of the company.  The address registered under S691 of the Companies Act 1985 or that of the place of business having a real, or most, connection with the claim (for example a shop).

Unincorporated associations (for example, charities not registered under the Companies Act, societies, and members clubs not detailed below)

The full forenames, surname and title by which they are known of the unincorporated association’s officers (in a representative capacity, add the words ‘sued on behalf of’ followed by the name of the charity, society, club or other unincorporated association).  The date of birth of each officer (if known).  The place of business.

Members’ clubs (that are not limited companies) registered under the Friendly Societies Act 1974

The name of the club and the club address.  The full forenames, surname and title by which they are known of the trustees and their private addresses.  The date of birth of each trustee (if known).

Members’ clubs (that are not limited companies) registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965

The name of the club. The claim should be served on the chairperson, secretary and treasurer at their private addresses using their full forenames, surname and title by which they are known.

Trusts

The full forenames, surname and title by which they are known of the trustees and their addresses.  The date of birth of each trustee (if known).

Full details not known

Where you do not know the defendant’s full details the court will accept your claim but you must provide sufficient information for the court to identify the defendant.

Remember that date of birth information can normally be found on TBS.

In cases of difficulty, contact the EIS Bradford CCP Technical Team (Debt Management Bradford).

Postcodes

The claim should include the postcode. If you do not know the postcode for an address, you should use HMRC’s official postcode checker to obtain the missing information. Once you have found the postcode, remember to add it to the address details on the relevant Head of Duty system.

There should be no cases where you cannot provide the postcode.

Cases entered clerically

If a claim is sent to court without a postcode it will be accepted as having been issued on that date, but it will not be served until you either:

  • supply the postcode
  • receive approval of the district judge to serve the claim form without it.

County Court Bulk Centre (CCBC) cases

The CCBC rules require all cases issued through the centre to have all postcodes in place at the time of issue.

However, if a case is sent to the CCBC without a postcode the processing systems at the CCBC will not pick up the omission. The case may be accepted and served (incorrectly) and may be either:

  • stayed (this means that the case will not proceed until you have supplied the missing information)
  • struck out by a CCBC district judge and the fees lost.