Court Bundle Checklist: Essential Documents for Family Court Cases

Last updated: March 2026

Quick Answer

Every family court bundle needs a core set of documents: the application form, any response, all previous court orders, and position statements. Beyond that, the required documents vary depending on the type of hearing. This article gives you a practical checklist for each hearing type so you know exactly what to include and what to leave out.

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Documents Required for Every Family Court Hearing

Regardless of whether your case involves children, finances, or domestic abuse, certain documents belong in every family court bundle. These form the skeleton of your bundle, usually in Section A.

The Universal Checklist

• The application form that started proceedings (C100, FL401, Form A, or equivalent)
• The response or acknowledgement from the other party (C7 in children cases, Form E in financial remedy)
• All court orders made in the case, in chronological order (oldest first)
• The most recent directions order that sets out what must be in the bundle
• Position statements from both parties for the current hearing (if directed)
• A case summary or chronology (if directed by the court)

These documents should always appear in Section A of your bundle. If you have nothing else, you should have these.

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Hearing-Specific Checklists

First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment (FHDRA)

The FHDRA is the first hearing in a child arrangements case. It is meant to identify the issues, explore whether agreement is possible, and set directions for the future.

Essential documents:

• C100 Application for a Child Arrangements Order
• C1A Supplemental Information Form (allegations of harm), if filed
• C7 Acknowledgement / Response from the respondent
• Respondent's C1A (cross-allegations, if filed) (respondent's response to allegations), if filed
• MIAM certificate or evidence of exemption from mediation
• Cafcass safeguarding letter (Cafcass will send this to the court and parties before the FHDRA)
• Any existing court orders relating to the children (including orders from previous proceedings)
• A brief position statement (one to two pages maximum) setting out what order you are asking for and why

Documents you probably do not need at an FHDRA:

• Lengthy witness statements (these come later)
• Bundles of text messages or emails (not yet)
• Character references
• School reports (unless directly relevant to an immediate safeguarding issue)

The FHDRA is a short hearing, typically lasting 30 to 60 minutes. The judge wants to understand the dispute and the safety issues. Keep the bundle focused. A bundle of 50 to 80 pages is typical for an FHDRA.

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Dispute Resolution Appointment (DRA)

The DRA happens after the Cafcass report has been completed but before any final hearing. Its purpose is to see if the case can settle without a trial.

Essential documents:

• Everything from the FHDRA bundle (updated)
• Cafcass section 7 report (or rule 16.4 report, if one has been ordered)
• All orders made since the FHDRA
• Updated position statements from both parties
• Any section 37 report from the local authority, if directed
• Any expert reports ordered since the FHDRA (psychological assessments, drug/alcohol testing results)
• Respondent's witness statement (if directed at this stage)
• Applicant's witness statement (if directed at this stage)

Additional documents if relevant:

• Police disclosure (if ordered under a disclosure direction)
• Medical records (if ordered)
• School or nursery reports (if the child's welfare at school is an issue)
• Contact centre records (if supervised contact has been taking place)

The DRA bundle is usually 100 to 200 pages. The judge will have the Cafcass report and will want to see whether the parties' positions have moved since the FHDRA.

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Fact-Finding Hearing

A fact-finding hearing determines whether specific allegations (usually of domestic abuse) actually happened. The court's approach is governed by Practice Direction 12J, which supplements Part 12 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010.

Essential documents:

• The Scott Schedule of allegations (a table listing each allegation, the date, the alleged perpetrator's response, and any evidence)
• Applicant's witness statement addressing the allegations
• Respondent's witness statement responding to the allegations
• C1A form and Respondent's C1A (cross-allegations, if filed)
• All court orders, including the order that listed the findings to be determined
• Police disclosure, crime reports, and any prosecution records
• Medical evidence (GP records, A&E attendance records, photographs of injuries)
• Any relevant text messages or communications (selected, not the entire history)
• Third-party evidence (statements from witnesses who saw or heard the alleged incidents)

Documents to handle carefully:

The 350-page limit is particularly challenging in fact-finding hearings because there is often substantial evidence to include. Prioritise the Scott Schedule, the witness statements, and the strongest supporting evidence. A chronological approach works well: for each allegation in the Scott Schedule, include only the documents directly relevant to that allegation.

If you have more evidence than will fit, ask the court for permission to exceed the page limit. Explain how many pages you need and why.

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Final Hearing (Child Arrangements)

The final hearing is where the judge decides the outcome. This is the most document-heavy hearing type.

Essential documents:

• All previous applications and responses
• All court orders made in the proceedings (chronological)
• All Cafcass reports (safeguarding letter, section 7 report, addendum reports)
• All witness statements from both parties
• Any expert reports (psychological, psychiatric, drug/alcohol, DNA)
• Police disclosure documents
• Findings of fact (if a fact-finding hearing has taken place)
• Updated position statements for the final hearing
• Agreed bundle index (agreed between the parties)
• Skeleton arguments (if directed, more common in High Court cases)

Additional documents if relevant:

• Contact centre reports and records
• School reports or SENCO correspondence
• Medical records of the child
• Local authority records (if section 37 or section 7 involvement)
• Photographs (only if directly relevant and not excessive)
• Schedules of assets (if financial issues are linked to the welfare decision)

The final hearing bundle can legitimately reach 300 to 350 pages. This is the hearing where the judge needs the complete picture. Even so, be selective. A 350-page bundle where every page matters is worth far more than a 500-page bundle padded with irrelevant material.

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Financial Remedy Hearings

Financial remedy proceedings (formerly called ancillary relief) have their own set of required documents, governed by Part 9 of the Family Procedure Rules.

