Northern Ireland civil procedure
When may a Northern Ireland defendant serve a third-party notice?
14 days after that service. Serve Form 49 and the civil bill on the third party. Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock.
- Period
- 14 days after that service
- Trigger
- Actual service of the defendant's notice of intention to defend
- Rule
- County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 11, rule 1(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 Northern Ireland defendant serve a third-party notice?
14 days after that service. Serve Form 49 and the civil bill on the third party. Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock.
Responsible actor. The defendant asserting a qualifying claim against a third party.
Actual service of the defendant's notice of intention to defend.
Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock.
Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock. The result must identify third party notice service and forthwith copies for the defendant asserting a qualifying claim against a third party. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 11, rule 1(1)How does this provision count time?
- Establish actual service of the defendant's notice of intention to defend.
- Serve Form 49 and the civil bill on the third party.
- 14 days after that service. Order 43 rule 17 excludes the triggering event day for this 14-day interval. Intermediate weekends remain in periods exceeding three days.
- Serve Form 49 and the civil bill on the third party. 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.
14 days after that service. Order 43 rule 17 excludes the triggering event day for this 14-day interval. Intermediate weekends remain in periods exceeding three days.
Serve Form 49 and the civil bill on the third party. 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 11, rule 1(1)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Fictitious established event on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. 14 days after that service. Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Fictitious established event on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. 14 days after that service. Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock. 14 days after that service. Order 43 rule 17 excludes the triggering event day for this 14-day interval. Intermediate weekends remain in periods exceeding three days. The independent ordinary endpoint is Tuesday, January 27, 2026 for third-party-notice-service-and-forthwith-copies, not a different filing, service or entitlement date. | Tuesday, January 27, 2026 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | Fictitious boundary event on Friday, March 20, 2026. The source-specific completion is serve Form 49 and the civil bill on the third party. Serve Form 49 and the civil bill on the third party. 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 service of the defendant's notice of intention to defend is not established. Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock. The selected period cannot replace that missing source fact. Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock. | Actual service of the defendant's notice of intention to defend is not established. Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock. 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
- Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock.
- Counting and boundary
- 14 days after that service. Order 43 rule 17 excludes the triggering event day for this 14-day interval. Intermediate weekends remain in periods exceeding three days.
- Required completion
- Serve Form 49 and the civil bill on the third party. 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.
- Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock. The result must identify third party notice service and forthwith copies for the defendant asserting a qualifying claim against a third party. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
- This procedure concerns the defendant asserting a qualifying claim against a third party. Its controlling event is actual service of the defendant's notice of intention to defend. Use a permissible civil-bill service route. The defendant must then send a copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith. Those subsequent acts are not a second 14-day clock.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
When may a Northern Ireland defendant serve a third-party notice?
Which documents accompany the third-party notice?
The provision requires Form 49 and the copy civil bill served through the applicable civil-bill service route.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 11, rule 1(1)Does service on the third party complete all subsequent steps?
No. The defendant must send the copy to the plaintiff and lodge it with the chief clerk forthwith.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 11, rule 1(1)Do the later copy steps receive another fourteen days?
No. Forthwith is not a second fixed fourteen-day interval.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 11, rule 1(1)Does the main action's original service start this period?
The branch uses actual service of the defendant's notice of intention to defend.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 11, rule 1(1)Must the third-party claim fit the permitted procedure?
Yes. Establish the qualifying third-party basis and required documents before applying its notice window.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 11, rule 1(1)Does sending the plaintiff a copy establish third-party service?
No. Service on the third party and the subsequent plaintiff-copy duty are distinct completion acts.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 11, rule 1(1)Official sources and review
Provisions used (3)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 11, rule 1(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 |