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Free Part 35 Questions to Expert Template and Part 18 Request Template

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

Set out your own written questions to an expert under CPR 35.6, or your own Request for further information under Part 18, in the layout the rules require, with every deadline worked out: the 28 days for questions, the date for the response, and when the court can deal with an application without notice. From DMD Costs, law costs draftsmen in Westhoughton, Bolton.

  • Free, with no sign-up
  • Word download
  • Deadlines with the rule
  • Nothing leaves your browser

Enter the claim, the dates and your own questions or requests. The dates and the checks on the right update as you type, and the document downloads as a Word file. The tool never writes or suggests a question.

What you are preparing
I am preparing
The claim
The questions are put by
The expert and the report
The questions go to
The court’s permission, or the other party’s agreement
Your questions

One question to a box. Put the paragraph number it is about in the small box, if you like. Lines starting “(a)”, “(b)” in a box become sub-paragraphs.

Sending and signing
Signed by
Questions sent direct to the expert must be copied to the other party or parties at the same time (PD 35 para 6.1).

The kit applies CPR Parts 2, 3, 6, 18, 22, 27 and 35, Practice Directions 6A, 18 and 35 and the pre-action protocols for personal injury, disease and illness, housing conditions and clinical disputes, as they stood on 23 October 2026. It sets out your own questions and requests and does not suggest any. Check every date against the rules and any order in your claim. It is a guide, not legal advice.

Key points

  • DMD Costs’ Part 35 questions and Part 18 request kit is a free online tool that sets out your own written questions to an expert, or your own Part 18 Request for further information, in the layout the rules require, works out the deadlines, and downloads the document as a Word 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 never writes, suggests or judges a question or a request.
  • Written questions about an expert’s report may be put once only, must be put within 28 days of service of the report, and must be for the purpose only of clarification of the report, unless the court gives permission or the other party agrees (CPR 35.6(2)). The expert’s answers are treated as part of the report (CPR 35.6(3)).
  • If an expert instructed by another party does not answer a question, the court may order that the party who instructed the expert may not rely on that expert’s evidence, or may not recover the expert’s fees and expenses from any other party, or both (CPR 35.6(4)). The party instructing the expert pays the fees for answering, without affecting who ultimately bears them (PD 35 para 6.2).
  • A Part 18 Request must be headed with the name of the court and the title and number of the claim, say that it is a Request made under Part 18, identify the first and second parties, state the date it is made, set out each request in a separate numbered paragraph, identify any document and paragraph it relates to, and state the date by which a response is expected (PD 18 para 1.6(1)). It may set the requests on the left half of each sheet, so the response can go on the right (para 1.6(2)).
  • The date for the response must allow a reasonable time (PD 18 para 1.1). If there is no response at all, the first party need not serve its application and the court may deal with it without a hearing, once at least 14 days have passed since the Request was served and the time stated in it has expired (PD 18 para 5.5).
  • On the small claims track, Part 18 does not apply, though the court may order further information of its own initiative, and Part 35 applies only in rules 35.1, 35.3, 35.7 and 35.8 (CPR 27.2(1)(e) and (f) and (3)). The kit then gives no CPR 35.6 or PD 18 dates and makes no Part 18 Request.
  • Before proceedings, only the Personal Injury Protocol fixes a time for written questions to an expert (28 days, para 7.9). The Disease and Illness Protocol (para 9.9) and the Housing Conditions Protocol (para 7.4(b)) allow questions but fix no time, and the Clinical Disputes Protocol has no provision on them.

How to use the kit

  1. Choose what you are preparing. Written questions to an expert under CPR 35.6, or a Request for further information or clarification under Part 18.
  2. Enter the claim. The court, the claim number and the parties, as on the claim form, and which side is asking. Before proceedings, tick that the pre-action protocols apply instead.
  3. Enter the dates. For Part 35, the expert, the date on the report and when it was served, or when and how it was sent. For Part 18, the date of the Request, how it is sent and the date for the response.
  4. Enter your own questions or requests. One to a box, with the paragraph each is about. The tool numbers and lays them out; it never writes or suggests one.
  5. Check the dates and the checks. The last day to put the questions, the day to send them by, the date for the response, and when the court can deal with an application without notice, each with its rule.
  6. Download the document. Download it as a Word document or plain text, check every line, sign it and send it, with a copy to the other parties where the rules require.

