How to fill in form N9A
Type your pay and bills as they come, weekly or monthly, and get every statement of means figure for boxes 6 to 11, ready to copy.
This is not debt advice. Free, confidential help: National Debtline, StepChange, Citizens Advice.
Claim made online? GOV.UK says to answer it online. The paper N9A is for paper claims, or if you can’t go online.
How the boxes are worked out
Each line on the N9A reads “£ … per”. Pick a week or a month, and every amount you type is converted to it: weekly × 52 ÷ 12, every 2 weeks × 26 ÷ 12, every 4 weeks × 13 ÷ 12, every 3 months × 4 ÷ 12, yearly ÷ 12 (or ÷ 52 for a week). Each line is rounded to the penny once, and each total adds the lines as shown, so the sheet adds up as you copy it.
What is left is box 6 minus boxes 7, 8 and 9 and the payments in box 10. The N9A gives no method for the offer; this is the sum the N245 (the form for changing a judgment later) describes. Open a filled-in example: pay of £1,450 every 4 weeks becomes £1,570.83 a month, and £330.26 is left.
The official N9A (04.14) is on GOV.UK, with a large-print version. The answer sheet is not the form: copy the figures onto the form, sign it and send it where the form says. A full admission goes to the claimant at the address for service on the claim form, not the court; a part admission goes, with form N9B, to the court at the address on the claim form. National Debtline says the same.
Questions people ask
How do I turn weekly or 4-weekly pay into a monthly figure?
Weekly: times 52, divided by 12. Every 2 weeks: times 26, divided by 12. Every 4 weeks: times 13, divided by 12, because there are 13 four-week periods in a year, not 12. So £1,450 every 4 weeks is £1,570.83 a month.
Should the form be weekly or monthly?
Every line on the N9A says “£ … per”, so you write the period yourself. Using the same period on every line lets the totals add up. The box 11 offer is in monthly instalments, so a month is the simpler choice.
What goes in box 8, priority debts?
The form says box 8 is for arrears only and not the regular expenses in box 7. Your normal rent goes in box 7; what you pay towards rent arrears goes in box 8. The same applies to council tax, water, gas and electricity.
How much should I offer?
That is your decision, and a free adviser can help with it. The form says that if you make no offer, the claimant decides how much and when you pay. This page shows what is left after your spending and, as a suggestion only, a pro rata split across your debts.
Where does Universal Credit go?
The N9A has no Universal Credit line. It has Income support, Child benefit(s) and Other state benefit(s), so this page puts Universal Credit under Other state benefit(s).
Can I fill in the N9A online?
GOV.UK says to respond the same way the claim was made. A claim made through Online Civil Money Claims or Money Claim Online is answered online. A claim made on a paper form is answered by post, with the N9A if you admit a claim for a fixed amount.
Where does a catalogue debt go?
Citizens Advice lists catalogue debts with credit cards and loans as non-priority debts, and National Debtline says you can list your credit debts in section 10. So list what you pay on a catalogue debt in box 10. The form also has a Mail order line in box 7: count each payment once, not in both.
Who can see what I type?
Nobody else. It is saved only in this browser on this device as you type, and nothing is uploaded. Download a backup to move it to another device. On a shared computer, use Delete everything when you are done.