MCOL vs CCBC vs Money Claims Centre: Which to Use

If you want to sue someone for money in England or Wales, there isn't just one place to send the paperwork. There are three main routes into the County Court system for a money claim, and picking the wrong one can mean a claim that gets stuck, struck out, or has to be amended at extra cost before it goes anywhere.

The three routes are Money Claim Online (MCOL), the County Court Business Centre (CCBC) at Salford, and the County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMCC). They overlap in places, but each has its own quirks.

Money Claim Online

MCOL is the web-based service run through GOV.UK. It is designed for straightforward money claims where you know the amount owed and the defendant is an individual or company with a known address in England or Wales. You fill in the claim form on screen, pay the fee by card, and the system issues the claim and posts it to the defendant.

There are limits. MCOL has a cap on the claim value and accepts only a small number of defendants per claim (two at the time of writing, though check GOV.UK before filing as this has changed in the past). The particulars of claim box is limited to around 1,080 characters, which is enough for a simple debt along the lines of: "The claim is for £X for goods supplied on invoice 1234 dated Y, which remains unpaid despite demand." For anything more involved, the box runs out, and MCOL does not accept separate attached particulars in the way the paper route does.

If the defendant does not file an acknowledgment or defence in time, you can ask the court to enter judgment in default (a judgment without a hearing, based on the defendant's failure to engage). Some enforcement steps, such as requesting a warrant of control to instruct County Court bailiffs, can be started through the MCOL account; other enforcement routes, such as applying for a charging order, require a separate paper application to the appropriate court.

If your claim needs breach of contract pleaded properly, a sequence of events set out, interest calculated under a contract term rather than just under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984, or cross-references to correspondence, MCOL is probably the wrong tool.

The County Court Business Centre, Salford

The CCBC, based in Salford, handles paper claims on form N1. It is essentially the paper equivalent of MCOL and deals with bulk and routine money claims. You complete the N1, either write the particulars on the form itself or attach them as a separate document, and send it in with the fee.

The important difference from MCOL is that you can serve particulars of claim separately. Either include them with the N1 when you issue, or serve them within 14 days of service of the claim form on the defendant, as allowed under CPR 7.4. If you need more time, you can apply to the court for an extension, though you should not bank on getting one. Serving separately gives you room to plead the case properly: numbered paragraphs, reference to documents, a clear account of what happened and why the defendant owes you money.

The CCBC copes better with more than two defendants and with claims that have a bit more going on than a simple invoice dispute. It is still a centralised processing centre rather than a local court, so everything goes to the Salford address. Once a defendant files a defence, the claim is usually transferred out to a local County Court hearing centre for allocation and directions.

Small Claims Guide

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The County Court Money Claims Centre

The CCMCC, also based in Salford, is where paper money claims that don't fit the CCBC's bulk model go, including unspecified claims where you are asking the court to decide the amount. In practice, for many individual claimants the CCBC and CCMCC addresses and processes overlap, and HMCTS has reorganised these services more than once. Before posting, check the current address on the N1A guidance notes on GOV.UK. Once a claim is defended, it gets sent to a local hearing centre in the same way.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Fees, timing and limitation

Court fees are set out in the EX50 leaflet on GOV.UK and change from time to time, so check the current figures before filing. MCOL fees are usually slightly lower than paper fees for the same claim value, which is deliberate: the government wants routine claims online. Help with Fees is available for people on low incomes or certain benefits, using form EX160, subject to an income and capital assessment.

MCOL is usually the quickest to issue, often within a day or two. Paper claims take longer, partly because of post and partly because of processing backlogs at Salford, which have been significant at times. If limitation is tight, that matters. Under the Civil Procedure Rules, a claim is generally treated as "brought" when the court receives the request to issue rather than when it actually issues the claim form, but you still want to leave a margin.

Choosing a route and avoiding common mistakes

As a rough guide:

• Simple debt, one or two defendants, clear figures, address in England or Wales: MCOL is usually fine.
• More than two defendants, or a defendant outside the jurisdiction: paper route.
• Particulars that need more than a short paragraph, or reference to documents and correspondence: paper route, so you can serve separate particulars.
• Unspecified amount, for example damages the court needs to assess: paper route.
• Anything beyond a straight money claim, such as a declaration or an injunction: not a money claim at all. You would issue at a County Court hearing centre or the High Court.

If in doubt, consider the paper route. An MCOL claim with cramped, badly drafted particulars can be attacked by the defendant, and you may end up applying to amend under CPR 17, which costs a fee and wastes time. Setting it out properly on paper from the start is often cheaper overall.

Whichever route you use, the Civil Procedure Rules apply. Pre-action conduct matters: the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols expects you to have written to the defendant, set out the claim, and given them a reasonable chance to respond before you issue. For consumer debts, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims sets specific requirements including a Letter of Claim and an information sheet. Skipping that can have costs consequences later.

Keep copies of everything, including proof of posting. If you are using MCOL, save the claim confirmation and the issue date. Watch the deadlines once the defendant files an acknowledgment of service or a defence, because the next steps, whether that is default judgment, the directions questionnaire, or allocation to a track, all run from those dates.

For current fees, forms and addresses, GOV.UK is the place to check. The rules change, the addresses have changed more than once, and anything quoted in an older article may already be out of date.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Small Claims Guide lets you thinking of making a small claim or defending one? Describe your situation and get a step-by-step guide to the process, costs, and what to expect. Try it now →