First Directions Appointment (FDA)

• Form A (application for financial remedy)
• Form B (notice of first appointment)
• Form E from applicant (full financial disclosure, sworn and signed)
• Form E from respondent
• Any questionnaires raised on the other party's Form E
• Replies to questionnaires
• Form G (notice of response to first appointment)
• All court orders
• Property valuations (if obtained)
• Pension CEV statements or PODE reports

Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing (FDR)

The FDR is a "without prejudice" hearing where the judge gives an indication of likely outcome to encourage settlement. The bundle must include:

• Everything from the FDA bundle (updated)
• Form H (costs estimate) from both parties
• Updated Form E or statement of financial information (if there have been material changes)
• Completed questionnaire replies with supporting documents
• Section 25 statement or position statement addressing the section 25 factors (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973)
• Schedule of assets (agreed where possible, or with disputed values shown)
• Open proposals (what each party says is a fair outcome)
• Pension reports (if a PODE report has been obtained)
• Any recent property valuations or business valuations
• Income documents: recent payslips (3 months), P60, tax returns (2 years), business accounts (if self-employed)

Critical point: The FDR is privileged. Nothing said at the FDR can be referred to at a later hearing before a different judge. The FDR bundle should contain open proposals and without-prejudice offers clearly marked as such.

Final Hearing (Financial Remedy)

• Everything from the FDR bundle (updated)
• Updated income documents
• Updated property valuations (if the market has moved)
• Mortgage capacity evidence
• Housing needs statements
• Witness statements addressing disputed facts
• Any expert reports (business valuations, pension actuary reports)
• Updated Form H (costs estimate)
• Skeleton arguments (if directed)
• Authorities bundle (case law relied upon, filed separately)

Financial remedy bundles are often the largest in family proceedings. A complex case with business interests, multiple properties, and pension issues can easily exceed 350 pages. Apply for permission to exceed the limit early if you can see the bundle growing beyond it.

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Documents You Should NOT Include

Knowing what to leave out is as important as knowing what to put in. These documents cause problems more often than they help:

Text message screenshots (in bulk). A 40-page printout of WhatsApp messages is not evidence. Select the specific messages that are relevant and include only those, with dates clearly visible.

Social media posts. Unless a post contains a direct threat, an admission, or evidence of behaviour directly relevant to the proceedings, leave it out. Judges are unimpressed by attempts to use social media to paint the other party in a bad light.

Character references from friends and family. The court gives almost no weight to these. Your mother saying you are a good parent is not evidence. If you want character evidence, it needs to come from professionals: teachers, GPs, health visitors.

Correspondence with your solicitor. This is privileged. It should not be disclosed to the other party or to the court unless you deliberately waive privilege. Including it in a bundle waives privilege, and you probably do not want that.

Without-prejudice correspondence. Letters or emails marked "without prejudice" or discussions about settlement cannot be shown to the judge (except at an FDR hearing, where without-prejudice communications are expected).

Duplicate copies. If the same court order appears in both parties' disclosure, include it once. Check for duplicates before finalising the bundle.

Documents from unrelated proceedings. If there are parallel criminal proceedings, do not include documents from those proceedings unless the court has specifically directed it. There may be restrictions on disclosure.

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How to Organise Documents Within Sections

Practice Direction 27A sets out the standard section structure for family court bundles:

Section A: Preliminary Documents

This section contains the procedural backbone of the case.

• Applications and responses
• All court orders (chronological, oldest first)
• Case management documents
• Position statements
• Chronology (if directed)
• Case summary (if directed)

Section B: Applicant's Evidence

Everything filed by or on behalf of the applicant.

• Witness statements (if there are multiple statements, put them in chronological order)
• Exhibits to statements
• Documentary evidence relied upon

Section C: Respondent's Evidence

The mirror of Section B, for the respondent.

• Witness statements
• Exhibits
• Documentary evidence

Section D: Expert and Professional Evidence

Documents from independent professionals.

• Cafcass reports (safeguarding letter, section 7 report, addendum)
• Expert reports (psychological, medical, financial)
• Local authority reports

Section E: Other Documents

Anything that does not fit neatly into the above categories.

• School reports
• Medical records
• Police disclosure
• Photographs
• Relevant correspondence

Within each section, put documents in chronological order. The oldest document goes first. This allows the judge to read through the section and understand how events unfolded over time.

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Tips for Electronic Submission

Most family courts now prefer e-bundles. Here are practical tips for getting them right:

File size matters. Keep the PDF under 20MB if possible. Courts often have email attachment limits of 25MB or 36MB. If your bundle is larger, compress the PDF or contact the court to ask about alternative filing methods (some courts use file-sharing services like Egress).

Use PDF/A format if possible. PDF/A is an archival format that preserves the document exactly as created. It prevents formatting issues when the court opens the file.

Make text searchable. Run OCR (optical character recognition) on scanned documents so the judge can search for names, dates, and key terms. This is particularly helpful in large bundles.

Add bookmarks. Every document in the bundle should have a bookmark in the PDF that matches the index entry. This allows the judge to click directly to any document from the bookmarks panel.

Test the bundle before filing. Open the final PDF on a different device. Click through the index links. Check that bookmarks work. Verify that scanned pages are legible. It takes ten minutes and can save you from filing a broken bundle.

Name the file clearly. Use a format like: Smith_v_Smith_Bundle_FinalHearing_14Mar2026.pdf. Do not name it bundle.pdf or final version (2) CORRECTED.pdf.

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How BundleCreator Can Help

Building a compliant bundle with the correct section structure, sequential pagination, and a linked index is the most time-consuming part of court preparation. BundleCreator generates bundles built around PD27A automatically, complete with the section structure, pagination, and clickable index described in this article. If you want to see how it works before committing, there is a 14-day trial.