Draft Order (attached to an application)

A document attached to a court application setting out the exact wording of the order you're asking the court to make if your application succeeds. It is NOT an order of the court yet — it's your proposed order, written in the form the judge could seal and hand down if they agree with your application. The purpose is twofold: it tells the court precisely what relief you're seeking (so the judge doesn't have to guess), and it ensures that, if granted, the order is properly framed and ready to be made without further drafting. Under the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Direction 5A, a draft order must accompany certain applications — most commonly without-notice (ex parte) applications, but also any application where a specific, defined order is sought rather than a general direction. A well-prepared draft order sets out: the title and case number; the parties' names; the orders or directions sought, clearly and in numbered paragraphs; any recitals (short background statements beginning 'Upon reading…' or 'It is recorded that…', which give context but aren't operative); and the date. The applicant files the draft order alongside the application notice. At the hearing the court may make the order as drafted, amend it, or refuse it — and if it's made, the court office 'seals' it and it becomes the binding court order. Getting the draft order right matters: a vague or poorly framed draft can delay the hearing or result in an order that doesn't actually do what you needed, so litigants in person often ask a McKenzie Friend or solicitor to check the wording before filing.