Part 35 questions to experts: the rules

A party may put written questions about an expert’s report, which must be proportionate, to an expert instructed by another party or to a single joint expert (CPR 35.6(1)). Unless the court gives permission or the other party agrees, the questions (CPR 35.6(2)):

  • may be put once only;
  • must be put within 28 days of service of the expert’s report; and
  • must be for the purpose only of clarification of the report.

The expert’s answers are treated as part of the report (CPR 35.6(3)). Where questions are sent direct to the expert, a copy must be sent to the other party or parties at the same time (PD 35 para 6.1). If an expert instructed by another party does not answer a question, the court may order that the party who instructed the expert may not rely on that expert’s evidence, or may not recover the expert’s fees and expenses from any other party, or both (CPR 35.6(4)). The kit never judges whether a question is for clarification: tick the box if some go further, and it tells you what that needs.

The 28 days, counted

The 28 days are clear days: the day the report is served is not counted, so the last day is the 28th day after it (CPR 2.8(2) and (3)), and weekends and bank holidays count, as the period is more than 5 days (CPR 2.8(4)). A report served on Tuesday 13 October 2026 gives a last day of Tuesday 10 November 2026. The day does not move for a weekend or bank holiday: CPR 2.8(5) extends time only for an act at the court office, and putting questions to an expert is not one (our reading).

“Service” of the report is its deemed date of service: a report sent by email on a business day before 4.30pm is served that day, and otherwise on the next business day; one posted first class is served on the second day after posting, if that is a business day, or the next business day (CPR 6.26). A single joint expert serves the report on the parties itself (Guidance for the Instruction of Experts in Civil Claims, 2014, para 46), not a party under Part 6, so applying CPR 6.26 to it is our reading. The rule does not say when a question counts as put, so the kit also gives the last day to send the questions so that they are deemed served by the 28th day (our reading). Where the court’s directions give a date for the questions, that date applies; most of the model directions say “by 4pm on [date]”. Count any other step with the free CPR deadline calculator, which has a Part 35 preset.

Who pays for Part 35 questions?

Who pays for the answers: the party or parties instructing the expert must pay any fees the expert charges for answering questions put under CPR 35.6. That does not affect any decision of the court as to the party who is ultimately to bear the expert’s fees (PD 35 para 6.2).

For a single joint expert, the relevant parties are jointly and severally liable for the expert’s fees and expenses unless the court directs otherwise (CPR 35.8(5)), and written questions should in general be put to a single joint expert before a request is made for the expert to attend court (Guidance for the Instruction of Experts in Civil Claims, 2014, para 47). Before proceedings, the pre-action protocols usually put the cost of an agreed expert’s replies on the party asking, as the next section explains. When the claim ends, a recoverable expert’s fee is claimed as a disbursement in the costs, and the court may limit the amount of a party’s expert’s fees and expenses that can be recovered from any other party (CPR 35.4(4)).

Before proceedings: questions under the pre-action protocols

Before proceedings, the pre-action protocols apply, not CPR 35.6 (our reading). Only the Personal Injury Protocol fixes a time for written questions to an expert. Choose the protocol in the kit, and it gives a date only where the protocol fixes one.

  • Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims: any party may send an agreed expert written questions on the report, via the first party’s solicitors; they must be put within 28 days of service of the report and must only be for the purpose of clarification of the report, and the expert should send the answers to each party at the same time (para 7.9). The costs of the expert replying will usually be borne by the party which asks the questions (para 7.10). This is section A of the protocol: a medical report on a whiplash injury follows para 7.12, which has no provision on written questions.
  • Pre-Action Protocol for Disease and Illness Claims: either party may send an agreed expert written questions on the report, relevant to the issues, via the first party’s solicitors, and the expert should send the answers separately and directly to each party (para 9.9). The protocol fixes no time, and does not limit the questions to clarification. The costs of the expert replying will usually be borne by the party which asks the questions (para 9.10).
  • Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England): where a single joint expert is instructed, the report should be sent to both the landlord and the tenant within 10 working days of the inspection, and either party can ask relevant questions of the expert, who should send the answers to both parties (para 7.4(b)). The protocol fixes no time for the questions.
  • Pre-Action Protocol for the Resolution of Clinical Disputes: it has no provision on written questions to experts, and an expert report obtained before proceedings may be used in proceedings only with the court’s express permission (para 4.4). No rule fixes a time for questions: agree one with the other side (our reading).

