Partial Admission in the County Court — Income and Expenditure Forms Explained

You owe some of the money but not all of it. The builder's invoice was £6,000 and the work was partly done — £3,500 worth, maybe. Or the landlord is claiming rent arrears and you agree with the figure for January and February but not March. A partial admission lets you pay what you genuinely owe and defend the rest, all in one response.

How partial admission works

A partial admission means you admit part of the claimed amount and dispute the remainder. You file two forms:

Form N9A — for the admitted sum. For a full admission it goes to the claimant (or their solicitor); for a partial admission it goes to the issuing court with Form N9B. On the N9A, you state the amount you admit owing and propose how you will pay it — either as a lump sum by a specific date or in monthly instalments.

Form N9B — for the disputed sum. For paper or MCOL claims, this goes to the issuing court (usually the CNBC for central money claims). For OCMC, use the online response screens or follow the return instructions for a paper response form. On the N9B, you set out your defence against the remainder, addressing each allegation in the Particulars of Claim.

For paper or MCOL claims, file both forms within the response deadline — 14 days from deemed service, or 28 days if you filed an Acknowledgment of Service. OCMC claims ordinarily require a response by 4pm on the 28th day after issue and do not use the 14-day Acknowledgment of Service extension; if the court sends you a paper response form, follow the deadline stated for that form.

The income and expenditure section

Form N9A requires a detailed breakdown of your finances. The court uses this to assess whether your proposed payment terms are realistic. Be accurate — inflated expenses or hidden income undermine your credibility if the claimant challenges your figures.

Income — list everything:

• Employment income (net monthly pay)
• Self-employment income (average monthly profit)
• State benefits (Universal Credit, pension credit, child benefit)
• Any other regular income (rental income, investment returns, partner's contribution to household costs)

Essential expenditure — list your monthly outgoings:

• Mortgage or rent
• Council tax
• Utilities (gas, electricity, water)
• Food and household essentials
• Transport (car insurance, fuel, public transport)
• Insurance (home, contents, life)
• Childcare costs
• Existing debt repayments (credit cards, loans — list each one separately)

Dependants — state how many people depend on your income (partner, children, elderly relatives).

The surplus — income minus essential expenditure — helps the court assess what instalment payments are affordable. Do not list discretionary spending (gym memberships, subscriptions, dining out) as essential expenditure; enter your regular outgoings in the categories the form provides and keep the figures accurate.

What happens after you file

The claimant has three options:

Accept the partial admission in full satisfaction. If the claimant accepts the amount you admitted as settling the whole claim, the case closes. You pay the admitted sum on the terms you proposed (or on terms the court sets).

Accept the admitted amount but pursue the rest. The claimant takes your admitted payment and the disputed balance proceeds as a defended claim — directions questionnaire, track allocation, and a hearing on the remaining sum.

Reject the partial admission entirely. The claimant says your admitted amount is not enough. The admitted sum is dealt with under CPR Part 14, while the disputed balance proceeds as a defended claim.

If the claimant accepts your proposed instalment terms, judgment is entered on those terms without a hearing. For paper or MCOL claims, if the claimant rejects your terms, a court officer reviews your income and expenditure statement and sets a binding payment schedule; either party can apply within 14 days for a district judge to redetermine it. OCMC claims use a separate online process, with a 19-day period after judgment to request redetermination.

Practical considerations

Paying the admitted sum quickly helps. If you can pay the admitted amount as a lump sum immediately, do it. This demonstrates good faith and removes that portion from the dispute. Pay the claimant directly using the payment reference on the claim form and get written confirmation.

A partial admission still triggers a CCJ. If judgment is entered on your admission, a county court judgment can stay on the Register for six years. If you pay the full judgment within one calendar month, you can apply to have the CCJ removed entirely using Form N443 (fee £19). If you pay after one month, apply for a certificate of satisfaction using Form N443 (fee £19); the judgment remains on the Register for six years but is marked "satisfied."

The defended balance still needs a proper defence. Do not treat the N9B as an afterthought. Every allegation in the Particulars of Claim that you are not admitting must be specifically denied with reasons or put to strict proof. A weak defence on the disputed balance can result in summary judgment.

The county court money claim response guide includes a response-route decision map and a defence-drafting framework that walks through partial admissions step by step — from calculating how much to admit to filling in the income and expenditure section accurately.

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