When does the period start for service of a claim form and what happens if it is not served in time?

We examine the recent Court of Appeal case of Bali v 1-2 Couriers Limited and another [2025] EWCA 1413, which clarifies when the service period for a claim form begins and the critical steps claimants must take to avoid their claims being struck out.

Understanding the issue date: When does the clock start for claim forms

In the recent Court of Appeal case of Bali v 1-2 Couriers Limited and another [2025] EWCA 1413, the Court held that the issue date of a claim form is the date on which it is sealed by the court. The appeal was against an order refusing the claimant an extension of time for service of the claim form and striking out her claim.

The deadline for service of a claim form on a Defendant in England and Wales is 4 months (or 6 months if the Defendant is out of the jurisdiction) from the date that the claim form is issued. In this case, the Court of Appeal had to consider whether the date that the claim form is issued is the date on which the claim form is sealed by the court or the date on which the court sends it back to the claimant or the claimant's solicitors.

This definition in relation to date of issue became important in this Court of Appeal case because by the date that the claimant's solicitors received the claim form from the Court, the 4 month deadline for service had already passed.

The Bali v 1-2 Couriers case: Background

The claim itself was received by the Court on 2nd December 2022, which was the last day of the limitation period to bring a claim (it was a personal injury claim with a 3 year limitation period) and so was brought within the limitation period. The claim form was submitted to the Court along with a Help with Fees Application.

There were requests for additional information to process the Help with Fees application and then there were other substantial delays thereafter. The Court sealed the claim form on 13th December 2023, but the Court did not send the claim form to the claimant's solicitors until 2nd April 2024, which they received on 15th April 2024.

If the claim form was issued on the date that it was sealed on 13th December 2023, then the 4 month period for service of the claim form expired on 13th April 2024, two days before the claimant's solicitors received the claim form from the Court.

The Claimant's solicitors made an application for relief from sanctions on 16th April 2024 and later sought to include an application for an extension of time for service until 22nd November 2024.

The Court of Appeal's decision: Sealed date is the issue date

The Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the judge's decision both on the date of issue of the claim form and on the application for relief from sanctions/extension of time.

It was held that the date of issue of the claim form was the date on which it was sealed and not the date that it was sent out by the court office. Rule 7.2(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules provides that "A claim form is issued on the date entered on the form by the court" and therefore the date stamped on the sealed claim form was conclusive evidence of the date of issue.

Taking reasonable steps: What claimants must do

The Court confirmed the rules relating to relief from sanctions do not apply if service of a claim form is late or otherwise invalid, and therefore the only available relief for late service is a retrospective extension of time. In order to satisfy CPR 7.6, a party is required to demonstrate that they have taken all reasonable steps to comply with CPR 7.5 but was unable to do so. The Court considered that the claimant had not taken all such reasonable steps given that there had been lengthy periods of delay in relation to the Help with Fees application, and that they had also been on notice that the payment had been processed and a claim number allocated and so a claim form was likely to have been issued. It was held that the claimant did not respond to the court in a timely manner, did not contact the court to find out if the claim had been issued, and did not make a precautionary application to extend the time for service before it expired, which it should have done.

The claimant should have been more proactive in chasing the Court for the sealed claim form. If it didn't hear from the Court and was aware that the 4 month deadline for service was due to expire (if the claim had been issued in December 2023 when they were aware that payment had been processed), they should have made an application to extend the period for service. So although the claimant could not serve the claim form until they received it, which was after the period had expired, the fact that there was no evidence that they had chased the court to find out if the claim had been sealed and to request a copy of the sealed claim, and that they had not made an application to extend the period before it had expired, meant that they had not taken all reasonable steps to comply with the Civil Procedure Rules. The Court also found that they could look at the entire background of the case and not just that concerning service of the claim form, and so also gave consideration to the fact that proceedings were brought on the very last day of the limitation period in addition to the lengthy delays between filing the claim and issuing the claim.

Key takeaways: Be proactive to avoid losing your claim

This case serves as a reminder that it is important to be proactive in progressing a case regardless of whether the delays are caused by you or the Court, and that leaving matters until close to deadlines, even if they are just within them, can be looked at by the Court when considering the overall background of a case when considering a later application.

We do have cases where it has not been possible to serve a claim form within the deadline due to issues surrounding service, particularly where a defendant is out of the jurisdiction. In those cases, applications for an extension of time for service are made before the period expires and are accompanied with evidence of the steps we have taken to serve the claim within the time period.

Next steps for your claim

If you have a potential claim which you are considering bringing against another party, then please do contact us as we will be happy to review the matter and advise you both on merits but also in relation to limitation periods to bring any such claim, and will keep you advised on relevant time periods and deadlines as the case progresses.