Filing a claim or application in the county court should be a card payment away. In practice, most court fees are still paid by cheque or postal order, posted to a processing centre, and waited on. This guide sets out the four ways to pay an HMCTS court fee in England and Wales, which forms accept which method, and how to pay by card online when the court itself will not take one. All figures below are HMCTS rates from the EX50 fee schedule current as of July 2025.
Short version: HMCTS accepts cheques and postal orders for almost everything. Card payment online is only available for fixed money claims via MCOL, or for nearly any other form through a provider such as JustClaim that forwards the fee to the court. Card at the counter works at some courts; over the phone it is patchy and usually refused for postal applications.
The Four Ways to Pay a Court Fee
HMCTS lists four payment methods on its forms and guidance. They are not equally available, and the right one depends on the form and how you are filing it.
| Method | Accepted | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Cheque (payable to "HMCTS") | All forms, all courts | Slow — posted |
| Postal order | All forms, all courts | Slow — posted |
| Card at the court counter | Most county courts in person | Same day |
| Card online | MCOL (N1 only) or via JustClaim (most forms) | Same day |
1. Cheque
The default. Write the cheque to "HM Courts & Tribunals Service" (or simply "HMCTS" — both are accepted), staple it to the form, and post it to the court address printed on the form. Allow 5–10 working days for the cheque to clear and the form to be processed. If the cheque bounces or the bank rejects it, the court will return the form and the application is treated as never filed.
2. Postal order
Buy a postal order at any Post Office for cash or debit card and post it with the form. Postal orders cost a small administrative fee on top of the face value, which is not recoverable. The advantage is that there is no clearing time — HMCTS can bank it immediately. The disadvantage is the trip to the Post Office and the extra cost.
3. Card at the court counter
If you can physically attend the court where the form is being filed, most county courts will take a debit or credit card at the public counter. This is the fastest way to pay if you are filing in person. It does not work for forms that must go to a central processing centre — for example, N244 applications in claims handled by the County Court Business Centre, or N443 certificates handled by the Civil National Business Centre, both of which are post-only and do not have a public counter.
4. Card online
HMCTS does not run a general online card-payment portal for court fees. The two routes that exist are:
- Money Claim Online (MCOL) — HMCTS's own portal for fixed money claims up to £100,000 against a UK defendant. Issue fee paid by Visa or Mastercard at the end of the online form. MCOL covers only the N1 equivalent — not N244, N443, or anything else.
- Approved providers such as JustClaim — file the form online, pay the court fee by card, and the provider forwards the fee to HMCTS along with the documents. This covers the forms MCOL does not.
Form-by-Form: How to Pay
Each fee-bearing form has its own payment quirks. Below are the most common.
N1 — Claim Form (issue a money or non-money claim)
The N1 issue fee scales with the amount claimed, from £35 for claims up to £300 to £455 for claims between £5,000 and £10,000. For claims above £10,000 the fee is 5% of the claim value. Full fee table.
- Fixed money claim under £100k, UK defendant: file via MCOL and pay by card online. Same-day issue.
- Non-money claim, claim over £100k, claim against an unrepresented defendant abroad, or anything that needs more than 1,080 characters of particulars: file the paper N1. Pay by cheque or postal order, or by card at the counter, or online by card through JustClaim.
More on the form itself: N1 claim form guide.
N244 — Application Notice
The N244 is the form you use to ask the court to do something inside an existing claim — set aside a judgment, vary an order, extend time, apply for summary judgment. There are two main fees, set by EX50:
| Type of application | Fee |
|---|---|
| Application on notice (the other side is told) | £313 |
| Application by consent or without notice | £123 |
| Set aside a default judgment wrongly entered | No fee |
"On notice" means the other side has been served with a copy of the application and has a chance to respond — this is the default for most contested applications. "Without notice" or "by consent" covers urgent applications (where notice would defeat the purpose), procedural housekeeping, and consent orders where both sides have already agreed. Pick the wrong category and the court will either reject the application or charge you the difference.
N244 applications in a claim issued through MCOL are normally sent to the County Court Business Centre, which does not accept card payments. The practical options are a cheque or postal order made out to HMCTS, or filing online through JustClaim's N244 service, which pays the court fee by card and forwards the application electronically.
More on the form itself: N244 application notice guide.
