How to Create a PD27A-Aligned Court Bundle

Last updated: 24 April 2026

March 2026 update: Practice Direction 27A was revised on 2 March 2026 and further amended on 24 March 2026 by FPR Practice Direction Update No 1 of 2026 (clarifying amendments only). Read the full analysis of what changed: PD27A Changes March 2026: What the New Bundle Rules Mean for Your Case.

Bundle preparation: For the framework covering family, civil, and TOLATA proceedings, see our UK Court Bundle Compliance Guide (2025-2026).

Quick answer

A PD27A-aligned court bundle follows Practice Direction 27A. Pagination depends on proceedings type: non-financial-remedy Family proceedings use Bates numbering (A1, A2, B1, B2 — restarting per section under Ch 7.2). Financial remedy proceedings use Arabic numbering consecutive through the whole bundle (Ch 6.2). Both require a hyperlinked index, PDF bookmarks, OCR, Arial or Times New Roman 12pt minimum, and a 350-page A4 e-bundle ceiling. BundleCreator defaults to the correct mode for each bundle type.

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What is Practice Direction 27A?

Practice Direction 27A sets out the mandatory requirements for court bundles in family proceedings. The current version came into force on 2 March 2026 and was amended on 24 March 2026 by FPR Practice Direction Update No 1 of 2026. It applies to all hearings in the Family Division of the High Court and the family court across England and Wales, and covers both e-bundles (the default) and paper bundles.

Every court bundle submitted to the Family Court must be prepared with PD27A in mind. Non-compliance can result in (Ch 3):

• The case being removed from the list
• Postponement
• Adverse costs orders
• Wasted costs orders

GOV.UK Family Court Statistics record over 238 new private law applications per working day. With that volume, courts rely on properly formatted bundles to function efficiently.

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The pagination rule — in full

The PD defines Bates numbering at paragraph 1.2, verbatim:

"Bates numbering" is a numbering system where each section of a bundle is denoted by a letter, with each page in that section also being numbered, so that the first section begins at page A1, then page A2 and so on, and the second section begins at page B1, then page B2 and so on, through each section.

Para 7.2 requires Bates numbering for all proceedings except financial remedy. Para 6.2 requires Arabic numbering consecutive through the whole bundle for financial remedy, with the PDF page labels matched.

Key point: Bates numbering restarts at 1 in each new section. A bundle moving from Section A to Section B opens Section B at B1, not at the next number after the last document of Section A.

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The seven essential PD27A requirements

1. Correct pagination system

Non-financial-remedy (Ch 7): A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3 …. Each section starts at 1 with its own letter prefix.

Financial remedy (Ch 6): 1, 2, 3 … 347. Consecutive through the whole bundle. PDF page labels must match (11.2(c)).

Where to place page numbers:

• Bottom centre or bottom right
• Same position on every page
• Minimum 12pt, clear and legible (11.2(k), 12.2)

Many people make the mistake of trying to use Arabic numerals throughout a non-financial-remedy bundle. Under the new PD27A, that is wrong — use the Bates system described above. If you're preparing a financial remedy bundle, use Arabic.

2. Creating a detailed index

The index is the roadmap to your bundle. It should appear at the front and include:

A well-structured index allows the judge to locate any document within seconds.

3. Making PDFs searchable with OCR

Optical Character Recognition converts scanned images into searchable text. Under PD27A 11.2(e), all typed text pages must be OCR'd if not created as direct electronic text.

Why OCR matters:

• Judges use keyword searches to locate specific passages
• Lawyers can prepare more efficiently
• Required under PD27A 11.2(e) for electronic bundles

If you're scanning paper documents, ensure your scanner applies OCR automatically, or use software to add it afterwards.

4. Adding bookmarks for navigation

PDF bookmarks create a clickable table of contents within the document itself. Under PD27A 11.2(d), each significant document and section must be bookmarked with a short description and page number.

Bookmark structure example (Bates bundle):

├── Index
├── Section A — Preliminary documents
│   ├── A1 — Case Summary
│   ├── A2 — Applicant's Position Statement
│   └── A3 — Respondent's Position Statement
├── Section B — Applications and Orders
│   ├── B1 — C100 Application
│   ├── B2 — C1A Supplementary Form
│   └── B3 — C7 Acknowledgement
├── Section C — Statements
│   └── C1 — Applicant's Witness Statement
├── Section D — Care Plan
│   └── D1 — Local Authority Care Plan
└── Section E — Experts' Reports
    └── E1 — CAFCASS Safeguarding Letter

5. Managing bundle size

PD27A 11.2(b) caps e-bundles at 350 pages A4. Paper bundles are capped at 175 sheets / 350 sides (12.1). Exceeding either cap requires the court to specifically direct otherwise.

How to stay inside the cap:

• Keep per-document caps (witness statement ≤ 25 pages exclusive of exhibits; expert report ≤ 40 pages including a maximum 4-page executive summary — Ch 8.1)
• Exclude the classes listed at 5.2 (correspondence, emails, WhatsApp, voice notes, bank statements, contact notes, foster logs, social services files except assessments relied upon, photographs) unless specifically directed
• Use PDF compression at ≤ 300 dpi (11.2(j)) — typically reduces size 20–70% with no visible quality loss

If the bundle genuinely cannot fit inside 350 pages, apply to the court identifying the documents necessary for the hearing and explaining why.

6. Logical document ordering

Non-financial-remedy (Ch 7.3) — fixed section order:

Financial remedy (Ch 6.3): Preliminary documents → applications and orders → statements and affidavits (Forms E, questionnaire replies) → experts' reports → other relevant documents.

