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Free N279 Notice of Discontinuance Builder

Led by Diellza Nika Hyseni and Mentor Nika · Updated 21 October 2026

Fill in the official HMCTS notice of discontinuance in minutes, with the alternatives that do not apply struck through, permission and consent checked against CPR Part 38, and the costs that follow set out rule by rule. 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 are discontinuing. The words that do not apply are struck through on the form for you, and the costs that follow are set out with the checks.

The claim
What is discontinued
Who is discontinuing?
All or part of the claim?
Against whom?

Dropping an appeal? Not with Form N279: ask the appeal court to dismiss it (PD 52A para 6.1; Tendring DC v AB [2024] EWCA Civ 1248).

Is it a personal injury claim?
Permission and consent

Where another party must consent, a copy of the consent must be attached to and served with the notice.

Service and signature
Who signs?

The builder applies CPR Parts 38, 44 and 47 and Practice Direction 44, as they stood on 21 October 2026, to the official form N279. It explains the costs that follow; it does not work them out. Check every box against your file before filing. It is a guide, not legal advice.

Key points

  • DMD Costs’ N279 builder is a free online tool that fills in the official HMCTS Form N279, the notice of discontinuance, and downloads it as a PDF ready to 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.
  • A claimant may discontinue all or part of a claim at any time, but needs the court’s permission where there is an interim injunction or an undertaking to the court, and the paying defendant’s written consent or permission after an interim payment (CPR 38.2). The notice must be on Form N279 unless the court permits otherwise (CPR 38.3(5)).
  • The notice is filed and served on every other party, and says it has been served; where there is more than one defendant it names those the claim is discontinued against, and any consent needed is attached (CPR 38.3).
  • Unless the court orders otherwise, the party discontinuing pays the other side’s costs incurred up to service of the notice (CPR 38.6(1)), under a costs order deemed made on the standard basis, or determined under Part 27 (small claims) or Part 45 (fixed costs) where those Parts would apply (CPR 44.9(1)). The rule does not apply on the small claims track (CPR 38.6(3)).
  • Detailed assessment proceedings for those costs must be commenced within 3 months after service of the notice (CPR 47.7). The builder explains the costs that follow; working them out is a job for a costs professional.

How to use the N279 builder

  1. Enter the claim. Enter the court, the claim number and the parties, with references.
  2. Say what is discontinued. Say whether the claimant is discontinuing its claim or the defendant its counterclaim, all or part of it, and against whom.
  3. Permission and consent. If the court gave permission, give the judge and the date of the order. If another party’s consent is needed, attach a copy.
  4. Service and signature. Tick that every other party has been served, choose who signs and date it; the builder strikes through the alternatives that do not apply.
  5. Read what follows. The panel sets out when discontinuance takes effect and the costs that follow, with the rule for each.
  6. Download. Download the filled N279, check it, sign it, file it and serve a copy on every other party.

The costs after discontinuance

Discontinuance carries a costs consequence without any order: unless the court orders otherwise, the party discontinuing is liable for the other side’s costs up to the date the notice was served (CPR 38.6(1)), and a costs order is deemed made on the standard basis, or the costs are determined under Part 27 (small claims) or Part 45 (fixed costs) where those Parts would otherwise apply (CPR 44.9(1)). The receiving party then has 3 months from service of the notice to commence detailed assessment proceedings (CPR 47.7): see every step in the free detailed assessment deadline calculator, and serve the notice of commencement with the N252 builder. In a personal injury claim, qualified one-way costs shifting limits what can be enforced against the claimant (CPR 44.14). A claimant who wants a different costs order, or a defendant who wants the notice set aside, applies on Form N244: fill it in with the free N244 builder.

