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How do I take a company to court for an unpaid invoice?

The short answer

Online. Start a claim on GOV.UK3 once your letter before action is ignored, for a court fee of £35 to £455 on a claim up to £10,0005. If the company then says nothing, you ask for judgment online and the court must enter it7. The judgment is an order to pay, not the money itself.

Mara, WolfX research desk
Written with AI, checked by a person · 8 October 2026

England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.

The numbers

The numbers that matter.

£35–£455Court fee to start a claim for up to £10,000, set by the total you claim.5

28 daysOn the online service the company must reply by 4pm, 28 days after the claim is issued.7

£346Extra fee if a claim over £3,000 goes to a hearing.5

£10,000The small claims limit, where most costs can't be recovered.11

What you can add

A £4,800 invoice, claimed on 31 October 2026

Say a £4,800 invoice to another business fell due on 31 August 2026. It went late on 1 September, so the rate is the one for the second half of 2026: 11.75% a year. Your letter before action went out on 16 October with 14 days to pay, and nothing came back. On 31 October, 61 days late, you start the claim online for the invoice, the interest to that day and the fixed sum, and you pay the court fee.

The invoice£4,800.00
Interest: £4,800 × 11.75% ÷ 365 × 61 days4£94.26
Fixed sum (invoices from £1,000 to £9,999.99)4£70.00
Court fee (claims from £3,000.01 to £5,000)5£205.00
Claim plus fee on 31 October 2026£5,169.26

You pay the £205 fee when you submit the claim, and the judgment includes it7. The fee is based on the claim plus interest: £4,964.26 here, £35.74 under £5,000, where it jumps from £205 to £4555. Then interest grows by £1.55 a day, so the details below ask for it to continue. If the case is heard, the £346 hearing fee5 is yours to pay first. You can ask the court to add it to the judgment if you win.

The road ahead

Seven steps. £35 to £455 to start a claim up to £10,000.

Step 1: Check who you are suing, then send a letter before action
Search Companies House1 and copy the company's registered name, number and address, not the trading name on your invoice. Check its status and latest accounts for anything to collect.
The court expects the letter2: the details of the claim, how you worked out the sum, and 14 days to reply. Skip it and the court can cut your interest. The letter is on its own page.
Cost: FreeTime: 14 days
Step 2: Start the claim online
Claim online on GOV.UK3. It does not take a claim where you do not know the amount, or one against a government department. You need the company's name, address and email address, and a debit or credit card.
The fee is based on the amount you claim, plus interest5. Work out the interest to the day you issue, add the fixed sum, and use the details below to describe the claim.
Cost: £35 to £455 court feeTime: Same day
Step 3: Give them their time
On GOV.UK's Money Claims service, the company must reply by 4pm, 28 days after the claim is issued7, or by the end of any extra time you agree, up to 28 days. It can pay, admit the claim, defend it or say nothing.
On a paper claim form it has 14 days after service of the particulars of claim, or 28 days after service if it files an acknowledgment of service8.
Cost: FreeTime: 28 days online
Step 4: If they stay silent, ask for judgment
Online, once their time has run out, ask on the same website. The court must enter judgment7, with no fee for the request6, unless they have replied or paid first.
Unless you propose a repayment plan7, the judgment says pay in full at once.
Cost: No feeTime: 10 minutes
Step 5: If they defend, expect mediation
If the company defends the whole claim online and neither side has a lawyer, the court asks whether you want to go on. Answer within 33 days7 or the claim is stayed, which halts it.
On a claim of £10,000 or less, you will be told you must attend mediation9: a free phone call of up to an hour with a court mediator, under a pilot that runs to 6 April 202710.
Cost: FreeTime: Up to 1 hour
Step 6: If it is heard, pay the hearing fee on time
Pay the hearing fee, £123 to £346 on claims over £1,000, by the date in the court's order5 or the claim is struck out.
A claim up to £10,000 is a small claim. If you win, the court can order the company to repay your court fees, but not most other costs11.
Cost: £123 to £346 hearing feeTime: The court sets the date
Step 7: Collect the money
A judgment is an order to pay, not payment. Each move to collect costs a fee: £96 to send bailiffs, £139 for a third-party debt order on its bank, £69 for an order to attend court and give information5.
Which one fits depends on what the company owns.
Cost: £69 to £139 a stepTime: Depends on the company

A letter you can copy

Details of claim for the online form

Use it for the details of your claim on the online form, once your letter before action has gone unanswered.

New email

SubjectClaim for unpaid invoice

My company supplied to , company number , and has not been paid. On I issued invoice for . It was due on . The company has not paid it. On I sent the company a letter before action and gave it 14 days to pay. It has not paid or replied. I claim: The invoice: Interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 at a year, from to : The fixed sum for late payment under the same Act: Total claimed: Interest then continues at a day until judgment or payment. I also ask for the court fee.

Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.

The form asks you to confirm the facts are true. Put in only what your paperwork shows. Keep the invoice, your letter before action and proof of the day you sent it together. You will need them if the claim is defended. Add up the claim on the day you issue it, and use that day's figures for the interest and the total.

When not to bother

When it isn't worth it

The company is in liquidation or administration. Companies House shows it1. Tell whoever runs it what you are owed, not the court: claiming from a company in liquidation.
Your time is worth more than the debt. With interest and the £40 fixed sum, a £300 invoice costs £50 to start and £59 for a hearing5, back only if they pay. Ring them instead.
They dispute the invoice and your paperwork is thin. A defence means mediation and perhaps a hearing, where a judge goes on what each side can show. Settle the undisputed part first, or fill the gaps before you pay the fee.
It fell due more than six years ago. A claim on an ordinary contract must start within six years12.
The company has no address in England or Wales. The online claim needs one3 for you and for the company. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own process, which this page does not cover.

The Wolf's note

Court sounds like a fight. On this road it is a form, a fee and a calendar. Write each date down the day it happens, because every deadline on this page counts from one of them.

Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX

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