How to Prepare an Evidence Bundle for Small Claims Court (CPR Part 27)

The evidence bundle is what the district judge reads to decide your case. A well-organised bundle makes your argument for you; a disorganised pile of loose papers makes the judge work harder and does your case no favours. The small claims track keeps things simpler than higher tracks, but you still need to get the basics right.

What goes in the bundle

For a small claims hearing under CPR Part 27, your bundle should include:

1. The claim form — your issued N1 or the OCMC claim printout, including the Particulars of Claim
2. The defence — the defendant's response to your claim
3. Directions or court orders — any orders the court has made about the case
4. Correspondence — the letter before action and any replies, key emails or messages between you and the defendant showing the dispute
5. Contracts or agreements — the written contract, terms and conditions, invoice, receipt or any document creating the obligation to pay
6. Financial evidence — invoices, bank statements showing non-payment, quotes for repair work, receipts for costs incurred
7. Photographs — pictures of damaged goods, unfinished work, the state of a property
8. Expert reports — only if the court granted permission under CPR 27.5 (rare on the small claims track)
9. Witness statements — CPR Part 27 does not automatically require formal witness statements in every case; the court may direct parties to file them. A clear written summary of your case (and statements from anyone else supporting your claim) helps the judge

How to organise the bundle

Pagination

Number every page in the bundle consecutively — page 1, page 2, page 3 and so on through the entire bundle. Use the bottom right corner. If you have 47 pages, the last page is numbered 47. This lets the judge refer to "page 23" and everyone knows exactly which document that is.

Index

Create an index page at the front of the bundle listing every document with its page numbers:

Chronological order within sections

Within each section (correspondence, financial documents, photographs), arrange documents in date order — earliest first. The judge reads the story of the dispute from start to finish.

Copies

Prepare three copies of the bundle: one for the judge, one for the defendant (or their representative) and one for yourself. If there are two defendants, make four copies. Bundles should be in A4 format, single-sided, held together with a clip or in a ring binder — not stapled, because the judge needs to flip between pages easily.

When to serve the bundle

The court's directions order sets the deadline for exchanging evidence. Paper small-claims directions commonly allow 14 days before the hearing; for an OCMC claim, the court is to consider directing each party to upload its documents no later than 21 days before the hearing. Follow the deadline and filing method in your order.

If you add a document after the deadline, you need the court's permission to rely on it at the hearing. Late evidence is not automatically excluded on the small claims track, but the judge has discretion to refuse it — and will take a dim view of a party who dumps a new stack of documents on the morning of the hearing.

What not to include

Irrelevant background — the judge does not need your entire email history with the defendant, only the messages directly relevant to the dispute.

Duplicates — if the same invoice appears in the contract section and the financial section, include it once and cross-reference.

Legal submissions or case law — the small claims track is designed so that neither side needs to cite legal authorities. If you think a point of law is important, mention it briefly in your witness summary.

Excessively redacted documents — if you redact so heavily that the document is unreadable, the judge cannot rely on it.

At the hearing

Bring a spare copy of the bundle in case someone forgets theirs. When the judge asks you to explain your claim, refer to specific page numbers — "If you turn to page 11, that is the contract" — rather than holding up loose sheets. The judge will do the same when asking questions.

The County Court Money Claim Guide includes an evidence bundle index template and a hearing preparation checklist so every document is organised, paginated and served on time.

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