CCJ Set Aside: What Happens Next — Filing Your Defence After a Reopened Claim

The Judgment Goes, the Claim Stays

When a court grants a set-aside order, the default CCJ is vacated. Registry Trust removes the entry from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, and the credit reference agencies delete it from your file. That part is clean.

What catches people off guard is that the underlying claim does not end. Setting aside a default judgment is not the same as winning the case. The claimant's money claim remains live, and the proceedings revert to the stage just before the default was entered. You still owe the court a formal response.

Filing Your Defence

The set-aside order will include directions — typically requiring you to file a defence within 14 days of the order date. If you attached a draft defence (Form N9B) to your original N244 application, the judge may direct that it stands as your filed defence. If not, you need to prepare and file one within the deadline.

A defence must respond to each allegation in the particulars of claim. For each point, you either admit it, deny it, or say you cannot admit or deny it and require the claimant to prove it. Bare denials without explanation are not enough — the defence should set out why you dispute each element and what your version of events is.

If you have a claim of your own against the claimant — you paid for defective work, the deposit was not returned, the goods were not as described — you can file a counterclaim under CPR Part 20 at the same time. A counterclaim requires a separate issue fee based on the amount you are claiming.

Directions Questionnaire and Track Allocation

Once the defence is filed, the court sends both parties a directions questionnaire. For claims up to £10,000, that is Form N180 (small claims track). For larger claims, it is Form N181 (fast track or intermediate track).

The questionnaire asks about witnesses, documents, hearing preferences, and whether you want the hearing at a particular court. If you are an individual (not a company) and the claim is for a specified sum, the case automatically transfers to your local County Court hearing centre under the postcode allocation rules.

For defended small claims for specified money amounts under £10,000 issued on or after 22 May 2024, both parties are referred to mandatory mediation through the HMCTS Small Claims Mediation Service — a free one-hour telephone session. Unreasonable refusal to participate can attract a costs penalty, even on the small claims track where costs recovery is normally restricted.

The Conditional Set-Aside

Not every set-aside order is unconditional. A judge can attach conditions — one example is an order that the defendant pay the claimed amount (or part of it) into court within a set period. If the condition is not met by the deadline, the default judgment is automatically reinstated.

The written order will set out any condition and deadline. If you cannot meet a condition, seek advice urgently; do not assume the judgment will remain set aside.

What to Prepare For

The period between a successful set-aside and the substantive hearing is when the real work begins. You need to gather your evidence, organise it into a hearing bundle, and be ready to present your case at trial.

The Setting Aside a CCJ Guide covers the post-order sequence in detail: filing deadlines, defence structure, directions questionnaires, and how to prepare for the hearing that follows.

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