Hong Kong · civil procedure
What period applies to cfi postal writ service date?
Seventh calendar day after dispatch or insertion. Establish the rebuttable deemed service date. This establishes a rebuttable service event, not the defendant’s acknowledgment deadline.
- Period
- Seventh calendar day after dispatch or insertion
- Trigger
- Dispatch by registered post or insertion through the qualifying letter box
- Rule
- Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 10, rule 1(3)(a)
Official verified English consolidated chapter 4A, version October 1,2025. Acquired October 9, 2026, with the official current register and immutable verified PDF. Current verified official English consolidated chapter PDFs acquired October 9, 2026. Version dates retained per chapter register. No claim that a calendar proves future gale, black-rainstorm or emergency office closures.
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What period applies to cfi postal writ service date?
Seventh calendar day after dispatch or insertion. Establish the rebuttable deemed service date. This establishes a rebuttable service event, not the defendant’s acknowledgment deadline.
Responsible actor. Plaintiff or agent serving a sealed writ.
Dispatch by registered post or insertion through the qualifying letter box
Seventh calendar day after dispatch or insertion
Plaintiff or agent serving a sealed writ. Writ for service within Hong Kong; Usual or last-known address; Registered post or sealed addressed letter-box route; No contrary proof. The rule expressly ignores Order 3 rule 2(5). Electronic service and ordinary post are separate routes.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 10, rule 1(3)(a)How does this provision count time?
- Establish the rebuttable deemed service date
- Plaintiff or agent serving a sealed writ uses the established dispatch by registered post or insertion through the qualifying letter box. Seventh calendar day after dispatch or insertion. Exclude the effective event day. Ordinary intervening weekends remain counted unless an applicable source provision excludes them.
- Establish the rebuttable deemed service date. An office calendar does not automatically change this service, deemed-event, minimum-interval or status boundary. The source and the actual completion route control. This establishes a rebuttable service event, not the defendant’s acknowledgment deadline.
- This establishes a rebuttable service event, not the defendant’s acknowledgment deadline.
Plaintiff or agent serving a sealed writ uses the established dispatch by registered post or insertion through the qualifying letter box. Seventh calendar day after dispatch or insertion. Exclude the effective event day. Ordinary intervening weekends remain counted unless an applicable source provision excludes them.
Establish the rebuttable deemed service date. An office calendar does not automatically change this service, deemed-event, minimum-interval or status boundary. The source and the actual completion route control. This establishes a rebuttable service event, not the defendant’s acknowledgment deadline.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 10, rule 1(3)(a)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Plaintiff or agent serving a sealed writ. Dispatch by registered post or insertion through the qualifying letter box occurs on Friday, October 9, 2026. The retained eligibility and ordinary procedural conditions apply.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Plaintiff or agent serving a sealed writ. Dispatch by registered post or insertion through the qualifying letter box occurs on Friday, October 9, 2026. The retained eligibility and ordinary procedural conditions apply. Seventh calendar day after dispatch or insertion. This establishes a rebuttable service event, not the defendant’s acknowledgment deadline. | Friday, October 16, 2026 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | Plaintiff or agent serving a sealed writ. Dispatch by registered post or insertion through the qualifying letter box occurs on Monday, October 12, 2026. The retained eligibility and ordinary procedural conditions apply. Seventh calendar day after dispatch or insertion. This establishes a rebuttable service event, not the defendant’s acknowledgment deadline. | Monday, October 19, 2026 |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | Plaintiff or agent serving a sealed writ. Dispatch by registered post or insertion through the qualifying letter box occurs on Friday, October 9, 2026. The complete eligibility and procedural facts are not established. This actual branch must be established independently before any ordinary endpoint can be used. Writ for service within Hong Kong | The rule expressly ignores Order 3 rule 2(5). Electronic service and ordinary post are separate routes. |
Fictitious established facts. These examples do not establish eligibility, effective service, relief or a direction.
Try these dates in the calculatorWhich conditions and exceptions apply?
- Writ for service within Hong Kong
- Writ for service within Hong Kong
- Usual or last-known address
- Usual or last-known address
- Registered post or sealed addressed letter-box route
- Registered post or sealed addressed letter-box route
- No contrary proof
- No contrary proof
- Correct source counting and completion route
- Plaintiff or agent serving a sealed writ uses the established dispatch by registered post or insertion through the qualifying letter box. Seventh calendar day after dispatch or insertion. Exclude the effective event day. Ordinary intervening weekends remain counted unless an applicable source provision excludes them. Establish the rebuttable deemed service date. An office calendar does not automatically change this service, deemed-event, minimum-interval or status boundary. The source and the actual completion route control. This establishes a rebuttable service event, not the defendant’s acknowledgment deadline.
- Plaintiff or agent serving a sealed writ. Writ for service within Hong Kong; Usual or last-known address; Registered post or sealed addressed letter-box route; No contrary proof. The rule expressly ignores Order 3 rule 2(5). Electronic service and ordinary post are separate routes.
- The rule expressly ignores Order 3 rule 2(5). Electronic service and ordinary post are separate routes.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
What period applies to cfi postal writ service date?
Does ordinary post qualify for the seven-day writ presumption?
No. Order 10 rule 1(2)(a) specifies registered post. The separate letter-box route uses a sealed addressed envelope.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 10, rule 1(3)(a)Are weekends omitted from deemed writ service?
No. Rule 1(3)(a) expressly ignores the short-period exclusion in Order 3 rule 2(5).
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 10, rule 1(3)(a)Can evidence displace the seventh-day presumption?
Yes. The deemed date applies unless the contrary is shown. Retain contrary delivery or knowledge evidence.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 10, rule 1(3)(a)What must the postal service affidavit address?
It must address expected knowledge within seven days and state that the posted copy was not returned undelivered.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 10, rule 1(3)(a)Does the letter-box route use another counting rule?
No. The same seventh-day presumption applies after insertion through the qualifying address’s letter box.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 10, rule 1(3)(a)Does this date include the acknowledgment period?
No. Calculate the acknowledgment period separately from effective service, including its first-day rule.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 10, rule 1(3)(a)Official sources and review
Provisions used (5)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 10, rule 1(3)(a) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Rules of the High Court (Cap.4A), Order3 rules1–5 and Order64 rule1 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| High Court Ordinance (Cap.4), section31(1), including its endorsed-writ proviso | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap.1), section71(1)–(2) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| General Holidays Ordinance (Cap.149), section3 and Schedule | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |