Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Dispensing with service definition

What does Dispensing with service mean? Dispensing with service describes a court ordering that a claim form or another procedural document need not be served on a party. It is distinct from alternative (substituted) service and is used only rarely. In England and Wales, the Civil Procedure rules (cpr) Part 6 govern service. The court may dispense with service of a claim form only in exceptional circumstances (CPR 6.16). For documents other than a claim form, the court also has a discretionary power to dispense with service (CPR 6.28). Case law emphasises strict application to protect due process. Typical scenarios include where service is impossible...

Dispensing with Service of Court Documents: Case Tracker of Exceptional Circumstances under CPR 6.16 and 6.28 (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

This Tracker summarises a series of decisions where the courts have considered how the CPR provisions on Dispensing with service of documents should be interpreted, including whether they extend to Defendants outside the Jurisdiction. The relevant rules are CPR 6.16 and CPR 6.28. Note that the service rules in Part 6 were extensively revised in 2008; cases before that date are not covered in this tracker. The court will only dispense with serving the claim form in exceptional situations, depending on the particular facts of the case...

Order made to dispense with service

The judgments below illustrate circumstances in which the court has exercised its power to dispense with service of documents:

Judgment citation and news analysis
Almeqham v Al-Sanea [2025] EWHC 322 (Ch) at para [146]

Facts
One defendant was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. The claimant attempted to serve court papers, but the defendant refused to accept service. An application was brought under CPR 6.28.

Judgment
Service was dispensed with due to:

the difficulty in effecting service
the defendant’s lack of engagement
the defendant’s

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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