In Bali v 1-2 Couriers Ltd and another [2025] EWCA Civ 1413, the Court of Appeal has once again underlined a simple but sometimes overlooked point in civil procedure: the date a claim form is issued is the date it is sealed by the court—nothing more, nothing less. This matters because the date of issue sets the clock running for service under CPR 7.5.

In this case, the claimant instructed solicitors only days before limitation expired. The court received the claim form on 2 December 2022, the very last day available. What followed was a long series of delays, most of which were caused by the claimant’s own solicitors, meaning that the claim form was not sealed until 13 December 2023—over a year after it was received.

Even then, the sealed form wasn’t posted out until 2 April 2024, and the claimant's solicitors didn’t receive it until 15 April 2024. Under CPR 7.5, a claim form issued in the jurisdiction must be served within four months of issue. By that point, the service period (expiring 13 April 2024) had passed. The claimant hadn’t applied to extend time beforehand, and their out-of-time application was the first time the defendants knew about the claim.

On appeal, the court confirmed that the sealed date—13 December 2023—was the date of issue. The posting date was irrelevant and a claim form cannot be issued and sealed on different dates. Since there was no evidence of backdating, the seal was conclusive.

Whilst a claimant can apply for an extension of time for effecting service of a claim form under CPR 7.6, the general rule is that such an application must be made within the service period and in any event, a claimant must take all reasonable steps to comply with CPR 7.5. 

Here, the court also stressed that when deciding whether the claimant took ‘all reasonable steps’ to serve in time, the entire background matters, not just events after the sealed form was received. Here, the court found the delays were largely down to the claimant’s solicitors, and refusing an extension was entirely justified.

Practical points

• The date of seal is the true issue date.
• Courts will examine the whole history when assessing ‘reasonable steps.’
• Long, unexplained solicitor delays could sink an extension application.
• Always chase the court proactively and apply for extensions before deadlines expire.