How to fill in Form 3A, section by section

Here is how to fill in Form 3A: you name every tenant and the property, enter the earliest date you can go to court, set out the full legal wording of each ground, explain in your own words why each ground applies, and sign. The form is 10 pages long, but only a handful of questions need your input. This walkthrough uses a fictional rent arrears case with real 2026 dates so you can see exactly what goes where.

How to fill in Form 3A: what you need before you start

Have these to hand before you open the form:

• The current Form 3A from GOV.UK, version (05.26) or any later version in force on the day you will serve.
• GOV.UK's "Legal wording for possession grounds" document.
• The tenancy agreement, so you can copy every tenant's name and check any clause on how notices must be served.
• Evidence for each ground. For arrears, a rent schedule showing each date rent was due, each payment and the running balance.
• Your planned service date and method, because the date in question 2.1 depends on it.
• Deposit details. They don't go on the notice, but the court will want proof of protection later.

The worked example

Helen Carter (fictional) lets Flat 3, 27 Linden Road, Bristol to joint tenants Amira Hassan and Tom Reid. The tenancy started on 1 September 2025 as a 12-month AST and became a periodic assured tenancy on 1 May 2026. The rent is £1,100 a month, due on the 1st. The tenants paid nothing for August, October or November 2026 and £550 towards September, so £3,850 is unpaid. Helen will hand the notice to both tenants on Monday 2 November 2026, relying on Grounds 8, 10 and 11.

Section 1: tenant names and property address

Question 1.1 asks for the full names of the tenants. List every tenant named on the tenancy agreement. The form's note says all joint tenants must be listed, and that includes a tenant who has moved out but is still a party to the tenancy. Our guide to Section 8 notices and joint tenants explains why.

Example: Amira Hassan, Tom Reid

Question 1.2 asks for the property address: first and second line, town or city, county (optional) and postcode. Use the full address of the home let, including any flat number.

Example: Flat 3, 27 Linden Road, Bristol, followed by the postcode

Sections 2 and 3: the earliest and latest court dates

Question 2.1: the earliest date

Question 2.1 reads "Your landlord cannot begin court proceedings for possession earlier than", followed by a date. Get it wrong and the notice can fail.

1. Find the notice period for each ground. Grounds 8, 10 and 11 each need 4 weeks.
2. Take the longest period if you use several grounds.
3. Count from the day of service as day one. GOV.UK says the date must be the day after the notice period has expired.
4. If you're posting the notice, allow extra time. There is no statutory deemed-service rule for Section 8 notices, so to be safe count from the day the tenant will actually receive it, adding at least two working days for post.

Example: served by hand on Monday 2 November 2026 + 4 weeks = Monday 30 November 2026

If Helen also relied on Ground 1A, the date would need to be at least 4 months after service, and at least a year after the tenancy began. The Section 8 notice periods guide covers every ground and the month-end rule.

Section 3: the 12-month deadline

Section 3 is fixed text. It tells the tenant you must apply to court no later than 12 months from the date of service, and that this can be extended if the tenant enters a debt-respite breathing space. You don't write anything here.

Diary the deadline anyway. It isn't settled whether "12 months from the date of service" counts the service day, so to be safe issue your claim before the anniversary of service.

Example: served Monday 2 November 2026, so to be safe issue by Monday 1 November 2027

Section 4: your grounds and your reasons

Question 4.1: tick boxes (optional)

Tick the boxes that match your grounds. Helen ticks "Ground 8" and "Grounds 10/11". These boxes don't replace questions 4.2 and 4.3.

Question 4.2: the legal wording (mandatory)

Insert the full legal wording of each ground as set out in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, copied from GOV.UK's legal-wording document. Don't summarise it, shorten it or rely on the ground's name. GOV.UK suggests adding its plain-English explanation alongside, which helps the tenant understand the notice. If you run out of room, continue on the extra sheet.

Question 4.3: your explanation (mandatory)

Under a heading for each ground, explain in your own words why it applies, with as much evidence as possible. Give the facts a judge would need: dates, amounts, what happened and what you hold as proof.

Ground 8. The rent is £1,100 a month, payable on the 1st of each month. On 2 November 2026, the date this notice is served, £3,850 of rent is unpaid, which is three and a half months' rent. No rent was paid for August, October or November 2026, and £550 was paid towards September 2026. None of the unpaid rent is due to a Universal Credit payment that has not yet been received. A rent schedule showing every payment due and received since 1 September 2025 is on the extra sheet.

Ground 10. As set out under Ground 8, £3,850 of rent is unpaid on the date this notice is served.

Ground 11. Between March and July 2026 the rent was paid between 9 and 21 days late every month, and since August 2026 it has not been paid in full. Written reminders were sent on 12 March, 14 April, 13 May, 15 June and 14 July 2026.

Notice how the Ground 8 explanation shows the threshold is met on the day of service: with monthly rent, at least 3 months' rent (£3,300 here) must be unpaid then, and still at the hearing. Our guide to Section 8 notices for rent arrears covers the Universal Credit rule and the evidence in detail.

Section 5: signature and landlord details

Question	What to enter	Helen's example
5.1 Signature	The landlord's signature, or that of someone authorised. Hand or electronic signatures are allowed	Helen signs
5.2 Capacity	Landlord, Agent or Licensor	Landlord
5.3 Date	Day, month, year	02/11/2026
5.4 and 5.5	Name and address of the person who completed and signed the form	Helen Carter and her address for notices
5.6 Phone	Optional contact number	Her mobile
5.7 Email	Optional, but see the warning below	Left blank

Watch out: giving an email address in question 5.7 means you agree that the tenant and the court may serve documents on you by email. It does not let you serve this notice on the tenant by email. That is only allowed if the written tenancy agreement clearly says email is an agreed method.

Joint landlords each sign, using the additional signatures page (page 7, room for three more), or agree that one of you signs for all. A letting agent can sign as "Agent", and a company landlord can sign through an authorised employee.

Section 6 and the extra sheets

Section 6 is fixed information for the tenant: where to get advice, the landlord's duties and the breathing-space scheme. Leave it exactly as it is, and don't remove pages. If you continue any answer on the extra sheet at the end, write the section and question number you're continuing (for example "4.3, Ground 11"), then sign and date the sheet.

Final checks before you serve

• Every tenant is named and the address is complete.
• The date in question 2.1 allows for the longest period and posting time.
• Question 4.2 has the full wording for every ground, and question 4.3 has a headed explanation for each.
• For Ground 8, the arrears meet the threshold on the day you will serve.
• The form is signed, dated and complete, with no pages missing.
• You have a copy for each tenant and will keep the original.

Then serve it and record how and when, ideally on form N215. See how to serve a Section 8 notice.

What to do next

If you'd rather not work through the form by hand, ValidNotice asks plain-English questions, fills in every section of Form 3A from your answers, calculates the dates and adds a certificate of service. Either way, read the 12 mistakes that make Section 8 notices fail before you serve, and return to the Section 8 notice guide for the steps after that.