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.
Not usually: a claimant may discontinue all or part of a claim at any time (CPR 38.2(1)). It needs the court’s permission to discontinue a claim in which the court has granted an interim injunction or a party has given an undertaking to the court. After an interim payment, it may discontinue that claim only with the written consent of the defendant who paid or the court’s permission, and where there is more than one claimant, every other claimant’s written consent or the court’s permission is needed (CPR 38.2(2)).
Where permission is not needed, discontinuance takes effect against each defendant on the date the notice is served on it, and the claim is brought to an end against that defendant on that date, subject to an application to set the notice aside; proceedings to deal with costs carry on (CPR 38.5).
Unless the court orders otherwise, the claimant is liable for the costs the defendant incurred on or before the date the notice was served on it (CPR 38.6(1)), and a costs order is deemed made on the standard basis; where Part 27 or Part 45 would otherwise apply, such as fixed recoverable costs, the costs are decided under those Parts (CPR 44.9(1)). Interest on the costs runs from the date the right to them arose (CPR 44.9(4)). If only part is discontinued, the liability is for the costs of that part, not assessed until the rest of the proceedings end unless the court orders otherwise (CPR 38.6(2)). The rule does not apply to claims allocated to the small claims track (CPR 38.6(3)).
3 months after the date of service of the notice of discontinuance or, if the defendant applies to set the notice aside and the application is dismissed, 3 months after the dismissal (CPR 47.7). Work out the whole timetable with the free detailed assessment deadline calculator.
Yes, where the claimant discontinued without needing permission: the defendant may apply to have the notice set aside, but not more than 28 days after it was served on the defendant (CPR 38.4).
For claims issued on or after 6 April 2023, qualified one-way costs shifting applies to the costs order deemed made on discontinuance (CPR 44.14(2)). Without the court’s permission, costs orders against the claimant can be enforced only up to the damages, costs and interest ordered or agreed in the claimant’s favour, and only after the proceedings have ended and the costs are assessed or agreed (CPR 44.14), unless an exception in CPR 44.15 or 44.16 applies, such as a finding of fundamental dishonesty. The court may decide an allegation of fundamental dishonesty even though the notice of discontinuance has not been set aside (PD 44 para 12.4(c)).
Yes, but the bar is high. The claimant must show a good reason to depart from the presumption that it pays: that it would or might have won is not enough, nor are practical, pragmatic or financial reasons; it usually needs a change of circumstances the claimant did not contribute to, generally brought about by the defendant’s unreasonable conduct (Brookes v HSBC Bank plc [2011] EWCA Civ 354). Ignoring pre-action letters was such conduct in Nelson’s Yard Management Co v Eziefula [2013] EWCA Civ 235. Apply on Form N244 with evidence.
CPR 38.6 does not apply to claims allocated to the small claims track (CPR 38.6(3)), so the only costs are those the small claims rules allow, such as for unreasonable behaviour (CPR 27.14). Discontinuing is not unreasonable in itself (Orton v Barclays Bank UK plc [2026] EWCA Civ 1025).
Yes. The receiving party may discontinue them under Part 38; if it does so before a detailed assessment hearing has been requested, the paying party may apply for an order about the costs of the detailed assessment proceedings, and after a hearing has been requested it needs the court’s permission. A bill of costs may be withdrawn by consent at any stage (PD 47 para 9.4).
No. Part 38 does not appear to apply to appeals (Tendring DC v AB [2024] EWCA Civ 1248). An appellant who does not wish to pursue an appeal asks the appeal court to dismiss it, usually on terms that it pays the costs, unless the respondent consents in writing to dismissal without costs (PD 52A paras 6.1 and 6.2).
No. Neither the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 nor HMCTS’s fees list EX50 sets a fee for filing a notice of discontinuance.
Yes, but you need the court’s permission if the claim was discontinued after the defendant filed a defence (or, in a Part 8 claim, an acknowledgment of service or written evidence) and the new claim arises out of the same or substantially the same facts (CPR 38.7(1)); ask for it in the new claim form (CPR 38.7(2)).

Discontinued, and the costs now in issue?

We work for claimant solicitor firms owed costs, for example on a discontinued counterclaim or under an earlier order: we draft the bill, the replies to Points of Dispute and the offers on costs, and negotiate the costs to settlement. The fee is fixed and agreed before any work begins.

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