Northern Ireland civil procedure
When may a plaintiff accept money lodged in a Northern Ireland County Court?
28 days of receipt, subject to the stated order and rule exceptions. Sign and serve Form 98 on the defendant and lodge it with the chief clerk. Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure.
- Period
- 28 days of receipt, subject to the stated order and rule exceptions
- Trigger
- Actual receipt of the prescribed notification of payment
- Rule
- County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 21, rule 3(1)
Current official revised XML accessed October 9, 2026, with retained amendment comparison. The June 2021 and February 2021 court PDFs are historical consolidation aids.
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When may a plaintiff accept money lodged in a Northern Ireland County Court?
28 days of receipt, subject to the stated order and rule exceptions. Sign and serve Form 98 on the defendant and lodge it with the chief clerk. Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure.
Responsible actor. The plaintiff choosing to accept a payment into court.
Actual receipt of the prescribed notification of payment.
Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure.
Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure. The result must identify paired acceptance service and clerk lodgment for the plaintiff choosing to accept a payment into court. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 21, rule 3(1)How does this provision count time?
- Establish actual receipt of the prescribed notification of payment.
- Sign and serve Form 98 on the defendant and lodge it with the chief clerk.
- 28 days of receipt, subject to the stated order and rule exceptions. Order 43 rule 17 excludes the triggering event day for this 28-day interval. Intermediate weekends remain in periods exceeding three days.
- Sign and serve Form 98 on the defendant and lodge it with the chief clerk. Order 43 rule 17 carries a final Saturday, Sunday or actual Office-closed day to the next qualifying day. Identify actual closure and satisfy every paired recipient or filing duty.
28 days of receipt, subject to the stated order and rule exceptions. Order 43 rule 17 excludes the triggering event day for this 28-day interval. Intermediate weekends remain in periods exceeding three days.
Sign and serve Form 98 on the defendant and lodge it with the chief clerk. Order 43 rule 17 carries a final Saturday, Sunday or actual Office-closed day to the next qualifying day. Identify actual closure and satisfy every paired recipient or filing duty.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 21, rule 3(1)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Fictitious established event on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. 28 days of receipt, subject to the stated order and rule exceptions. Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Fictitious established event on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. 28 days of receipt, subject to the stated order and rule exceptions. Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure. 28 days of receipt, subject to the stated order and rule exceptions. Order 43 rule 17 excludes the triggering event day for this 28-day interval. Intermediate weekends remain in periods exceeding three days. The independent ordinary endpoint is Tuesday, February 10, 2026 for paired-acceptance-service-and-clerk-lodgment, not a different filing, service or entitlement date. | Tuesday, February 10, 2026 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | Fictitious boundary event on Friday, March 6, 2026. The source-specific completion is sign and serve Form 98 on the defendant and lodge it with the chief clerk. Sign and serve Form 98 on the defendant and lodge it with the chief clerk. Order 43 rule 17 carries a final Saturday, Sunday or actual Office-closed day to the next qualifying day. Identify actual closure and satisfy every paired recipient or filing duty. | Wednesday, April 8, 2026 |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | Actual receipt of the prescribed notification of payment is not established. Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure. The selected period cannot replace that missing source fact. Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure. | Actual receipt of the prescribed notification of payment is not established. Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure. The selected period cannot replace that missing source fact. |
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?
- Applicable event and branch
- Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure.
- Counting and boundary
- 28 days of receipt, subject to the stated order and rule exceptions. Order 43 rule 17 excludes the triggering event day for this 28-day interval. Intermediate weekends remain in periods exceeding three days.
- Required completion
- Sign and serve Form 98 on the defendant and lodge it with the chief clerk. Order 43 rule 17 carries a final Saturday, Sunday or actual Office-closed day to the next qualifying day. Identify actual closure and satisfy every paired recipient or filing duty.
- Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure. The result must identify paired acceptance service and clerk lodgment for the plaintiff choosing to accept a payment into court. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
- This procedure concerns the plaintiff choosing to accept a payment into court. Its controlling event is actual receipt of the prescribed notification of payment. Later acceptance can occur with the defendant's consent. Legal disability requires approval before payment out. Serving an acceptance without lodging it does not complete the ordinary procedure.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
When may a plaintiff accept money lodged in a Northern Ireland County Court?
Is twenty-eight days measured from the bank deposit?
No. The ordinary branch uses receipt of the prescribed payment notification.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 21, rule 3(1)What must the plaintiff do with Form 98?
Sign and serve it on the defendant and lodge it with the chief clerk. Both completion acts matter.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 21, rule 3(1)Can acceptance occur later with consent?
Yes. The defendant's actual consent supplies the stated later-acceptance branch.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 21, rule 3(1)What if the plaintiff is under legal disability?
Court approval is required before payment out under the stated disability procedure. Ordinary acceptance alone does not establish approval.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 21, rule 3(1)Does the defendant's subsequent consent need to be actual?
Yes. Later acceptance relies on the stated consent route. A prospective request for consent is not agreement.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 21, rule 3(1)Does timely acceptance automatically approve disability payment out?
No. The source separately requires approval and the prescribed application where the plaintiff is under legal disability.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 21, rule 3(1)Official sources and review
Provisions used (3)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 21, rule 3(1) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 43 rule 17 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954, section 39 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |