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Free N254 Template: Request a Default Costs Certificate

Led by Diellza Nika Hyseni and Mentor Nika · Updated 19 October 2026

No points of dispute in time? Fill in the official HMCTS request for a default costs certificate, with the first day you can file and the fixed costs and fee the certificate adds, checked against CPR 47.9. 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 what you have. The checks and the dates on the right update as you type, and the N254 downloads filled in, ready to check and file.

The claim
Printed at the foot of the form.
Whose costs are being assessed (the receiving party)
Leave blank to use the other party’s name.
Service of the notice of commencement

Email is good service only if the paying party, or its solicitor, has said in writing that it accepts service by email and given the address (PD 6A para 4.1).

Leave blank if there were none.
Points of dispute
Have any points of dispute been served?
Signing
Signed by
Or leave blank and sign the printed form.
Your PBA number, if you pay court fees by account.

The download strikes through what does not apply, as you would by hand: under the signature it reads “Claimant’s legal representative”.

The builder applies CPR Part 47, Practice Direction 47 and the court fees in force from 13 July 2026, as they stood on 19 October 2026, to the official form N254 (05.14). Check every box against your file before filing. It is a guide, not legal advice.

Key points

  • DMD Costs’ N254 builder is a free online tool that fills in the official HMCTS Form N254, the request for a default costs certificate, and downloads it as a PDF ready to 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.
  • A default costs certificate can be requested once the 21 days for points of dispute after service of the notice of commencement, or any agreed or ordered extension, have passed without any being served (CPR 47.9(4); PD 47 para 8.1); the court cannot issue one if points of dispute are served first, even late (CPR 47.9(5)).
  • The request costs £82.00 (fee 5.3), and the certificate is for the bill plus fixed costs of £80.00 and that fee (PD 47 para 10.7), with an order to pay (CPR 47.11(2)).
  • File it, signed, with copies of the notice of commencement and of the document giving the right to detailed assessment (PD 47 para 10.1).

How to use the N254 builder

  1. Enter the claim. Enter the court and its office address, the claim number, the parties with their references, and whose costs are being assessed.
  2. Enter when the notice was served. Enter the date and method of service of the notice of commencement, and the new date if the time for points of dispute was extended. The builder shows when that time ended and the first day you can file.
  3. Confirm no points of dispute have arrived. If any have been served, even late, the court cannot issue the certificate: request an assessment on Form N258 instead.
  4. Sign and download. Add the name to print as the signature, the date and your fee account number if you have one, then download the filled N254.
  5. File it. File it at the appropriate office with copies of the notice of commencement and the costs order, and the court fee.

When you can request a default costs certificate

Points of dispute must be served within 21 days after service of the notice of commencement (CPR 47.9(2)), a time the parties can extend or shorten by agreement, or the court by order (PD 47 para 8.1). Once that time has expired without any being served, the receiving party may file a request for a default costs certificate (CPR 47.9(4)). If any party serves points of dispute before the certificate is issued, even late, the court may not issue it (CPR 47.9(5)), so check nothing has arrived before filing. The builder counts the 21 days from the deemed date of service of the notice, or uses the extended date you enter; our detailed assessment deadline calculator sets out every other date.

The 21 days run only from valid service. Email counts only where the paying party, or its solicitor, has said in writing that it accepts service by email and given the address (PD 6A para 4.1). A certificate the receiving party was not entitled to, because it was requested too early or the notice was not properly served, must be set aside (CPR 47.12(1)).

What to file with it, and where

The request must be in Form N254, signed by the receiving party or its legal representative, and filed at the appropriate office with a copy of the document giving the right to detailed assessment (PD 47 para 10.1). The form itself certifies that the notice of commencement, the bill and that document were served, and that copies of the notice and the document are attached. The fee is £82.00 (fee 5.3). The appropriate office is the County Court hearing centre or District Registry dealing with the case when the costs order was made, or the Senior Courts Costs Office in other cases (PD 47 para 4.1); for the London County Court hearing centres in PD 47 para 4.2, default costs certificates are still issued locally.

The certificate

The certificate, in Form N255, includes an order to pay the costs to which it relates (CPR 47.11(2); PD 47 para 10.2), and the receiving party is treated as having permission to draw it up (PD 47 para 10.3). It adds fixed costs of £80.00 plus a sum equal to the court fee on the certificate, unless the court orders otherwise (PD 47 para 10.7), but no more than the notice of commencement showed for costs and court fee (PD 47 para 10.8).

Setting a certificate aside

The court must set a default costs certificate aside if the receiving party was not entitled to it, and may set it aside or vary it if there is some good reason why the assessment should continue (CPR 47.12). An application needs evidence, the court looks at whether it was made promptly, and as a general rule the applicant must file a copy of the bill, the certificate and the draft points of dispute it would serve (PD 47 para 11.2). The court can impose conditions and order a payment on account (PD 47 para 11.3). The application fee is £152.00 (fee 5.5).

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.
Once the period for serving points of dispute has expired, which is 21 days after service of the notice of commencement, and you have not been served with any (CPR 47.9(2) and (4)). For a notice emailed before 4.30pm on Tuesday 15 September 2026, the 21 days end on Tuesday 6 October 2026, so the request can be filed from Wednesday 7 October 2026. If the time was extended by agreement or by the court, wait until the extended time has passed (PD 47 para 8.1): a certificate obtained earlier is one the receiving party was not entitled to, and the court must set it aside (CPR 47.12(1)). The same goes if the notice was not validly served, for example by email without the paying party’s written agreement to accept service that way (PD 6A para 4.1).
If any party serves points of dispute before the certificate is issued, the court cannot issue it, even though they were late (CPR 47.9(5)). The late party may not be heard further in the assessment without the court’s permission (CPR 47.9(3)), and the receiving party goes on to request an assessment on Form N258.
The costs claimed in the bill, an order to pay them (CPR 47.11(2)), and fixed costs of £80.00 plus a sum equal to the court fee on the certificate, unless the court orders otherwise (PD 47 para 10.7; CPR 47.11(3)). The fixed costs cannot exceed the sum for costs and court fee given in the notice of commencement (PD 47 para 10.8), which is why the N252 shows it.
£82.00, from 13 July 2026 (Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, fee 5.3). An application to set a certificate aside costs £152.00 (fee 5.5).
The request, signed by the receiving party or its legal representative (PD 47 para 10.1(1)), with a copy of the document giving the right to detailed assessment, such as the costs order (PD 47 para 10.1(2)). The form also certifies that a copy of the notice of commencement is attached.
At the appropriate office: the County Court hearing centre or District Registry where the case was being dealt with when the costs order was made or the right to assessment arose, or to which it was transferred, and in other cases the Senior Courts Costs Office (PD 47 para 4.1). For the London County Court hearing centres listed in PD 47 para 4.2, requests for an assessment go to the Costs Office, but default costs certificates are still issued by the County Court hearing centre.
The court must set it aside if the receiving party was not entitled to it, and may set it aside or vary it if there is some good reason why the assessment should continue (CPR 47.12). The application needs evidence and should be made promptly, and as a general rule must come with a copy of the bill, the certificate and draft points of dispute (PD 47 para 11.2). The court can attach conditions, or order a payment on account (PD 47 para 11.3).
No. It must be signed by the receiving party or its legal representative (PD 47 para 10.1(1)), and a signature printed by computer satisfies that (CPR 5.3). The builder prints the name you enter, or you can leave it blank and sign the printed form.

Points of dispute instead?

We work for solicitor firms: we answer the points of dispute with replies, draft offers for your firm to make, and negotiate the costs to settlement. The fee is fixed and agreed before any work begins.

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