What is the deadline for counterclaim with defence?
A defendant may make a counterclaim without the court’s permission if it is filed with the defence. There is no independent fixed counterclaim period: the relevant date is the applicable defence deadline.
Read the rule checklist
This page explains the cited rule. It does not generate an automated date. Check the trigger, service facts, time-counting treatment and any order before you use the period in your diary.
- Start point
- The applicable deadline for filing the defence
- Stated period
- With the defence, unless the court gives permission later
Worked source check
- Example input
- 03/08/2026
- Expected result
- No automated date. Check the defence deadline and whether permission is needed for a later counterclaim.
A defendant intends to counterclaim, but the applicable defence deadline and any prior court permission are not confirmed.
The guide links the counterclaim timing to the live defence route rather than inventing an independent period.
What this source guide covers
- Period
- With the defence, unless the court gives permission later
- Trigger
- The applicable deadline for filing the defence
- Direction
- Follow the correct defence route
- Counting method
- First establish the defence deadline, including any acknowledgment of service, extension agreement, order or service issue. Rule 20.4 does not create a separate fixed counterclaim date.
Any final-day treatment follows the applicable defence calculation and court-closure rule, not a new Part 20 period.
Civil Procedure Rules Part 20. CPR 20.4(1) and (2); CPR Part 15. Civil Procedure Rules Part 20 checked 07/08/2026
Exceptions and matter facts
- A counterclaim filed at another time needs the court’s permission under CPR 20.4(2)(b).
- A counterclaim against a person other than the claimant has a different Part 20 route. Check whether an additional party is involved.
Deadline Engine is calculation software, not legal advice. Check the current rule, any order and the facts before adding a date to your diary.