Part 18 requests: what the Request must contain

The court may at any time order a party to clarify any matter in dispute in the proceedings, or to give additional information about it (CPR 18.1(1)). Before applying, the party seeking it should serve a written Request, stating a date for the response that allows a reasonable time (PD 18 para 1.1). The Request should be concise and strictly confined to matters reasonably necessary and proportionate to prepare the party’s own case or understand the case it has to meet (para 1.2), and made, as far as possible, in a single comprehensive document, not piecemeal (para 1.3). It may be a letter if the Request and the reply are likely to be brief, and the letter should say that it contains a Request made under Part 18 and deal with nothing else (paras 1.4 and 1.5). Either way, the Request must (para 1.6(1)):

  • be headed with the name of the court and the title and number of the claim;
  • state in its heading that it is a Request made under Part 18, identify the first party and the second party, and state the date on which it is made;
  • set out each request in a separate numbered paragraph;
  • where it relates to a document, identify the document and, if relevant, the paragraph or words; and
  • state the date by which the first party expects a response.

A Request that is not a letter may be prepared so that the response can be given on the same document: the numbered paragraphs on the left half of each sheet, the response on the right, and an extra copy served for the second party to use (PD 18 para 1.6(2)). The kit offers that two-column layout or numbered paragraphs, with requests about the same paragraph grouped under it and any request with no paragraph under “Other requests”.

A Request should be served by email if reasonably practicable (PD 18 para 1.7), where the party to be served or its solicitor has indicated in writing that it will accept service by email and given the address (PD 6A para 4.1(1)). An email address on a statement of case or a response filed with the court is enough; one on a solicitor’s writing paper counts only where it says it may be used for service (para 4.1(2)). Where several addresses are given, sending to any 2 of them is enough (para 4.1(3)). First ask whether there are limits, such as the format or the size of attachments (para 4.2).

Responding to a Part 18 request

The response must be in writing, dated and signed by the second party or its legal representative (PD 18 para 2.1). Unless the Request is in the two-column format and the second party answers on it, the response must be headed with the name of the court and the title and number of the claim, identify itself as a response to the Request, repeat each paragraph of the Request with the response set out under it, and attach a copy of any document not already in the first party’s possession that forms part of the response (para 2.3(1)). A second or supplementary response must say so in its heading (para 2.3(2)).

When the second party serves its response on the first party, it must also serve a copy of the Request and of the response on every other party, and file a copy of each with the court (PD 18 para 2.4). Further information given about a statement of case, voluntarily or under an order under CPR 18.1, is itself part of the statement of case (CPR 2.3(1)), and a statement of case must be verified by a statement of truth (CPR 22.1(1)(a); PD 18 para 3). The free statement of truth wording tool gives the words.

A second party who objects to the Request, or cannot comply with it at all or in time, must tell the first party promptly and in any event within the time stated, giving reasons and, where relevant, a date by which it expects to comply; it need not apply to the court (PD 18 paras 4.1 and 4.2(1)). If it objects because complying would mean disproportionate expense, it should say so in its reply and explain briefly why (para 4.2(2)).

No response: applying for an order

Where the second party has made no response to the Request, the first party need not serve the application notice on it, and the court may deal with the application without a hearing, but only once at least 14 days have passed since the Request was served and the time stated in it for a response has expired (PD 18 para 5.5). Otherwise, the application notice must be served on the second party and on all other parties (PD 18 para 5.6). The kit gives the earliest day for the without-notice route: the 15th day after the Request was served, or the day after the date for the response if that is later (our reading of the clear-days count in CPR 2.8(3)).

