{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/act-of-sederunt-simple-procedure-2016/schedule-1/part-3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/act-of-sederunt-simple-procedure-2016/schedule-1/part-3.json",
  "legislation": "ssi/2016/200",
  "legislation_title": "Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure) 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/act-of-sederunt-simple-procedure-2016",
  "path": "schedule/1/part/3",
  "kind": "part",
  "number": "3: How to make a claim",
  "heading": null,
  "text": "3.1\nWhat is this Part about?\n(1)\nThis Part is about how the claimant makes a claim and what the court will do with that claim.\n3.2\nHow is a claim made?\n(1)\nThe process for making a claim is:\n(a)\nthe claimant completes a Claim Form (see rule 3.3),\n(b)\nthe claimant sends the Claim Form to the court (see rule 3.7),\n(c)\nthe sheriff clerk checks and registers the Claim Form (see rule 3.9),\n(d)\nthe sheriff clerk issues a timetable for the case (see rule 3.10), and\n(e)\nthe Claim Form is formally served on the respondent, either by the sheriff clerk, a solicitor or a sheriff officer (see Part 6).\n3.3\nHow do you complete a Claim Form?\n(1)\nThe claimant must set out the following information in the Claim Form:\n(a)\nthe identity of the claimant, including the claimant's address and whether the claimant is an individual, a company or another type of organisation,\n(b)\nthe identity of the respondent, including the respondent's address (where known) and whether the respondent is an individual, a company or another type of organisation,\n(c)\nthe essential factual background to the dispute,\n(d)\nwhat the claimant wants from the respondent if the claim is successful,\n(e)\nwhy the claim should succeed,\n(f)\nwhat steps the claimant has already taken (if any) to try to resolve the dispute with the respondent.\n(2)\n. . .\n(3)\n. . .\n3.4\n. . .\n3.5\n. . .\n3.6\nWhat if the respondent uses a trading name?\n(1)\nIf the respondent uses a trading name, a claim may be made against them using that trading name.\n3.7\nWhat do you do with a completed Claim Form?\n(1)\nThe completed Claim Form must be sent to the sheriff court by submitting it to the court using:\n(a)\nthe portal on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website (see rule 6.6(1)(c)), or\n(b)\nthe Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service’s internet interface to its case management system (see rule 6.6(2)).\n(1A)\nWhere the completed Claim Form cannot be sent in either of the ways mentioned in paragraph (1), it may be sent by one of the other ways mentioned in rule 6.6(1), but the claim will only be registered where:\n(a)\nthe Claim Form is accompanied with a note explaining why it could not have been sent in either of the ways mentioned in paragraph (1), and\n(b)\nthe sheriff considers, from the explanation in the note, that the claimant could not have sent it in either of those ways.\n(2)\nIf the Claim Form has been completed on paper and indicates that the claimant would like the sheriff clerk to formally serve the Claim Form then two copies must be sent to the court.\n3.8\nHow do you ask for provisional orders to be made?\n(1)\nProvisional orders are orders which protect or secure the claimant's position before the sheriff makes a final decision in a case.\n(2)\nThere are three types of provisional order:\n(a)\nan arrestment on the dependence under section 15A(1) of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (this is an order freezing the respondent's goods or money held by a third party),\n(b)\nan inhibition on the dependence under section 15A(1) of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (this is an order preventing the respondent from selling their home or other land, or taking out a secured loan), and\n(c)\nan interim attachment under section 9A(1) of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (this is an order preventing the respondent from selling or removing their goods).\n(3)\nPart 20 of these Rules is about how the claimant may apply for provisional orders.\n3.9\nWhat will the court do with the Claim Form?\n(1)\nThe sheriff clerk will check the Claim Form for problems which mean that it cannot be registered. Such problems might include:\n(a)\nthe Claim Form not being accompanied by the correct fee,\n(b)\nthe Claim Form being sent to the wrong sheriff court,\n(c)\nthe Claim Form asking for something that is not possible in simple procedure, such as making a claim for over £5,000,\n(d)\nthe Claim Form being incomplete.\n(2)\nIf there are no such problems, the sheriff clerk must register the claim.\n(3)\nThe sheriff clerk must ask for the approval of the sheriff before registering the claim if:\n(a)\nthe respondent's address is unknown,\n(aa)\nthe Claim Form has been sent by submitting it to the court using neither the portal on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website nor the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service’s internet interface to its case management system,\n(b)\nthe claimant is seeking provisional orders or interim orders, or\n(c)\nthe sheriff clerk thinks that the claim requires the attention of the sheriff for some other reason.\n3.10\nWhat happens next?\n(1)\nAfter registering a claim, the sheriff clerk must send the claimant a Timetable.\n(2)\nThe Timetable must set out the timetable for the case, including:\n(a)\nthe last date for service, and\n(b)\nthe last date for a response.\n3.11\nWhat is the last date for service?\n(1)\nThe last date for service is the date by which the Claim Form must be formally served on the respondent.\n(2)\nThis must normally be 3 weeks before the last date for a response.\n(3)\nIf the respondent does not live in an EU member state, the last date for service must normally be 6 weeks before the last date for a response.\n(4)\nIf the respondent is a business with no place of business in an EU member state, the last date for service must normally be 6 weeks before the last date for a response.\n3.12\nWhat is the last date for a response?\n(1)\nThe last date for a response is the date by which the respondent must respond to the claim (see rule 4.2).\n3.13\nHow can the timetable be changed?\n(1)\nThe sheriff may change the timetable at the request of the sheriff clerk or at the request of one of the parties.\n(2)\nThe claimant may request a change (if, for example, there has been a difficulty serving the Claim Form on the respondent) by sending the court an Additional Orders Application (see Part 9).\n(3)\nThe respondent may request a change (if, for example, the Claim Form was formally served on them late) by sending the court an Additional Orders Application (see Part 9).\n(4)\nIf the sheriff changes the timetable, the sheriff clerk must send a new Timetable to the claimant or to the parties.",
  "extent": "S",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Sch. 1 rule 3.3(2) omitted (31.5.2023) by virtue of Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/211), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(b) (with para. 3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Sch. 1 rule 3.3(3) omitted (31.5.2023) by virtue of Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/211), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(b) (with para. 3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Sch. 1 rule 3.4 omitted (31.5.2023) by virtue of Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/211), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(c) (with para. 3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Sch. 1 rule 3.5 omitted (31.5.2023) by virtue of Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/211), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(d) (with para. 3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Sch. 1 rules 3.7(1)(1A) substituted for sch. 1 rule 3.7(1) (31.3.2022) by Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Civil Online) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/81), paras. 1(2), 2(3)(a)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Sch. 1 rule 3.7(2) substituted (31.5.2023) by virtue of Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/211), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(e) (with para. 3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "Sch. 1 rule 3.9(3)(aa) inserted (31.3.2022) by Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Civil Online) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/81), paras. 1(2), 2(3)(b)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F8",
      "text": "Words in sch. 1 rule 3.12(1) substituted (30.7.2018) by Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2018 (S.S.I. 2018/191), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(b)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F9",
      "text": "Words in sch. 1 rule 3.13(2) substituted (31.5.2023) by virtue of Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/211), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(f) (with para. 3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F10",
      "text": "Words in sch. 1 rule 3.13(3) substituted (31.5.2023) by virtue of Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Amendment) (Miscellaneous) 2022 (S.S.I. 2022/211), paras. 1(2), 2(2)(f) (with para. 3)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2016/200/schedule/1/part/3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T21:23:36.581509+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}