A court bundle is not an archive dump.
The aim is to prove the pleaded issues. Build an issue list, chronology, witness evidence and indexed documents. Every important assertion should be traceable to a document, witness evidence or a clear inference.
Separate evidence from argument.
An email, signed agreement or credit report is evidence. Your explanation of why it proves breach is argument. Keeping those roles separate makes the case easier to understand and exposes where evidence is genuinely missing.
Prepare for questions, not a speech.
Know the chronology, the contractual/statutory basis, the disputed facts and how the amount claimed is calculated. Small-claims hearings are comparatively informal, but the judge will still test the evidence and legal basis.
Turn the archive into a case
A court does not need every email you have ever received. It needs the material that proves or disproves the pleaded issues. Create a chronology, issue list and evidence index. For each disputed fact, know which document or witness evidence supports your version.
Prepare to answer the judge’s question
Know the short version of the case: what was agreed, what went wrong, what legal right was breached, what evidence proves it and what order you are asking the court to make. If a document matters, be able to direct the judge to it quickly.
Evidence proves points, not page count
Start with the issues the court must decide. For each issue, identify the fact you need to prove and the best evidence for it. Contemporary contracts, emails, account records, recordings, screenshots, invoices and system notes can be stronger than a later reconstruction, but authenticity, context and relevance still matter.
A bundle is an organised route to the evidence. Give documents stable page/reference numbers and use those references consistently in your witness statement, chronology and hearing notes.
Witness statements and personal knowledge
A witness statement should distinguish what you personally saw/heard/did from information derived from records or other people. Keep argument under control: explain events and refer to exhibits, then use a short skeleton/position note if legal submissions are needed and permitted.
At the hearing
Answer the judge’s question directly, then explain the document or rule relied upon. If the other side says something inconsistent with the record, identify the contradiction precisely rather than arguing generally. Keep the requested remedy and calculation available so the court can understand what order you actually seek.
Prepare a hearing pack for navigation, not decoration.
Bring or have available the order, statements of case, key correspondence, contract, evidence, schedule of loss and a short chronology. Paginate consistently if the court has not already prescribed a bundle format. Mark the passages that prove each proposition without altering the underlying document.
Useful opening structure.
“There are three issues: [1], [2] and [3]. On issue 1, the key document is page [x], which records [fact]. The defendant says [position]. My case is [short response].”
Expert evidence is controlled.
On the small claims track a party cannot simply obtain an expert report and assume it will be admitted. PD27A’s standard directions say no party may rely on an expert report unless the court gives express permission. If technical evidence is genuinely necessary, seek permission promptly and explain why proportionate expert assistance is required.
Follow the court’s directions exactly: they override generic website advice.
For ordinary small claims, CPR 27.4 describes standard directions that normally require documents relied upon to be filed and served at least 14 days before the hearing. But your actual order can specify a different date or additional steps. Calendar every deadline from the order itself and comply with that order.
Do not assume that sending evidence to the court means the other side has it, or vice versa. “File” and “serve” can require both actions.
The hearing is usually about proving propositions, not reading your whole bundle aloud.
Work backwards from the legal issues. For each issue, identify what fact you need the judge to find, which document or witness supports it, and where the other side disagrees. A concise issue-to-evidence map is often more useful than simply arranging documents chronologically and hoping the judge finds the point.
| Issue | Fact to prove | Typical evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Contract term | What was agreed at the relevant time | Order confirmation, terms, sales evidence. |
| Payment/refund | What was paid or repaid and when | Statement, receipt, provider ledger. |
| Fault/breach | What went wrong | Photos, reports, correspondence, contemporaneous records. |
| Loss | How the claimed sum was caused and calculated | Invoices, receipts, calculations, bank records. |
Official sources
Check the rules behind this guide
These are official or primary sources for this topic. Court rules and fees can change, so check the live source before issuing a claim or relying on a deadline.