Circuit Court
Step 2 - Make a Counterclaim (Optional)
If you dispute the claim being made against you, you may decide to make your own claim against the claimant. This is known as a counterclaim. To do this, you must complete the entire Defence form (Form 6A) (as outlined in Step 1), including the details of your counterclaim.
The counterclaim section of the form should:
- State that you, as the respondent, are making your own claim against the claimant.
- Outline all the claims being made by you.
- State the amount, or other compensation, you are seeking from the claimant.
- Include a list of any correspondence or documents that you will rely on.
Once you have completed this form, you should make two copies of it and submit the original form to the court office named on the Claim Notice (known as a Civil Bill in the Circuit Court) you received. When submitting this form, you must pay a €30 court fee in the court office (or in Dublin, at the Stamping Office in the Áras Uí Dhálaigh building in the Four Courts complex). You can pay this fee by card or cash.
You must also serve a copy of the Defence form on the claimant or their solicitor within 10 days of submitting the Entry of Appearance form. If you do not serve this form within the 10 days, you must get written permission for late service from the other party before serving them.
For more information on serving and proof of service, please see our Serving and Proof of Service page.