Chapter four - lodging the application at court

Now that you have completed your forms you need to take them to the court for stamping and sealing.

What do I do next?

You will need to make sure that you have enough copies of the forms to serve on all the respondents, one copy for your own file and a set of documents for the court office file. You may be able to have copies made at the court, but it will probably be cheaper to make use of a photocopier at a stationers or library, etc.

How many copies of the forms do I need?

To decide how many copies of the forms you need, use the following calculation:

1 Respondent = 3 sets of Form C1 and 3 sets of Form C2 and (if applicable) 3 sets of C1A
2 Respondents = 4 sets of Form C1 and 4 sets of Form C2 and (if applicable) 4 sets of C1A and so on.

Do I have to pay a court fee?

You may also need to pay a fee for making your application (if you are not exempt from payment). Certain people do not need to pay court fees – for example if you or your partner receives Income Support, or if your family receives above a certain amount of Working Family or Disabled Person’s Tax Credits. Even if you need to pay a fee you might find that you are eligible for a reduction in the amount payable. Form EX160 is used to apply for an exemption or reduction in court fees. This form and Leaflet EX160A which deals with eligibility for reduced/exemption from fees is available from your local court office or can be downloaded from the Court Service website www.courtservice.gov.uk/using_courts/fees/index.htm.

At the time of writing the full fee for making a residence application is £80. One fee covers lodging both Form C1 and C2 as long as the forms relate to the same residence application. It is proposed to increase the fee for lodging an application to £90 sometime in 2003, so do check the current fee with your local court office.

Cheques for court fees should be made payable to “Her Majesty’s Paymaster General”

What will the Court Office do now?

Once you have lodged the application and case has entered the court system, the court office will take the following actions:

1) Assign a case number to your application.
2) Retain one copy of your application forms.
3) Once the judge/magistrates have considered your ‘application for leave to apply’ and decided to grant you permission to proceed, the court office will send you back the following sets of papers:

• Copies of Forms C1 and C2 and (if applicable) C1A stamped by the Court (for service on respondents)
• Notice of Proceedings forms (C6) for the Respondent(s) listed in Box 4 of Form C1 and Box 3 of Form C2.
• An acknowledgement of receipt of application (Form C7) for all Respondents
• Notice of Proceedings forms (C6A) for people named in Box 5 of Form C1 (“others to whom notice is to be given”)
• Statement of Service (Form C9)
• A leaflet called “Serving Forms”

Next - Serving the papers