Most people who are owed money never intended to end up in a courtroom. They just want an unpaid invoice settled or a deposit returned. Money Claim Online exists for exactly that: a structured, entirely online way to bring a straightforward money claim through the County Court in England and Wales, without needing a solicitor to file it for you.

Step 1: Check Money Claim Online is the right route

MCOL handles claims for a fixed amount of money, up to £100,000, against a single defendant with a UK address, in England or Wales. It suits disputes with a clear number attached: an unpaid invoice, an unreturned deposit, a loan that was never repaid. It's not built for claims involving property disputes, personal injury, or where you're asking for something other than money. If your claim is more complex, or you can't trace a UK address for the defendant, the standard County Court claim process (form N1, filed by post) may fit better than MCOL. Before filing, the court also expects you to have already sent the defendant a formal Letter Before Claim — see our guide on writing one.

Step 2: Register for an account

You register for Money Claim Online through the UK government's service at gov.uk. You'll need an email address and your own contact details. There's no cost to register and no obligation to submit a claim once you've created an account, so it's worth doing this early while you're still gathering evidence.

Step 3: Calculate your claim amount and interest

Your claim total isn't just the money owed. You can usually add interest, either at a rate set out in a contract (if one exists) or at the statutory rate under Section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984, calculated from the date the debt became due to the date you file. Getting this calculation right matters: understating it means claiming less than you're owed, and overstating it can undermine your claim's credibility. This is one of the more mechanical parts of the process, and it's exactly the kind of structured calculation LawClaims automates for you.

Step 4: Write your particulars of claim

This is the written explanation of what happened and why the defendant owes you money. Court staff, and a judge if it comes to that, will read this to understand your case, so it needs to be factual, chronological, and specific: dates, amounts, what was agreed, and what went wrong. Vague or emotional language weakens a claim; a clear timeline backed by a paper trail strengthens one. Keep supporting evidence (invoices, contracts, messages, receipts) organised alongside it, even though MCOL itself only asks for a written statement at filing.

Step 5: Submit your claim and pay the court fee

Once your particulars of claim and interest calculation are ready, submit them through the MCOL portal and pay the court fee. The fee is set on a sliding scale based on how much you're claiming; current rates are published on gov.uk and change from time to time, so check the figure at the time you file rather than relying on an old quote. If your claim succeeds, the fee is normally added to the amount you're awarded and recoverable from the defendant.

Step 6: What happens after you submit

The defendant is served with your claim and has a set window, 14 days, or 28 if they file an acknowledgment of service, to respond. If they don't respond at all, you can apply for default judgment without a hearing. If they acknowledge the claim but dispute it, the case moves toward an allocation stage, where the court assigns a track based on value and complexity. Most MCOL claims land on the small claims track, which usually leads to a relatively informal hearing rather than a full trial.

A worked example

Say a client owes you £1,200 for completed freelance work, due 90 days ago under a contract with no stated interest rate. You'd claim the £1,200 principal, plus statutory interest accrued from the due date, plus the court fee for a claim of that size. Your particulars of claim would set out the agreement, the work delivered, the invoice date, the due date, and the chasing correspondence showing the debt was never disputed on the merits, only left unpaid.

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and court fees, time limits, and thresholds change over time. LawClaims is a document preparation tool, not a law firm, and no solicitor-client relationship is formed by using it or reading this page. For current fees and forms, check gov.uk directly. For anything beyond a straightforward claim, consider speaking to a solicitor or a free advice service such as Citizens Advice.

How to File a Money Claim Online (MCOL) in the UK