Civil Online Scotland: How to Submit a Simple Procedure Claim

Civil Online is the only way to file a Simple Procedure claim in Scotland unless the Sheriff grants you explicit permission to use paper forms. It's the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) web portal, and every qualifying Simple Procedure money claim up to £5,000 in the Sheriff Court goes through it.

Setting Up Your Account

You need to create an authenticated account on the Civil Online portal before you can start your claim. The registration asks for your name, email address, and contact details. Once verified, you can save draft claims and return to them — useful, because you'll want to prepare your statement of facts offline before typing it into the portal.

Walking Through the Form 3A Sections

Civil Online maps directly to the sections of Form 3A, the Simple Procedure claim form:

Section A — Parties. Your full legal name and address, plus the respondent's. For limited companies, you need the exact Companies House name and registered office address. Getting the respondent's legal identity wrong can make the whole claim unenforceable.

Section B — Jurisdiction. Which Sheriff Court district the claim belongs in. The general rule is the respondent's home or business address. Consumers suing a business can use their own local court.

Section C — Remedy. The exact amount you're claiming, any statutory or contractual interest, and the date interest runs from. If you're also asking for delivery of property or performance of an act, include an alternative money claim of £5,000 or under.

Section D — Background. Your chronological statement of facts: what happened, when, what the respondent did or failed to do, and how you calculated the amount. Keep it factual and specific — this isn't a place for argument, it's where you lay out the story.

Section E — Pre-filing ADR. A summary of what you did to try to resolve things before filing. Demand letter dates, responses received, any mediation or negotiation attempts.

Section F — Attachments. Upload contracts, invoices, demand letters, and any other evidence as PDF or JPEG files.

Paying the Court Fee

After completing all sections, Civil Online prompts you to pay. The fee is £23 for claims up to £300, or £127 for claims between £300.01 and £5,000. Payment goes through integrated card processing. If you're eligible for fee exemption (recipients of Income Support, Universal Credit, Pension Credit, and certain other benefits), upload the SCTS Fee Exemption Form at this stage.

If the Sheriff Clerk later rejects your claim for procedural errors or jurisdictional problems, the fee is refunded to your card automatically.

What Happens After You Submit

Clicking submit doesn't instantly register the claim. The Sheriff Clerk reviews your submission — checking competence, party details, jurisdiction, and fee payment. Once approved, the court assigns a Simple Procedure reference number and issues Form 3D, your timetable with the deadline for serving the respondent and the deadline for their response.

If something is wrong, the Clerk rejects the submission and your fee is returned. Common rejection reasons include incorrect respondent naming, a claim exceeding £5,000, or attempting to bring a type of action that doesn't qualify for Simple Procedure.

When You Can't Use Civil Online

Paper filing is technically possible, but only with the Sheriff's prior approval. You submit a paper Form 3A to the Sheriff Clerk alongside a written application explaining why you can't access the portal — reasons like lack of internet access, a disability that prevents digital form use, or severe digital exclusion. Sending paper forms without that application gets them returned without registration.

Our Scotland Simple Procedure guide includes a Form 3A draft preparation worksheet so you can structure every section offline before entering it into Civil Online, reducing portal errors and timeouts.

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