Do I have to send a letter before action?

It is not a legal condition of claiming, but the court expects it. The Practice Direction says the court will take non-compliance into account on costs, and a claimant at fault can lose interest for a period.

How long should I give the debtor to reply?

For a company, the Practice Direction says a reasonable time: 14 days in a straightforward case. For an individual or sole trader, the Debt Protocol gives 30 days from the date at the top of the letter.

Can I add interest and a fixed fee?

Yes, if the debtor bought for their own business: 8% plus Bank Rate, and £40, £70 or £100 depending on the debt. A customer buying for themselves is not covered by that Act.

Can I send it by email?

For an individual, the Protocol says the letter should go by post, and may also go by email, unless they explicitly asked not to be written to by post, in which case use the contact details they gave. For a company, the Practice Direction does not say how. Use a way you can prove, such as recorded post.

Does this work in Scotland or Northern Ireland?

No. Both have different court processes. See mygov.scot and nidirect .

Letter Before Action Template for an Unpaid Invoice

Rules

A letter before action is the last letter you send before you start a court claim for an unpaid invoice. It says what is owed, how you worked it out, and when you will claim. In England and Wales it is not a legal condition of claiming, but the court expects it. The court's Practice Direction on pre-action conduct (its rules on what to do before a claim) says the court will expect the parties to have complied and can take a failure into account on costs, and a claimant who skipped the steps can be deprived of interest for a period.

Debtor	Rules	Time to reply
Company	Practice Direction	14 days usual
Individual or sole trader	Debt Protocol	30 days

The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims covers a business claiming from "an individual (including a sole trader)", and says it does not cover business-to-business debts unless the debtor is a sole trader. The Practice Direction covers disputes where no protocol applies. For a partnership or another kind of body, ask a solicitor.

This is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice, and we read every page linked here on 2 November 2026. A solicitor can send a letter before action for you, and is worth a call if the debt is large or disputed. Scotland and Northern Ireland use different rules: see mygov.scot and nidirect. Send reminders first: see chasing an unpaid invoice.

Interest

If the debtor is a business, you can add interest and a fixed fee. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies where the buyer and the supplier are each acting in the course of a business, so a sole trader buying for their business counts. A customer buying for themselves is not covered.

Rate. GOV.UK gives 8% plus the Bank of England base rate. The rate order sets it as Bank Rate on the 30 June or 31 December before interest starts. A contract rate replaces it only if the contract gives a substantial remedy for late payment. Bank Rate was 3.75% on both 31 December 2025 and 30 June 2026, so for interest starting in 2026 the rate is 11.75%.
Fixed fee. GOV.UK lists £40 for a debt under £1,000, £70 from £1,000 to £9,999.99 and £100 from £10,000. You charge it once for each payment, and only once statutory interest has started to run. The Act also lets you claim reasonable recovery costs the fee does not cover.

Example: a £2,400 invoice due on 1 September 2026, at 11.75%, is £282 a year, or about 77p a day. From 2 September to 30 October is 59 days, which is £45.58 of interest. With the £70 fee the total is £2,515.58. Our late payment interest calculator guide covers the sum for your own dates. GOV.UK says to send a new invoice if you decide to add interest.

Company Debtor

For a company, the Practice Direction says the steps usually include:

(a) the claimant writing to the defendant with concise details of the claim. The letter should include the basis on which the claim is made, a summary of the facts, what the claimant wants from the defendant, and if money, how the amount is calculated;
Practice Direction, paragraph 6(a)

The company should reply within a reasonable time: "14 days in a straightforward case and no more than 3 months in a very complex one". Its reply should say whether it accepts the claim and, if not, why. The Practice Direction also asks both sides to consider settling, and says silence in response to an invitation to try mediation or another form of ADR could lead to a costs order. Copy this letter and fill the brackets.

From: [Your business name and address]. To: [Name], [Company name], [address]. Date: [Date]. Subject: Unpaid invoice [number]: letter before action.

Dear [Name], we supplied [goods or services] to [Company name] on [date] under [quote, order or contract dated ...]. We issued invoice [number] for £[amount] on [date], payable by [due date]. It has not been paid.

We ask you to pay £[total] by [date 14 days after the letter]. That is the invoice (£[amount]), interest of £[interest] at [rate]% a year from [date] to the date of this letter, and £[40, 70 or 100] fixed compensation for late payment, claimed under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Interest continues at £[daily amount] a day until you pay. [If your contract has its own late-payment interest that is a substantial remedy, use that and delete both the reference to the Act and the fixed compensation. If unsure, ask a solicitor.]

You can pay by [bank transfer to ... / link]. If you dispute any part of this, please reply by the same date and tell us what you dispute and why, whether you have a counterclaim, and send any documents you rely on. We are willing to try mediation or a payment plan to settle this without going to court.