N443 — Certificate of Satisfaction or Cancellation
The N443 is used to remove a satisfied or cancelled CCJ from the register. The fee is £19, plus proof of payment of the original judgment debt.
N443 forms go to the Civil National Business Centre by post and the centre does not accept card payment. The form requires a cheque or postal order. If you would rather pay by card and have the form delivered to HMCTS for you, JustClaim handles N443 filings online for an all-in fee covering the court fee, service and certificate processing.
More on the form itself: N443 certificate of satisfaction guide.
Enforcement Forms (N316, N323, N337, N379, N293A)
Once you have a judgment, the enforcement-stage forms each carry their own fee, paid the same way as the underlying claim — cheque, postal order, or in person at the counter. The most common are:
- N316 — Order to Obtain Information (oral examination): £67. Compels the debtor to attend court and answer questions about their finances.
- N323 — Warrant of Control: £94. Instructs county court bailiffs to seize goods up to the value of the judgment.
- N337 — Attachment of Earnings Order: £135. Deductions taken straight from the debtor's wages by their employer.
- N379 — Third Party Debt Order: £135. Freezes money in the debtor's bank account or owed to them by a third party.
- N293A — Transfer up to High Court for Enforcement: £78. Used for judgments over £600 where High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEOs) will collect (a separate writ fee then applies at the High Court).
All of these are post-only at the central processing centres and do not accept card payment direct from HMCTS. Card payment online is available through JustClaim's enforcement filing.
Forms That Do Not Carry a Fee
Not every court form costs money. The following are free to file:
- N9, N9A, N9B — acknowledgement of service, admission, defence
- N150 / N180 / N181 — directions questionnaires (allocation)
- N149A — mediation referral
- EX160 — Help with Fees application (this is the form that removes the fee, not adds one)
MCOL vs JustClaim — When to Use Which
Both let you pay by card online. They cover different ground.
| MCOL | JustClaim | |
|---|---|---|
| N1 fixed money claim under £100k | Yes | Yes |
| N1 claim over £100k | No | Yes |
| Non-money claim (injunction, declaration, possession) | No | Yes |
| N244 application notice | No | Yes |
| N443 certificate of satisfaction | No | Yes |
| Enforcement (N316, N323, N293A) | No | Yes |
| Card payment online | Yes | Yes |
| Particulars of claim length | ~1,080 characters | Unlimited |
| Cost beyond the court fee | None | Service fee on top of court fee |
For a simple fixed-sum claim against a UK individual or company, MCOL is the cheapest route — the only cost is the court fee itself. For anything more complex, or anything that is not an N1, MCOL is not an option and the choice is between posting a cheque or paying by card through a provider.
Pay Your Court Fee by Card
Whether it is an N1, N244, N443 or enforcement application — file online and pay the court fee by card. We forward the fee and the documents to HMCTS for you.
Start My FilingHelp with Fees (EX160)
If paying the court fee would cause genuine financial hardship, you may not have to pay it at all. The Help with Fees scheme can reduce or waive the fee for any of the forms above. You apply on form EX160, either online at gov.uk/get-help-with-court-fees or on paper alongside the form you are filing.
You are likely to qualify if you receive Universal Credit, Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit or Legal Aid; if your gross monthly income is below the threshold for your household size; or if you have disposable capital below £3,000 (£16,000 if you are over 61). A partial reduction is available even when you do not qualify for a full waiver.
Help with Fees is not a card-payment alternative — it removes the need to pay altogether for those who qualify. If your application is refused, you pay the standard fee by whichever method the form accepts.
A Note on the Legacy System
HMCTS's online services are improving — MCOL has been around for two decades, the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) service is being rolled out, and CE-File now covers parts of the High Court. But for the vast majority of fee-bearing forms in the county court, the official payment options are still cheque, postal order, or card at a physical counter. There is no central HMCTS "pay your fee online" portal that covers everything.
That is why approved third-party services exist. Until HMCTS extends online card payment to the full set of forms, the only practical way to pay by card without posting a cheque or queueing at a court is to file through a provider that accepts the card and pays HMCTS on your behalf.
The Bottom Line
For a fixed money claim under £100,000, file via MCOL and pay by card — you have everything you need. For anything else — N244, N443, enforcement, larger claims — HMCTS itself still expects a cheque or postal order. Card payment in person works at most court counters; card payment online works through JustClaim. Pick whichever is least friction for the form you are filing.