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Judicial Review Time Limit Calculator

Led by Diellza Nika Hyseni and Mentor Nika · Updated 23 October 2026

Work out the last day to file a judicial review claim form in the Administrative Court: 3 months, six weeks for planning or 30 days for procurement, with the pre-action reply, the acknowledgment of service and permission dates, the N461 fees and the Aarhus Convention costs caps. From DMD Costs, law costs draftsmen in Westhoughton, Bolton.

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CPR 54.5 and the 2026 Guide
Planning and procurement
Aarhus costs caps
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The rules are CPR 54.5 to 54.14 and 46.24 to 46.28, CPR 2.8 and 6.14, Practice Direction 54A, the Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review, section 106 of the Procurement Act 2023 and regulation 92 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, checked on justice.gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk on 23 October 2026, with the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026 for practice and the court fees from 13 July 2026. It covers claims for judicial review in the Administrative Court, including the Planning Court. It does not cover judicial review in the Upper Tribunal, statutory reviews and appeals, or time limits set by other statutes or CPR 54.5(7). Court office closures are checked from 2013 to the end of the bank holiday lists; where a date turns on a later bank holiday, it says it cannot tell. It is a guide, not legal advice: it does not say whether to bring a claim, and it never predicts whether the court will extend time.

Key points

DMD Costs’ judicial review time limit calculator is a free online tool that works out the last day to file a judicial review claim form in the Administrative Court (England and Wales), the dates that follow it, the court fees and, for an environmental claim, the Aarhus Convention costs limits.
A judicial review claim form must be filed promptly and in any event not later than 3 months after the grounds to make the claim first arose (CPR 54.5(1)). A claim filed within the 3 months can still be out of time if it was not filed promptly.
For a decision of the Secretary of State or a local planning authority under the planning Acts, the limit is six weeks (CPR 54.5(5)); for a procurement decision, 30 days beginning with the day the claimant first knew, or ought to have known, of the grounds (CPR 54.5(6) and (6A); Procurement Act 2023 s.106).
The parties cannot extend these time limits by agreement (CPR 54.5(2)), and following the Pre-Action Protocol does not extend them. Only the court can extend time, on an application in the claim form.
For most claims time runs from the date of the decision, not the date the claimant learned of it (Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, para 6.4.2.2). The exceptions include procurement (from when the claimant knew or ought to have known), an Upper Tribunal refusal (from the date notice was sent) and an Inquiries Act decision (from when the applicant became aware).
The defendant files an acknowledgment of service not more than 21 days after the claim form is deemed served (CPR 54.8). A refusal of permission on the papers can be renewed within 7 days (CPR 54.12(4)).
The court fee on the N461 claim form is £179 (fee 1.9(a)); continuing after permission is £897 (fee 1.9(c)).
In an Aarhus Convention claim, a claimant’s costs liability is limited to £5,000 (claiming only as an individual) or £10,000 (anyone else), and a defendant’s to £35,000 (CPR 46.26), unless varied by the court (CPR 46.27), and only where the claim form says it is an Aarhus Convention claim and the financial schedule is filed (CPR 46.25). These rules were CPR 45.41 to 45.45 before 1 October 2023.

How to use the judicial review time limit calculator

Choose what the claim challenges. Most decisions, a planning decision, or a procurement decision: each has its own time limit.
Enter the date time runs from. The date of the decision, or for procurement the date the claimant first knew, or ought to have known, of the grounds.
Add the letter before claim. The date it was sent, to see when the reply is normally due and whether it leaves time before the limit.
Add later dates as they happen. Issue, service, the acknowledgment of service and the permission decision, for the dates each one fixes.
Say whether it is an Aarhus Convention claim. For the costs limits on each side, and how they can be varied or challenged.
Copy it for the file. Copy the dates, the fees and the notes for the file or the diary.

Judicial review time limits

The claim form must be filed promptly and in any event not later than 3 months after the grounds to make the claim first arose (CPR 54.5(1)). The time limits in rule 54.5 cannot be extended by agreement between the parties (CPR 54.5(2)), and the rule does not apply where another enactment sets a shorter time limit, such as section 38 of the Inquiries Act 2005 (CPR 54.5(3)). The requirement to file promptly and within 3 months does not apply to the planning, procurement and public transport contract cases in paragraphs (5), (6), (6A) and (7), which have their own limits (CPR 54.5(4)). Judicial review of an Upper Tribunal refusal of permission to appeal has its own 16-day limit (CPR 54.7A(2)).

Decision challenged	Time limit	Time runs from	Rule
Most claims for judicial review	Promptly, and in any event not later than 3 months	The date the grounds first arose (the decision, not when the claimant heard of it)	CPR 54.5(1)
A decision of the Secretary of State or a local planning authority under the planning Acts (the four 1990 planning Acts)	Not later than six weeks	The date of the decision, such as the grant of planning permission	CPR 54.5(5) and (A1); TCPA 1990 s.336
A development consent order, or a refusal of one, under the Planning Act 2008	Before the end of 6 weeks (cannot be extended)	The day after the order, or if later the statement of reasons, is published	Planning Act 2008 s.118; CPR 54.5(3)
A decision under the Procurement Act 2023	30 days, beginning with the day of knowledge	The day the claimant first knew, or ought to have known, about the circumstances giving rise to the claim	CPR 54.5(6A); Procurement Act 2023 s.106(2)
A decision under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (procurements begun before 24 February 2025)	30 days, beginning with the date of knowledge	The date the claimant first knew, or ought to have known, that grounds had arisen	CPR 54.5(6); PCR 2015 reg 92(2)
A competent authority’s decision to enter into a public services contract or make a general rule under the Public Service Obligations in Transport Regulations 2023	One month, beginning with the latest of the relevant dates	Usually the publication date of the contract or rule; later where reasons or pre-action information were requested	CPR 54.5(7); SI 2023/1369 reg 24(1)
A decision of the Upper Tribunal refusing permission to appeal (only on the narrow grounds in CPR 54.7A(1))	No later than 16 days	The date notice of the decision was sent	CPR 54.7A(2)
A decision of a Minister in relation to an inquiry, or of an inquiry panel member (not a decision on the contents of the report, or one the applicant could not have known of until the report was published)	14 days, unless the court extends it	The day the applicant became aware of the decision	Inquiries Act 2005 s.38; CPR 54.5(3)

Promptly, and in any event within 3 months

The primary requirement is to start the claim promptly. Even a claim filed within 3 months of the conduct challenged may be out of time if the claimant did not act promptly (Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, para 6.4.1). Where the claim challenges a decision, time runs from the date the decision was made, not the date the claimant was told of it (para 6.4.2.2). For a continuing decision or failure to act, the calculator counts from the date it began, the cautious course; the claim form gives that date and can say it is continuing (para 6.4.1).

Judicial review time limit in planning cases

Where the claim relates to a decision made by the Secretary of State or a local planning authority under the planning Acts, the claim form must be filed not later than six weeks after the grounds to make the claim first arose (CPR 54.5(5)). The six weeks start from the date of the decision, for example the grant of planning permission, not the date the claimant came to know of it, and the separate requirement of promptness does not apply (CPR 54.5(4); Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, para 6.4.3.1). “The planning Acts” are the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the three other 1990 planning Acts (TCPA 1990 s.336, applied by CPR 54.5(A1)). They do not include the Planning Act 2008: a judicial review of a development consent order must be filed before the end of 6 weeks beginning with the day after the order, or if later the statement of reasons, is published (Planning Act 2008 s.118), and the court cannot extend that. Statutory reviews and appeals in planning cases, such as a challenge under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, are not judicial review: they have their own short time limits, which in some cases cannot be extended.

Procurement decisions: 30 days

Where the claim relates to a decision to which the Procurement Act 2023 applies, the claim form must be filed within the time a supplier would have under section 106(1) and (2) of the Act: 30 days beginning with the day the claimant first knew, or ought to have known, about the circumstances giving rise to the claim (CPR 54.5(6A)). The day of knowledge is the first of the 30. A claim to set aside an unpublished contract or a modification must also start within six months beginning with the day the contract was entered into or modified (s.106(1)). The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 were revoked from 24 February 2025 but still apply, under the transitional provisions in SI 2024/716, to procurements begun before then, with the same 30 days under regulation 92(2) (CPR 54.5(6)). CPR 54.5(6A) does not import the Act’s own power to extend time and its 3-month long stop (s.106(3) and (4)), so the court’s general power to extend time applies (Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, note 84). Most procurement challenges are Part 7 claims in the Technology and Construction Court rather than judicial review (Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, para 6.4.3.3).

Public transport contracts: one month

Where the claim is about a competent authority’s failure to comply with the Public Service Obligations in Transport Regulations 2023 in deciding to enter into a public services contract or make a general rule, the claim form must be filed within the period in regulation 24(1): one month beginning with the latest of the date reasons were forwarded, the date of a notice under regulation 24(3) or, in any other case, the publication date for the contract or rule (CPR 54.5(7)). The court may extend it (reg 24(2)). The calculator does not work out this period.

Counting the time

Three months after a date ends on the corresponding date three months later, or on the last day of that month where there is no corresponding date (Dodds v Walker [1981] 1 WLR 1027, HL): a decision on 10 September gives a last day of 10 December, and one on 30 November a last day of 28 or 29 February. Six weeks after a date is 42 days, the day of the decision not counted. The 30 days for procurement begin with the day of knowledge. Filing the claim form is an act at the court office, so where the period ends on a day the Administrative Court Office is closed (a weekend, a bank holiday, Good Friday, Christmas Day or the further Christmas closure day), filing on the next day it is open is in time (CPR 2.8(5)); the calculator shows both days, and it is safer not to rely on that. It checks closures from 2013 to the end of its bank holiday lists; for a later date that may be a bank holiday it says it cannot tell. Claims are filed mainly by CE-File. The Administrative Court Office is open from 10am to 4.30pm (4pm outside London), and a document filed by email after 4pm is treated as filed on the next day the office is open (Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, paras 1.8 and 7.7).

The letter before claim

Before issuing, the claimant sends a letter before claim in the form at Annex A to the Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review, in good time for the reply to be taken into account before the time limit expires, and should not normally issue until the proposed reply date has passed unless the circumstances require (para 18). Defendants should normally respond within 14 days, in the format at Annex B (para 20); if they cannot, they send an interim reply proposing a reasonable extension (para 21). None of this affects the time limits in CPR 54.5 (para 1). Where the claim has to be issued to protect the time limit while the parties explore settlement, they can apply jointly for a stay (para 9).

After the claim form: the timetable

Step	Time	Rule
Letter before claim: the defendant’s reply	Normally within 14 days (the letter proposes the date)	Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review, para 20 and Annex A
Serve the claim form on the defendant and interested parties	Within 7 days after the date of issue (the step taken, not deemed service)	CPR 54.7
Acknowledgment of service (N462)	Not more than 21 days after service of the claim form; served within 7 days after filing	CPR 54.8(2)
Claimant’s reply to the acknowledgment (optional, 5 pages)	Not more than 7 days after service of the acknowledgment	CPR 54.8A; PD 54A para 7.1
Renewal: ask for permission to be reconsidered at a hearing	Within 7 days after service of the reasons for refusal (not if totally without merit)	CPR 54.12(4) and (7)
Fee to continue after permission	Within 7 days of service on the claimant of the order giving permission	Fees Order Sch 1, fee 1.9(c) or 1.9(ba)
Defendant’s detailed grounds and evidence	Within 35 days after service of the order giving permission	CPR 54.14(1)

The claim form is deemed served on the second business day after the step taken to serve it (CPR 6.14), and the 21 days for the acknowledgment of service run from that deemed date (Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, para 8.2.1). The 7 days for serving the claim form, by contrast, are met by the step itself, not by deemed service (para 7.8.1). Where permission is refused on the papers, the court sends a renewal notice (Form 86b) with the order; there is no right to a renewal hearing where the judge records the application as totally without merit (CPR 54.12(7)).

The N461 claim form and the court fees

The claim is made on Form N461, with the statement of facts and grounds (40 pages at most) and the documents PD 54A para 4 lists, in a paginated and indexed bundle (PD 54A). The defendant’s acknowledgment of service is Form N462; an application for urgent consideration is Form N463. The High Court fees are:

Step	Fee	When
Filing the claim form (N461): applying for permission to apply for judicial review (fee 1.9(a))	£179	On filing the claim form.
Asking for the permission decision to be reconsidered at a hearing (renewal) (fee 1.9(b))	£449	With the request for reconsideration.
Permission granted: continuing the claim (fee 1.9(c))	£897	Within 7 days of service on the claimant of the order giving permission.
Permission granted at a renewal hearing, where fee 1.9(b) was paid (in place of fee 1.9(c)) (fee 1.9(ba))	£447	Within 7 days of service on the claimant of the order giving permission.

Fees from 13 July 2026 (Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Schedule 1). The Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026’s Annex 2 still shows the fees before 13 July 2026; the Fees Order governs. The civil court fees calculator lists every other civil fee.

Aarhus Convention costs caps

In an Aarhus Convention claim, a judicial or statutory review by members of the public of a decision, act or omission of a body exercising public functions within Article 9(1), 9(2) or 9(3) of the Convention, the costs a party can be ordered to pay are limited (CPR 46.24 to 46.28). A claimant’s limit is £5,000 where claiming only as an individual and £10,000 in all other cases; a defendant’s is £35,000 (CPR 46.26(2) and (3)). With several claimants or defendants, each has its own limit (CPR 46.26(4)).

The limits apply only where the claimant states in the claim form that the claim is an Aarhus Convention claim and files and serves with it a schedule of its financial resources, verified by a statement of truth (CPR 46.25(1)). The court can vary or remove a limit only on an application, by the claimant in the claim form or by the defendant in the acknowledgment of service, and only if the proceedings would not then be prohibitively expensive for the claimant (CPR 46.27). A defendant who denies that the claim is an Aarhus Convention claim says so in the acknowledgment of service, and the court decides it at the earliest opportunity (CPR 46.28). The limits do not change whether costs are ordered or how they are assessed: they cap the amount payable afterwards (Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, para 25.15.1, citing R (CPRE Kent) v SSCLG [2019] EWCA Civ 1230).

These rules moved on 1 October 2023 from CPR 45.41 to 45.45 (Part 45, Section VII) to CPR 46.24 to 46.28 (Part 46, Section IX) (SI 2023/572 rr.15 and 16). Many guides, and the footnotes of the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, still cite the old numbers.

Extending time

Only the court can extend the time for filing the claim form. The application goes in section 9 of the claim form or a document with it (PD 54A para 4.3), and the judge decides it with permission. The court considers all the circumstances, including whether there is an adequate explanation for the delay, the importance of the issues, the prospects of success, and whether an extension would cause substantial hardship or prejudice to the defendant or anyone else, or be detrimental to good administration (Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, paras 6.4.4.1 and 6.4.4.2). Where a statute itself bars a late claim, as for a statutory review under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or a judicial review of a development consent order under section 118 of the Planning Act 2008, time cannot be extended at all. The six weeks in CPR 54.5(5) can be extended by the court, but rarely. The calculator explains the test and never predicts it.

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Sources

CPR Part 54 (rules 54.5 to 54.14) and Practice Direction 54A (paras 4, 7, 8 and 10); CPR 2.8 and CPR 6.14
CPR Part 46, Section IX (rules 46.24 to 46.28), inserted by the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2023
Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review
Procurement Act 2023, section 106 and Public Contracts Regulations 2015, regulation 92 (as it stood on 23 February 2025)
Public Service Obligations in Transport Regulations 2023, regulation 24; Planning Act 2008, section 118; Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 336; Inquiries Act 2005, section 38
Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Schedule 1 (fee 1.9)
Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026 (judiciary.uk, August 2026), paras 1.8, 6.4, 7.7, 7.8, 8.2, 8.5, 9.4 and 25.15
R (Campaign to Protect Rural England (Kent Branch)) v SSCLG [2019] EWCA Civ 1230
GOV.UK: Form N461, Form N462, Form N463 and Administrative Court: bring a case to the court

Frequently asked questions

Yes. It is completely free, with no sign-up, no paywall and no limit. It runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to DMD Costs. It is a guide to the rules, not legal advice, and it does not say whether to bring a claim.

The claim form must be filed promptly and in any event not later than 3 months after the grounds to make the claim first arose (CPR 54.5(1)). The 3 months are the outer limit: a claim filed within them may still be refused for want of promptness. Shorter limits apply to planning decisions (six weeks) and procurement decisions (30 days), and some statutes set their own.

Where the claim relates to a decision made by the Secretary of State or a local planning authority under the planning Acts, the claim form must be filed not later than six weeks after the grounds to make the claim first arose (CPR 54.5(5)). The six weeks run from the date of the decision, such as the grant of planning permission, not from when the claimant learned of it, and the separate promptness requirement does not apply (CPR 54.5(4)). “The planning Acts” are the four 1990 planning Acts (TCPA 1990 s.336): a judicial review of a development consent order under the Planning Act 2008 must instead be filed within 6 weeks beginning with the day after the order, or the statement of reasons, is published (s.118), which the court cannot extend. Statutory challenges, such as under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, are not judicial review and have their own limits.

For a decision to which the Procurement Act 2023 applies, 30 days beginning with the day the claimant first knew, or ought to have known, about the circumstances giving rise to the claim (CPR 54.5(6A), applying s.106(1) and (2) of the Act). For a procurement begun before 24 February 2025 and still governed by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the period is the same under reg 92(2) (CPR 54.5(6)). Most procurement challenges are brought in the Technology and Construction Court rather than by judicial review.

No. The time limits in CPR 54.5 may not be extended by agreement between the parties (CPR 54.5(2)), nor can the time for the acknowledgment of service or the claimant’s reply (CPR 54.8(3) and 54.8A(3)). The court can extend time on an application made in the claim form, considering all the circumstances; a defendant’s earlier agreement not to take a time point can be relevant to that decision (Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, paras 6.4.2.1 and 6.4.4).

From the date the grounds to make the claim first arose. Where the claim challenges a decision, that is the date the decision was made, not the date the claimant was told of it (Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2026, para 6.4.2.2). For a procurement decision, the 30 days run from when the claimant first knew, or ought to have known, of the grounds.

No. The Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review does not affect the time limits in CPR 54.5 (para 1), and an interim reply asking for more time does not either (para 21). Defendants should normally reply within 14 days (para 20). If a claim has to be issued to protect the time limit while the parties explore settlement, they can apply jointly for a stay (para 9).

Not more than 21 days after service of the claim form (CPR 54.8(2)(a)), counted from the date of deemed service: for a claim form, the second business day after it was posted, emailed or handed over (CPR 6.14). The acknowledgment (Form N462) must be served on the claimant and the others named in the claim form within 7 days after filing. The parties cannot agree to extend the time.

In the High Court, £179 to apply for permission on Form N461 (fee 1.9(a)); £449 to ask for a refusal to be reconsidered at a hearing (fee 1.9(b)); and, within 7 days of service of the order giving permission, £897 to continue (fee 1.9(c)), or £447 where fee 1.9(b) was paid and permission was granted at the hearing (fee 1.9(ba)). These are the fees from 13 July 2026.

In an Aarhus Convention claim, a claimant may not be ordered to pay costs above £5,000 where claiming only as an individual, or £10,000 in all other cases, and a defendant not above £35,000 (CPR 46.26). The limits apply only if the claim form says it is an Aarhus Convention claim and a verified schedule of the claimant’s financial resources is filed and served with it (CPR 46.25). The court can vary or remove them on an application in the claim form or the acknowledgment of service (CPR 46.27). Before 1 October 2023 these rules were CPR 45.41 to 45.45.

No. It works out the dates and fees the rules fix and explains the Aarhus costs limits. It does not say whether there are grounds, whether a claim is an Aarhus Convention claim, or whether the court will extend time.

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