If we have neither payment nor a reply by [date], we intend to start a court claim for the amount above, interest and the court fee, without further notice. The court can take this letter and your reply into account when it decides who pays the costs.

Yours sincerely, [Name and role]. Enclosed: invoice [number] [and the quote or contract].

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Individual Debtor

For an individual or sole trader, the Debt Protocol is stricter. Its paragraph 3.1 says the letter of claim should contain:

the amount of the debt, and whether interest or other charges are continuing
for an oral agreement, who made it, what was agreed (including, as far as possible, the words used), and when and where
for a written agreement, its date, the parties, and the fact that a copy can be requested
if instalments are being offered or paid, why they are not acceptable
how to pay, how to discuss payment options, and the address for the completed Reply Form

It should also enclose an up-to-date statement of account, the Information Sheet and Reply Form (Annex 1) and a Financial Statement form (Annex 2). The Information Sheet tells the debtor their options, and the Reply Form is how they answer. Use the official forms from the Protocol PDF.

Rule	What it says
Date	Top of page one
Posting	Same day or next
Method	Post, unless they ask otherwise
Reply	30 days from letter date

The Protocol says the letter should be sent by post, and may also be sent by email. The exception is a debtor who has explicitly asked not to be written to by post: use the contact details they gave you. If the debtor does not reply within 30 days of the date at the top, you may start a claim, but allow for a reply posted near the end of the 30 days. The Information Sheet tells the debtor that a Reply Form returned within 30 days gives both sides at least 30 more days to talk before any claim. If they say they are getting debt advice, you should not claim until 30 days after their Reply Form, or 30 days after you send documents they asked for, whichever is later. If they reply but you cannot agree, give at least 14 days' notice before you start a claim. If they ask for a document, send it or explain why you cannot within 30 days.

From: [Your business name and address]. To: [Name], [address]. Date: [Date, the same day you post it]. Subject: Letter of claim: unpaid invoice [number], £[amount].

Dear [Name], this is a letter of claim under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims. Invoice [number] dated [date], for £[amount], for [goods or services], has not been paid.

[Written agreement: Our agreement is dated [date] and is between [your business] and [name]. You can ask us for a copy.] [Oral agreement: On [date], [at ... or by phone], [who] agreed with [who] that we would [what]. The words used were [as close as you can].]

The debt is £[amount]. Interest and charges [are / are not] continuing[: £[interest] at [rate]%, £[daily amount] a day]. [If the debtor bought for their business: we also claim £[40, 70 or 100] fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.] The enclosed statement of account shows the total owed on [date] is £[total]. [If they have offered or are paying by instalments: we cannot accept this because ..., and we are still considering a court claim because ...]

You can pay by [bank transfer to ... / link]. To talk about payment options, contact [name, phone, email].

Please complete the enclosed Reply Form and return it to [address] within 30 days of the date at the top of this letter, and allow time for posting. If we do not receive it, we may start court proceedings. The enclosed Information Sheet lists free debt advice.

Yours sincerely, [Name and role]. Enclosed: statement of account; Information Sheet and Reply Form; Financial Statement form; invoice [number].

Add interest and the fixed fee only if the Act applies (the debtor bought for their business) or your own terms allow interest. Without either, do not demand interest in the letter, though the court can award it, usually 8%. The Protocol still needs you to say whether interest is continuing. If you bought the debt from someone else, the Protocol needs extra details (paragraph 3.1(a)(v)), so ask a solicitor.

Court Claim

When the deadline passes with no payment and no useful reply, you can claim through the county court, online or on paper. You must claim by post if you do not know the exact amount, or if the claim is against three or more people, among other cases GOV.UK lists. Include interest in the claim. The online service calculates interest, but only at one rate; for different rates you must claim by post. The fee depends on the amount, including interest, and GOV.UK says you can usually claim it back if you win.

Claim	Fee
Up to £300	£35
£300.01 to £500	£50
£500.01 to £1,000	£70
£1,000.01 to £1,500	£80
£1,500.01 to £3,000	£115
£3,000.01 to £5,000	£205
£5,000.01 to £10,000	£455
£10,000.01 to £200,000	5% of the claim
Over £200,000	£10,000

Fees are from the GOV.UK guide and the civil court fees table, updated 26 October 2026. The other side must then respond. If it does not, you can ask for judgment. If it disputes the claim and the amount is £10,000 or less, you will be told to attend free court mediation. If a judgment is not paid, you can ask the court to enforce it, for example with bailiffs. A county court warrant of control costs £96 and is for debts of £5,000 or less, GOV.UK says. For larger debts you may apply to the High Court, which has other fees, so ask a solicitor.

Tunewell

Invoices Chased is one of the items on our Automation Menu: polite reminders go out on a schedule until you are paid. It is one of the three Quick Wins you can choose from with a £495 Check-Up (see pricing).

The free way above works without us: send the reminders yourself, then the matching letter.