Possession Claim Online (PCOL): when you can use it

Possession Claim Online (PCOL) is the official online service for starting a possession claim instead of posting N5 and N119 to the court. Landlords in England can only use it when the claim is based solely on rent arrears and asks for nothing more than possession, the arrears, interest and costs. The fee is the same as on paper, £415 from 13 July 2026, and you set up the account, enter the claim and pay yourself.

Who can use Possession Claim Online?

Practice Direction 55B and GOV.UK set out the conditions. You can use PCOL only if all of these apply:

• it is a residential possession claim by a landlord based solely on rent arrears (forfeiture claims are excluded);
• you ask for nothing other than possession, arrears, interest and costs;
• you have a UK address for service, and the tenant has an address for service in England and Wales;
• you can give the property's postcode;
• no tenant is known to be a child or a protected party;
• you are over 18 and own a property in England (GOV.UK's wording);
• you are not using Help with Fees;
• the tenant is not in a Breathing Space.

You pay by debit or credit card, or by Direct Debit.

PCOL has not been updated for the new grounds brought in on 1 May 2026. The Civil Procedure Rule Committee accepted that, because the service is only used for arrears. In practice, that means claims on Ground 8, Ground 10 and Ground 11, the rent arrears grounds.

When you need a paper claim instead

GOV.UK says you cannot use the online service for other kinds of standard possession claim, for example if you want to sell the property or the tenant has broken the terms of the tenancy. So these go on paper, with Form N5 and Form N119:

Your claim	PCOL?	Use instead
Rent arrears only (Grounds 8, 10, 11)	Yes, if every condition above is met	Or paper, if you prefer
Arrears plus another ground (for example Ground 12 or 14)	No	Paper N5 + N119
Selling (Ground 1A) or moving in (Ground 1)	No	Paper N5 + N119
Breach of tenancy, damage, antisocial behaviour	No	Paper N5 + N119
You need Help with Fees	No	Paper, with form EX160
Tenant is in a Breathing Space	No	Wait; see Breathing Space and rent arrears
A claim against a guarantor as well	No	A separate money claim, or a solicitor
No UK address for service	No	Ask a solicitor how to give an address for service

What PCOL asks you to provide

PCOL replaces the paper forms with online questions, but the information is the same as in N5 and N119: the tenancy, the rent, the notice, the arrears, the steps you've taken and the tenant's circumstances.

The rent schedule

For a PCOL arrears claim you need a schedule of payments due and made over the 2 years before issue, with a running total. PD 55B lets you give a summary instead, but if you do, you must serve the full arrears history on the tenant within 7 days of issue. Having the full schedule ready from the start is simpler.

Documents

PD 55B says you don't need to file tenancy documents with a PCOL claim. Keep them ready for the hearing anyway: the tenancy agreement, the Form 3A notice, your proof of service and, if you took a deposit, proof that it was protected and the prescribed information given. Unless the deposit has been returned, the court cannot make a possession order without that compliance.

Who presses "submit": you

A PCOL claim is a court claim in your name. You create the account on Possession Claim Online, enter the claim, confirm the statement of truth, give your own address for service and pay the fee from your own card. Nobody else can do this for you unless they are your legal representative, such as a solicitor you have instructed.

Our court pack is built for the paper route: we prepare N5, N119, the rent schedule and a filing guide from your answers, and you sign and file them yourself. If your claim is arrears only and you'd rather use PCOL, you type the details into PCOL yourself; the 2-year rent schedule in the pack gives you the history PCOL asks for. We never log in to PCOL or submit anything to the court for you.

What happens after you submit

1. Issue. The court issues the claim and fixes a hearing date, at least 28 days after issue and normally within 8 weeks.
2. Service. A PCOL claim form is treated as served on the fifth day after issue, whether or not that is a business day. The tenant must be served at least 21 days before the hearing.
3. Hearing. The tenant may file a defence (form N11R) but doesn't have to. There is no default judgment in possession claims, so the hearing goes ahead either way. Update your arrears figures to the hearing date.
4. Order and warrant. If you get an order and the tenant doesn't leave, you can request the warrant of possession online, as long as the claim was issued on PCOL and no court permission is needed. The warrant fee is £152.

For technical help with the PCOL system, the help desk is on 0300 123 5577 or pcolitassistance@justice.gov.uk.

Mistakes to avoid with PCOL

• Adding a non-arrears ground to a PCOL claim. Use paper for anything mixed.
• Applying for Help with Fees through PCOL. It isn't accepted online.
• Issuing during a Breathing Space. Steps taken in breach of a breathing space are void.
• Issuing before the notice period ends, or more than 12 months after you served the notice.
• A summary instead of a schedule without serving the full history within 7 days.
• Expecting a cheaper fee. The online and paper fees are the same.

For the full process, see possession claims.

What to do next

Check your arrears against the Ground 8 threshold with the rent arrears calculator. If you need a paper claim, or want your N5, N119 and rent schedule drafted, use the possession court pack. For the money side, read claiming rent arrears in your possession claim.