Apply on Form N244. The application notice should set out or attach the text of the order sought, specifying the matters on which clarification or information is sought (PD 18 para 5.2); it or the evidence in support should describe any response (para 5.3(2)), and if no Request was made it should explain why (para 5.3(1)). An order made under Part 18 must be served on all parties (para 5.7). As a general rule, if an order does not mention costs, no party is entitled to costs relating to it (CPR 44.10(1); PD 18 para 5.8(2)). Fill in the application with the free N244 builder, which has a Part 18 preset. On our reading the court fee is £126 (fee 2.5(a)) for an application without notice and £321 (fee 2.4(a)) on notice: see them with every other fee in the free civil court fees calculator. Where the court makes an order, the party must file and serve its response within the time it specifies (CPR 18.1(3)).

The small claims track

On the small claims track Part 18 does not apply (CPR 27.2(1)(f)), so a Request under Part 18 cannot be made, and PD 18, with its route for an application without notice, does not apply either. The court may of its own initiative order a party to provide further information (CPR 27.2(3)): raise it with the court, in a letter or at the hearing (our reading). The kit therefore makes no Part 18 Request for a small claim and gives no PD 18 dates or fee.

On the small claims track Part 35 does not apply, except rules 35.1, 35.3, 35.7 and 35.8 (CPR 27.2(1)(e)), so CPR 35.6 gives no right to put written questions, PD 35 does not apply, and the tool gives no CPR 35.6 date. Written questions can still be put where the court’s directions allow them: enter the date they give (our reading). The questions document then leaves out the references to CPR 35.6. Rules 35.7 and 35.8 still apply on the small claims track (CPR 27.2(1)(e)): unless the court directs otherwise, the relevant parties are jointly and severally liable for a single joint expert’s fees and expenses (CPR 35.8(5)).

