Northern Ireland civil procedure
When must receipt of a Northern Ireland payment notice be acknowledged?
Within three counted days after receipt. Send the defendant a written acknowledgement of receipt. Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money.
- Period
- Within three counted days after receipt
- Trigger
- Actual receipt of the defendant's payment notice
- Rule
- Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 22, rule 1(2)
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 must receipt of a Northern Ireland payment notice be acknowledged?
Within three counted days after receipt. Send the defendant a written acknowledgement of receipt. Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money.
Responsible actor. The plaintiff receiving notice of payment into court.
Actual receipt of the defendant's payment notice.
Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money.
Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money. The result must identify written receipt acknowledgment for the plaintiff receiving notice of payment into court. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 22, rule 1(2)How does this provision count time?
- Establish actual receipt of the defendant's payment notice.
- Send the defendant a written acknowledgement of receipt.
- Within three counted days after receipt. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 3 following days. The period is at most seven days, so rule 2(5) excludes Saturdays, Sundays and specified public holidays.
- Send the defendant a written acknowledgement of receipt. Order 3 rule 4 addresses acts prevented at a court office. It does not automatically postpone this service, disclosure, validity or deemed-event boundary. Unproved nonworking endpoints remain outside numeric qualification.
Within three counted days after receipt. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 3 following days. The period is at most seven days, so rule 2(5) excludes Saturdays, Sundays and specified public holidays.
Send the defendant a written acknowledgement of receipt. Order 3 rule 4 addresses acts prevented at a court office. It does not automatically postpone this service, disclosure, validity or deemed-event boundary. Unproved nonworking endpoints remain outside numeric qualification.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 22, rule 1(2)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Fictitious established event on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Within three counted days after receipt. Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Fictitious established event on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Within three counted days after receipt. Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money. Within three counted days after receipt. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 3 following days. The period is at most seven days, so rule 2(5) excludes Saturdays, Sundays and specified public holidays. The independent ordinary endpoint is Friday, January 16, 2026 for written-receipt-acknowledgment, not a different filing, service or entitlement date. | Friday, January 16, 2026 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | Fictitious boundary event on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. The source-specific completion is send the defendant a written acknowledgement of receipt. Send the defendant a written acknowledgement of receipt. Order 3 rule 4 addresses acts prevented at a court office. It does not automatically postpone this service, disclosure, validity or deemed-event boundary. Unproved nonworking endpoints remain outside numeric qualification. | Tuesday, April 7, 2026 |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | Actual receipt of the defendant's payment notice is not established. Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money. The selected period cannot replace that missing source fact. Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money. | Actual receipt of the defendant's payment notice is not established. Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money. 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
- Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money.
- Counting and boundary
- Within three counted days after receipt. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 3 following days. The period is at most seven days, so rule 2(5) excludes Saturdays, Sundays and specified public holidays.
- Required completion
- Send the defendant a written acknowledgement of receipt. Order 3 rule 4 addresses acts prevented at a court office. It does not automatically postpone this service, disclosure, validity or deemed-event boundary. Unproved nonworking endpoints remain outside numeric qualification.
- Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money. The result must identify written receipt acknowledgment for the plaintiff receiving notice of payment into court. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
- This procedure concerns the plaintiff receiving notice of payment into court. Its controlling event is actual receipt of the defendant's payment notice. Receipt, not the payment itself, starts acknowledgement. Order 3 rule 2(5) excludes weekends and relevant holidays. Acknowledgement does not itself accept the money.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
When must receipt of a Northern Ireland payment notice be acknowledged?
Does acknowledgment accept the money?
No. Acknowledging receipt and accepting payment in satisfaction are different procedural acts.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 22, rule 1(2)What event starts acknowledgment?
Use actual receipt of the prescribed payment notice, not the defendant's bank-payment date.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 22, rule 1(2)Does this acknowledgment begin a new acceptance period?
Acceptance is governed by actual receipt of the relevant notice, including the last or amended notice where applicable.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 22, rule 1(2)Can a generic receipt email satisfy every requirement?
Establish the prescribed acknowledgment and its recipients under the rule. A date alone does not prove compliant form.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 22, rule 1(2)What is the ordinary acknowledgment period?
Three counted days after actual receipt of the payment notice, using the High Court short-period exclusions.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 22, rule 1(2)Who receives the acknowledgment?
Send the required written acknowledgment to the defendant under the payment-notice provision.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 22, rule 1(2)Official sources and review
Provisions used (3)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 22, rule 1(2) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) 1980, Order 3 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) 1980, Order 64 rule 7 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |