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Free N162 Respondent’s Notice Builder

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

Fill in the official HMCTS respondent’s notice in minutes, to cross-appeal or to ask for the order to be upheld on other grounds: the 14 days, the date to serve, the appeal court and the fee worked out by the rules, and your own grounds numbered. From DMD Costs, law costs draftsmen in Westhoughton, Bolton.

  • Free, with no sign-up
  • No paywall, no watermark
  • The official HMCTS form
  • Nothing leaves your browser

Fill in the boxes below; the checks, the last day and the fee update as you type. You write the grounds and any arguments: the builder numbers the grounds. Nothing leaves your browser.

The appeal and the claim
In the case, you were the
You, the respondent
The decision under appeal
The decision was made by
What you ask, and permission
Do you have a civil legal aid certificate?
Does the appeal include issues under the Human Rights Act 1998?
The time for your notice
What started the 14 days?
Did the lower court, at the decision hearing, set the time for a respondent’s notice?
Grounds

One ground per box, in your own words. The builder numbers them; any that do not fit the box run onto the continuation sheet. It does not write or change them.

Skeleton argument, and the decision you ask for
Your skeleton argument is
Other applications
Other applications
Time estimate
Who will represent you at the hearing?
Documents and signing
The notice is signed by

The builder applies CPR 52.13, 52.3 and 52.15, Practice Directions 52B and 52C, and the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 as in force from 13 July 2026, as they stood on 23 October 2026, to the official form N162 (10.20), using the same rules as the appeal deadline and route checker. It fills in the form; it does not write grounds or arguments or say whether to cross-appeal. An order of the court governs over the general rule. Check every box before filing. It is a guide, not legal advice. Where a rule does not settle a point, the check says “our reading”.

Key points

  • DMD Costs’ N162 builder is a free online tool that fills in the official HMCTS Form N162, the respondent’s notice, and downloads it as a PDF ready to check, sign, file and serve.
  • It is completely free, with no sign-up or paywall, and runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent to DMD Costs. It fills in the form and works out the dates and fee the rules fix; it does not write grounds or arguments or say whether to cross-appeal.
  • A respondent must file a respondent’s notice to seek permission to appeal from the appeal court (a cross-appeal), or to ask it to uphold the decision for reasons different from or additional to those of the lower court (CPR 52.13(2)). Permission is requested in the notice (CPR 52.13(3)).
  • The notice is filed within 14 days after the respondent is served with the appellant’s notice (where permission was given below or is not needed), with notification that the appeal court has given permission, or that permission and the appeal will be heard together, unless the lower court directs another period (CPR 52.13(4) and (5)).
  • It must be served on the appellant and any other respondent as soon as practicable and not later than 7 days after it is filed (CPR 52.13(6)). In the Court of Appeal, the respondent’s skeleton argument follows within 14 days of filing (PD 52C para 9).
  • A late notice applies for an extension of time in the notice itself, explaining the delay (PD 52C para 12 in the Court of Appeal; HMCTS’s guidance N162A says the same for every appeal court); the parties cannot agree to extend it (CPR 52.15).
  • The court fee, from 13 July 2026, is the appeal fee where the respondent is appealing or asks for the order to be upheld on other grounds: £175 in the County Court (£151 on the small claims track), £302 in the High Court; in the Court of Appeal £602 to uphold on other grounds (fee 13.2), and on a cross-appeal £663 where permission or an extension of time is sought (fee 13.1(a)) or £1,504 where permission was granted below (fee 13.1(b)) (Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Sch 1).
  • There is no respondent’s notice in an appeal from an authorised court officer: Part 52 does not apply, and the court serves the appeal notice (CPR 52.1(2); CPR 47.23(2)). A party who also wants to challenge the officer’s decision files its own appeal notice (Form N161) within 21 days after the decision (CPR 47.23(1)).

How to use the N162 builder

  1. Enter the appeal and the claim. The appeal court and its reference from the sealed appellant’s notice, the court the claim was in, the claim number and title, and your role in the claim.
  2. Give your details. Your name, your legal representative’s if you have one, the address for documents, and any other respondents for the continuation sheet.
  3. Describe the decision. Who made it, the kind of decision, the judge and the date: the builder works out the appeal court and the fee with the appeal checker’s rules.
  4. Say what you ask and when. Whether you appeal the order or ask for it to be upheld on other grounds (or both), permission for your own appeal, what started the 14 days, and the day you will file.
  5. Type your grounds. One ground per box, in your own words. The builder numbers them in section 6 and puts any that do not fit on a continuation sheet.
  6. Download, sign, file and serve. Complete the skeleton, the decision you ask for, any applications and the documents, download the filled N162, sign it, file it and serve it within 7 days of filing.

When a respondent’s notice is needed

A respondent must file a respondent’s notice to seek permission to appeal from the appeal court, or to ask it to uphold the decision for reasons different from or additional to those given by the lower court (CPR 52.13(2)). Permission for the respondent’s own appeal is needed (CPR 52.3(1)) and is requested in the notice (CPR 52.13(3)). In the Court of Appeal, a respondent who wants the order varied files an appeal notice and needs permission (PD 52C para 8). There is no respondent’s notice in an appeal from an authorised court officer (CPR 47.23(2)).

The 14 days, and serving the notice

The notice is due 14 days after the date CPR 52.13(5) gives: service of the appellant’s notice where permission was given below or is not needed, or notification that the appeal court has given permission, or that permission and the appeal will be heard together, unless the lower court directs otherwise (CPR 52.13(4)). It is served within 7 days after filing (CPR 52.13(6)). A late notice applies in itself for an extension, explaining the delay (PD 52C para 12 in the Court of Appeal; N162A for every appeal court); the parties cannot agree to extend the time (CPR 52.15).

The skeleton argument

In the Court of Appeal, a respondent who files a respondent’s notice lodges and serves a skeleton argument within 14 days of filing it (PD 52C para 9). In the County Court and the High Court, skeleton arguments are filed only where the complexity of the issues justifies them or they would help the court (PD 52B para 8.3).

The court fee

From 13 July 2026, fees 2.2 and 2.3 are paid on a respondent’s notice where the respondent is appealing or asks for the order to be upheld for different or additional reasons: £175 in the County Court (£151 on the small claims track) and £302 in the High Court. In the Court of Appeal, fee 13.2 (£602) is paid on a notice asking for the order to be upheld on other grounds, and fee 13.1 on a cross-appeal (Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Sch 1; EX50).

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Yes. It is completely free, with no sign-up, no paywall and no limit. It fills in the official HMCTS form in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to DMD Costs.
When the respondent wants permission to appeal from the appeal court (to cross-appeal), or wants the appeal court to uphold the decision for reasons different from or additional to those given by the lower court (CPR 52.13(2)). A respondent who only wants the decision upheld for the judge’s own reasons need not file one, but may (CPR 52.13(1); N162A): the builder lets you, leaving sections 4, 5, 6 and 8 blank. In the Court of Appeal, a respondent who wants the order varied must file an appeal notice and obtain permission (PD 52C para 8).
14 days after the respondent is served with the appellant’s notice, where the lower court gave permission or none was needed; or with notification that the appeal court has given permission; or with notification that the permission application and the appeal will be heard together, unless the lower court directs another period (CPR 52.13(4) and (5)). While the appellant is still asking the appeal court for permission, the 14 days have not started.
Only with an extension of time from the appeal court, applied for in the notice itself with the delay explained (PD 52C para 12 in the Court of Appeal; elsewhere HMCTS’s guidance N162A says the same, and CPR 52.15(1) sends the application to the appeal court). The parties cannot agree to extend the time (CPR 52.15(2)). The builder offers standard words for the extension in section 9.
To appeal the order, yes: an appellant or respondent requires permission to appeal (CPR 52.3(1)), requested in the respondent’s notice (CPR 52.13(3)) unless the lower court granted it. To ask only for the order to be upheld on different or additional grounds, no: tick “I do not need permission” in Box B.
From 13 July 2026, where the respondent is appealing or asks for the order to be upheld for different or additional reasons: £175 in the County Court (£151 on the small claims track) and £302 in the High Court (fees 2.3 and 2.2). In the Court of Appeal: £602 to uphold the order on other grounds (fee 13.2), and for a cross-appeal £663 where permission or an extension is sought (fee 13.1(a)) or £1,504 where permission was granted below (fee 13.1(b)) (Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Sch 1).
As soon as practicable and in any event not later than 7 days after it is filed, on the appellant and any other respondent, unless the appeal court orders otherwise (CPR 52.13(6)). In the Court of Appeal, the parties serve documents themselves (PD 52C para 7.1), and the respondent lodges and serves a skeleton argument within 14 days of filing the notice (PD 52C para 9).
No. You type each ground in your own words; the builder numbers them in section 6 and continues any that do not fit on a continuation sheet. Section 7’s arguments, if set out in the notice, are yours too. It never writes or judges them, and it does not say whether to cross-appeal.

When the claim gets to costs, that is all we do

DMD Costs does not conduct appeals or advise on them. We work for claimant solicitor firms on the costs: we prepare the bill of costs, deal with the Points of Dispute and negotiate the costs to settlement. The fee is fixed and agreed before any work begins.

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