The Express Financial Remedy Pilot: Is Your Case Inside It?

If you are dealing with a financial remedy application in the north of England or Birmingham, your case may be running on a different timetable from the one most people expect. The Express Financial Remedy Procedure pilot is set out in PD36ZH. It came into force on 7 April 2025 and applications must be filed by the end of 2 April 2027.

This post explains what the pilot covers, where it runs, how the timetable works, and what to do if you are the respondent and you do not think your case belongs in it.

Where it runs

The pilot runs in 34 court locations: Barrow in Furness, Birkenhead, Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bradford, Carlisle, Chester, Crewe, Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Lancaster, Leeds, Leyland, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Shields, Preston, Reedley, Scarborough, Skipton, South Shields, St Helens, Sunderland, Wakefield, West Cumbria, Wigan, York and Stockport.

Stockport started on 8 April 2026. The court list has changed over time. Early commentary on the pilot gave a different list and an earlier end date, so check the live practice direction rather than relying on older articles.

What it covers

The pilot covers financial remedy applications linked to a matrimonial or civil partnership order, or to a notice of intention to proceed with one.

The case must also be below the asset threshold. "Total combined net assets" means the combined value of the assets of the applicant and respondent, excluding pension rights or Pension Protection Fund compensation entitlement, after deducting liabilities and mortgages. It must be under £250,000.

The pension exclusion applies to the threshold figure only. A case can be inside the pilot and still involve pensions.

The practice direction says the figure must be, or be considered by the applicant as likely to be, less than £250,000. In practice the applicant makes that call on Form A. If they say the combined net assets are under the threshold and the case is in a participating court, the case goes into the pilot automatically. Some solicitor commentary describes the threshold as "£250,000 or less", others as "under £250,000". The practice direction says "less than".

Consent orders and section 31 MCA 1973 variation applications are excluded.

How the timetable works

The pilot compresses the usual three stages into two hearings. There is no first appointment. The first hearing is a financial dispute resolution (FDR) appointment, listed 16 to 20 weeks after the application is accepted. If the case does not settle, the final hearing follows, typically lasting one day, listed 26 to 30 weeks after the application is accepted. Some commentary gives the final hearing window as 26 to 36 weeks, so check the live text.

The work is front loaded. Solicitor commentary on the practice direction describes the main steps as follows:

• Forms E are filed and exchanged within 28 days of the application.
• Within 14 days after that, the parties are expected to try to agree property values and mortgage capacity, and a questionnaire is filed and served.
• Settlement proposals are due at least 21 days before the first hearing.
• A schedule of disagreements is due at least 14 days before the first hearing.
• Form ES1, Form ES2 and a chronology are due at least 7 days before the first hearing.
• If there is no settlement, open proposals are due within 7 days of the first hearing.

These intervals come from commentary by Hall Brown, Weightmans, Park Lane Plowden and Anthony Gold, which agree on most of them. The live practice direction has the authoritative dates for your case.

If you're the Respondent

You receive the application and timetable from the court. The applicant may have chosen the express procedure on the basis that combined net assets are under £250,000, and you may not agree.

Check the figures against what you know, including property values, debts and mortgages. If you think the total is higher, or the case is not suited to the express procedure, tell the court promptly and ask for the standard procedure.

The deadlines are short, so do not wait for the first hearing. Under rule 9.21C, either party can apply for a direction that the standard procedure applies. The application must give your reasons and be filed and served as soon as possible, and generally no later than 7 days after the exchange of financial statements. The court looks at whether there are complex asset or income structures, other complex issues, circumstances that make the first hearing unviable as an effective FDR, or a final hearing likely to need more than one day. The court should decide before the first hearing where possible.

The gov.uk guidance describes the same step as applying to leave the pilot using form D11. Several solicitor articles also refer to D11. Check the live practice direction for how to raise this in your case.

The challenge

Working out whether your case and your court are inside the pilot is the first problem. The court list has changed over time and the threshold depends on the applicant's estimate at the start.

The second problem is pace. Solicitors writing about the pilot have raised several points that matter for people without a lawyer. Litigants in person lose the first appointment, which often gives them their first explanation of the process from the court. Experts may have only a few weeks to report. The expectation that parties use best endeavours to agree valuations and mortgage capacity may be hard to meet where there is coercive control or economic abuse. Complex pension structures that need an actuary (a PODE report) may justify an application to leave the pilot because there may not be enough time. Park Lane Plowden makes this point. It does not describe a way of fitting a PODE report into the pilot timetable.

McKenzie Friend support

A McKenzie Friend can help you read your court notice. They cannot issue documents for you.

Legal source

PD36ZH, Pilot Scheme: Express Financial Remedy Procedure (check the live text).

Live practice directions (PD36ZH)

Further reading:

• What to expect if you are in the express financial remedy pilot (gov.uk)
• Law Gazette, Hall Brown Family Law
• Weightmans
• Park Lane Plowden
• Financial Remedies Journal, Anthony Gold

General information only. This is not legal advice.