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Yes. It is completely free, with no sign-up, no paywall and no limit. It runs in your browser, the Word document is made there too, and nothing you type is sent to DMD Costs.
28 days from service of the expert’s report (CPR 35.6(2)(b)), unless the court gives permission or the other party agrees, or the court’s directions give a different date. The 28 days are clear days: the day of service is not counted (CPR 2.8(2) and (3)), so for a report served on Tuesday 13 October 2026 the last day is Tuesday 10 November 2026. The day does not move for a weekend or bank holiday, because CPR 2.8(5) extends time only for acts at the court office. The rule does not say when a question counts as put, so the tool also gives the last day to send the questions so that they are deemed served in time under CPR 6.26 (our reading).
The party or parties instructing the expert must pay any fees the expert charges for answering questions put under CPR 35.6, but that does not affect any decision of the court as to who ultimately bears the expert’s fees (PD 35 para 6.2). Before proceedings, the Personal Injury and the Disease and Illness pre-action protocols say the costs of an agreed expert replying to questions will usually be borne by the party which asks them (PI Protocol para 7.10; Disease and Illness Protocol para 9.10). For a single joint expert, the relevant parties are jointly and severally liable for the fees unless the court directs otherwise (CPR 35.8(5)).
Neither CPR 35 nor PD 35 sets a time. The model directions on justice.gov.uk set a date for the questions and a date for the answers, most of them “by 4pm on [date]”, so check the order in your claim. If an expert instructed by another party does not answer, the court may order that the party who instructed the expert may not rely on that expert’s evidence, or may not recover the expert’s fees and expenses from any other party, or both (CPR 35.6(4)). The Civil Justice Council’s guidance says experts have a duty to answer questions properly put (Guidance for the Instruction of Experts in Civil Claims, 2014, para 67).
Not without the court’s permission or the other party’s agreement. Written questions may be put once only, within 28 days of service of the report, and for the purpose only of clarification of the report, unless the court gives permission or the other party agrees (CPR 35.6(2)). They must also be proportionate (CPR 35.6(1)). An expert who thinks a question is not properly directed to clarification, or was asked out of time, should first discuss it with those instructing them and, if appropriate, those asking it (Guidance, para 69). The tool does not judge your questions.
Before proceedings, the pre-action protocols apply rather than CPR 35.6 (our reading), and only one fixes a time. Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims, any party may send an agreed expert written questions on the report, via the first party’s solicitors; they must be put within 28 days of service of the report and only for the purpose of clarification, and the expert should send the answers to each party at the same time (para 7.9). The Pre-Action Protocol for Disease and Illness Claims, which covers noise-induced hearing loss, has the same route for questions relevant to the issues but fixes no time (para 9.9). Under the Housing Conditions Claims (England) Protocol either party can ask relevant questions of a single joint expert, who should send the answers to both parties, with no time fixed (para 7.4(b)). The Clinical Disputes Protocol has no provision on written questions. Tick “Proceedings have not started yet”, choose the protocol, and the tool gives a date only where the protocol fixes one.
A Request may be made by letter if it and the reply are likely to be brief; otherwise it should be a separate document (PD 18 para 1.4). Either way it must be headed with the name of the court and the title and number of the claim, state in its heading that it is a Request made under Part 18, identify the first party and the second party, state the date on which it is made, set out each request in a separate numbered paragraph, identify any document and paragraph or words it relates to, and state the date by which a response is expected (para 1.6(1)). A separate document may set the numbered requests on the left half of each sheet so the response can go on the right, with an extra copy served for the second party (para 1.6(2)). Requests should be made, as far as possible, in one comprehensive document and not piecemeal (para 1.3).
PD 18 does not fix a number of days: the Request must state a date by which the response should be served, and the date must allow the second party a reasonable time to respond (PD 18 para 1.1). The court can deal with an application without notice only once at least 14 days have passed since the Request was served and the time stated in it has expired (para 5.5), so on our reading a shorter time does not bring that route forward.
A second party who objects, or cannot comply at all or in time, must say so promptly and within the time stated, with reasons (PD 18 para 4.1). If there is no response at all, the first party can apply for an order under CPR 18.1 on Form N244 without serving the application, and the court may deal with it without a hearing, once at least 14 days have passed since the Request was served and the time for the response has expired (para 5.5); otherwise the application is served on the second party and all other parties (para 5.6). The application notice should set out or attach the order sought (para 5.2) and describe any response (para 5.3(2)). On our reading the court fee is £126 (fee 2.5(a)) without notice and £321 (fee 2.4(a)) on notice; if an application without notice is refused and ordered to be made on notice, the balance of the fee is paid (EX50). Once the court has made an order under CPR 18.1, a failure to comply is dealt with by an application about the breach, such as for an order specifying the consequence of failure to comply (CPR 3.1(3)), not a further Part 18 application (our reading).
Yes. Further information given about a statement of case, voluntarily or under an order under CPR 18.1, is part of the statement of case (CPR 2.3(1)), which must be verified by a statement of truth (CPR 22.1(1)(a)); PD 18 para 3 says a response should be verified by one. It must also be in writing, dated and signed (para 2.1), and served with a copy of the Request on every other party and filed with the court (para 2.4).
PD 18 says a Request should be served by email if reasonably practicable (para 1.7), where the party to be served or its solicitor has indicated in writing that it will accept service by email and given the address (PD 6A para 4.1(1)). An email address on a statement of case or a response filed with the court is enough; one on a solicitor’s writing paper counts only where it says it may be used for service (para 4.1(2)); and where several addresses are given, sending to any 2 of them is enough (para 4.1(3)). Served by email on a business day before 4.30pm, the Request is deemed served that day, otherwise on the next business day (CPR 6.26).
No, as of right. Part 18 does not apply to small claims, so no Request under Part 18 can be made and PD 18, with its route for an application without notice, does not apply; the court may of its own initiative order a party to provide further information (CPR 27.2(1)(f) and (3)), so raise it with the court, in a letter or at the hearing (our reading). Part 35 applies only in rules 35.1, 35.3, 35.7 and 35.8 (CPR 27.2(1)(e)), so CPR 35.6 does not apply: written questions to an expert can be put where the court’s directions allow them (our reading). Tick the small claims box and the kit says so, gives no CPR 35.6 or PD 18 dates, and makes no Part 18 Request.
No. It sets out your own questions or requests, in your words, in the layout the rules require, and works out the dates. It never writes, suggests or judges a question or a request.

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