This Practice Note provides practical guidance on making an Application to Set aside a judgment entered against a defendant who failed to file an acknowledgment of service or a defence (known as a Default judgment or judgment in default).

For guidance on the grounds on which a default judgment can be set aside, see Practice Notes:

1. •

   Setting aside default judgment—mandatory grounds (CPR 13.2)

2. •

   Setting aside default judgment—discretionary grounds (CPR 13.3)

An application to set aside default judgment is an application for a court order—the basic procedure is therefore set out in CPR 23 and CPR PD 23A.

Guidance on making a CPR-compliant application can be found in Practice Note: How to make an application for a court order (CPR 23). You should familiarise yourself with this guidance before making any application to the court—it provides the starting point for all applications governed by CPR 23 and CPR PD 23A.

The following sections highlight particular aspects of the applications procedure which are specific to an application to set aside default judgment. What follows