Fill in the official HMCTS appellant’s notice for a small claims appeal in minutes: the 21 days, the appeal court and the fee worked out by the rules, an extension of time applied for if the notice is late, and your own grounds numbered. From DMD Costs, law costs draftsmen in Westhoughton, Bolton.
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The official HMCTS form
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The builder applies PD 27A para 8, CPR Part 52 and Practice Directions 52A and 52B, 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 N164 (10.20), using the same rules as the appeal deadline and route checker. It fills in the form; it does not write grounds of appeal or say whether to 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’ N164 builder is a free online tool that fills in the official HMCTS Form N164, the appellant’s notice for small claims track appeals, and downloads it as a PDF ready to check, sign and file.
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 of appeal or say whether to appeal.
An appellant’s notice in a claim allocated to the small claims track must be filed and served in Form N164 (PD 27A para 8A; PD 52B para 4.1). A second appeal, to the Court of Appeal, uses Form N161.
The notice must be filed within 21 days after the date of the decision, unless the judge directs a different period at the hearing (CPR 52.12(2)). A late notice applies in section 7 Part B for an extension, with the reasons for the delay (PD 52B para 3.2); the parties cannot agree to extend the time (CPR 52.15).
Permission to appeal is needed (CPR 52.3(1)(a)). Where the claim was decided without a hearing, or in the appellant’s absence at their request, permission is asked of the appeal court (PD 27A para 8.2).
A District Judge’s small claims decision is appealed to a Circuit Judge in the County Court (Destination of Appeals Order 2016, art 5(3)).
The court fee, from 13 July 2026, is £151 for a small claims appeal in the County Court (fee 2.3(a)), or £302 for an appeal to the High Court (fee 2.2) (Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Sch 1).
Send a copy of the order being appealed with the notice and, where the court has already considered permission, Form N460 with its reasons: the form says the appeal cannot be processed until they are received.
How to use the N164 builder
Enter the claim. The County Court hearing centre, whether you were the claimant or the defendant, the claim number and the parties’ names.
Describe the order. Who made it, the judge’s name and the date, any period the judge set for appealing, and the part of the order you are appealing if not all of it.
Permission and the time. Say what happened on permission at the hearing and the day you will file: the builder works out whether the notice is within 21 days and, if late, asks for an extension in section 7.
Type your grounds. One ground per box, in your own words. The builder numbers them in section 5 and puts any that do not fit on a continuation sheet.
Applications and evidence. What you ask the appeal court to do, any stay or other order, and the evidence in section 8 with its statement of truth.
Download, sign and file. Tick the order and Form N460 you are sending, download the filled N164, sign it and file it with the fee; then serve a sealed copy on the respondent within 14 days of sealing.
When Form N164 is used
An appellant’s notice in small claims must be filed and served in Form N164 (PD 27A para 8A; PD 52B para 4.1). The appeal goes from a District Judge to a Circuit Judge in the County Court, and from a Circuit Judge or Recorder to the High Court (Destination of Appeals Order 2016, art 5). A second appeal goes to the Court of Appeal on Form N161: the free N161 builder fills it in.
The 21 days, and a late notice
File the notice within 21 days after the date of the decision, or within the period the judge set at the hearing (CPR 52.12(2)). If you are late, apply in the notice itself, in section 7 Part B, for an extension of time with the reasons for the delay, and set out in section 8 the steps taken since the decision (PD 52B para 3.2). The parties cannot agree to extend the time (CPR 52.15).
Permission to appeal
Permission is needed (CPR 52.3(1)(a)). If the judge refused it, or was not asked, tick “I ask for permission to appeal” in section 3 and the appeal court decides. Where the claim was dealt with without a hearing, or in your absence because you asked the court to decide it without you, the application must be made to the appeal court (PD 27A para 8.2).
The grounds for appeal
Section 5 asks, in numbered paragraphs, why the judge who made the order was wrong. The appeal court allows an appeal where the decision was wrong, or unjust because of a serious procedural or other irregularity (CPR 52.21(3)), and a party may not rely at the hearing on a matter not in its appeal notice without permission (CPR 52.21(5)). The builder numbers the grounds you type and continues any that do not fit on a continuation sheet; it never writes them.
The court fee and costs
From 13 July 2026: £151 for a small claims appeal in the County Court (fee 2.3(a)), or £302 for an appeal to the High Court (fee 2.2) (Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Sch 1; EX50). The small claims limits on recoverable costs apply to an appeal too, with the cost of an approved transcript reasonably incurred (CPR 27.14(2)).
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.
For an appeal in a claim allocated to the small claims track: PD 27A para 8A says the appellant’s notice must be filed and served in Form N164 (see also PD 52A para 4.2 and PD 52B para 4.1). Every other civil appeal, including a second appeal to the Court of Appeal in a small claim, uses Form N161.
21 days after the date of the decision, unless the judge directs a different period at the hearing (CPR 52.12(2)), counted from the decision, not the sealed order (McDonald v Rose [2019] EWCA Civ 4). The form asks whether the notice is lodged within 21 days; if the judge allowed longer and you are within it, section 7 Part B says no extension is needed. If you are late, apply for an extension in section 7 Part B with the reasons for the delay, and set out in section 8 the steps you have taken since the decision (PD 52B para 3.2).
Yes: permission is needed to appeal a decision of a judge in the County Court (CPR 52.3(1)(a)). Ask the judge at the hearing; if refused or not asked, tick “I ask for permission to appeal” in section 3 so the appeal court decides it (CPR 52.3(2)). If the claim was dealt with without a hearing, or in your absence because you asked the court to decide it without you, the application must be made to the appeal court (PD 27A para 8.2).
An appeal from a District Judge in the County Court goes to a Circuit Judge in the County Court; from a Circuit Judge or Recorder, to the High Court (Destination of Appeals Order 2016, art 5; PD 52A Table 1). The notice is filed at the appeal centre for the court that made the decision: for a District Judge’s decision, the County Court appeal centre in PD 52B Table A; for a Circuit Judge’s or Recorder’s, the High Court appeal centre for the circuit in Table B (PD 52B paras 2.1 and 2.2).
The court fee is £151 for an appeal in the County Court on the small claims track (fee 2.3(a)), from 13 July 2026 (Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Sch 1); Help with Fees may cover it. The small claims limits on recoverable costs apply to the appeal too, though the cost of an approved transcript reasonably incurred can be recovered (CPR 27.14(2)).
On a small claims appeal there is no duty to obtain a transcript or note of the judgment (PD 52B para 6.2), but the cost of an approved transcript reasonably incurred can be recovered on the appeal (CPR 27.14(2)(i)). Send a copy of the order being appealed, and Form N460 where the court has already considered permission.
No. You type each ground in your own words; the builder numbers them in section 5 and, if they do not fit the box, continues them on a continuation sheet. It never writes, changes or judges a ground, and it does not say whether to appeal.
When a 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.