Within each section, arrange documents chronologically.

7. Hyperlinked index

The index should be interactive. Clicking on an entry should jump directly to that document within the PDF. Under 11.2(d) each index entry is added as a link in the indexed document.

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Step-by-step: creating your PD27A bundle

Step 1: Identify your proceedings type

Is this financial remedy (Ch 6 — Arabic) or something else (Ch 7 — Bates)? The pagination system depends on this.

Step 2: Gather your documents

For a typical Child Arrangements Order hearing (non-financial-remedy, Ch 7):

• C100 application form
• C1A supplementary form (if allegations of harm)
• CAFCASS safeguarding letter
• Any existing court orders
• Your position statement
• Your witness statement
• Care plan (where applicable)
• Supporting evidence in the form of exhibits to witness statements

Step 3: Scan and OCR paper documents

1. Scan at 200–300 DPI (PD27A 11.2(j) caps at 300)
2. Apply OCR during scanning or afterwards
3. Check that text is searchable (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F)

Step 4: Arrange documents in order

Follow the fixed section order for your proceedings type (Ch 6.3 or Ch 7.3). Place preliminary documents first, followed by applications, statements, care plan (if applicable), and so on.

Step 5: Apply pagination

• Ch 7 bundle: Bates — restart at 1 in each new section. Section A documents become A1, A2, A3. Section B opens at B1. Use PDF editing software or BundleCreator to apply page numbers automatically.
• Ch 6 bundle: Arabic — number every page consecutively from 1 through the end. PDF page labels must match.

Step 6: Create your index

Build a table listing every document with item reference, description, date, and page range.

Step 7: Add bookmarks

Insert PDF bookmarks for each section and significant document (11.2(d)). Test that clicking each bookmark navigates correctly.

Step 8: Check size, OCR, font, orientation

• Under 350 pages A4 (11.2(b))
• Searchable text via OCR (11.2(e))
• Arial or Times New Roman, minimum 12 point (11.2(k)–(l))
• Landscape pages appear landscape (11.2(f))
• Default view 100% (11.2(g))

Step 9: Final review

Before submission:

• Correct pagination system used for proceedings type
• Pagination within each section runs consecutively (Bates) or whole bundle runs consecutively (Arabic)
• Index complete with page references
• Index hyperlinked to documents
• Bookmarks working correctly
• Text searchable throughout (OCR)
• Under 350 pages A4
• All documents present and in order

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How BundleCreator helps achieve PD27A alignment

BundleCreator defaults to Bates numbering for non-financial-remedy bundles and allows you to switch to Arabic for financial remedy. The system produces PD27A-aligned pagination, indexing, bookmarking, OCR, and compression automatically.

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Choosing software for PD27A bundle preparation

Most general-purpose PDF tools (Adobe Acrobat, free PDF editors, browser-built-in viewers) handle some of what PD27A requires but not all of it cleanly. The bit they all stumble on is Bates per-section pagination with restart for non-financial-remedy bundles (PD27A Ch 7.2) — the format that runs A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2 etc., restarting at 1 in every section. Generic PDF software will paginate continuously through the bundle by default; getting Bates-per-section right manually means renumbering every section as you build, and rebuilding the whole bundle when a document arrives late.

Use this checklist when evaluating any tool for Family Court bundle preparation:

A tool that ticks all 11 rows is what PD27A actually expects. A tool that ticks 7 of 11 is what most generic PDF software does, and means the user has to fix the remaining 4 manually for every bundle — which is where the compliance failures come from.

BundleCreator is purpose-built around the PD27A checklist: per-bundle mode toggle (Bates for Ch 7, Arabic for Ch 6), automatic renumbering when documents are inserted, hyperlinked index, section + document bookmarks, OCR throughout, A4 with auto-rotation preserving landscape orientation, default 100% zoom, compression to PD27A's 300 dpi cap, page-count warnings before submission. The output is one PDF, ready for upload via MyHMCTS, the Family Public Law digital service, the HMCTS Document Upload Centre, or by email to the court if no portal is available — the four routes set out in PD27A Ch 14.2.

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Common PD27A mistakes to avoid

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Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum bundle size under PD27A?

PD27A 11.2(b) caps e-bundles at 350 pages A4. Paper bundles (12.1) are capped at 175 sheets / 350 sides. Exceeding either requires the court to specifically direct otherwise, satisfied that such direction is necessary for just proceedings.

Do I need to include a position statement?

For most hearings, yes. Position statement page caps vary by hearing type — 3 pages in non-financial-remedy (Ch 7.18) unless the court directs otherwise; for financial remedy proceedings the caps tier by hearing (6 pages for First Appointments, 8 for other interims, 12 for FDR, 15 for Final). See our guide on FHDRA hearing preparation.

Can I submit a paper bundle?

Under PD27A Ch 4.1–4.2, electronic bundles are the default. Paper bundles are appropriate only where the responsible party cannot produce an e-bundle, or where the court directs (witness-box copies, LiPs without e-bundle access, realistic possibility of in-person witness evidence). Assume electronic submission unless the court specifically directs otherwise.

How far in advance must I file the bundle?

Under PD27A Ch 13.2:

• 7 working days before hearing: parties seek to agree bundle contents
• 5 working days before hearing: bundle (except preliminary documents) served and filed
• 11:00 the working day before hearing: preliminary documents served on all parties and filed with the court

Court directions in the case management order may specify different deadlines.

What if I need to add documents after filing?

PD27A 13.3 prohibits amending a filed bundle before hearing without prior court agreement. Accepted errors and court-permitted supplemental bundles are the only exceptions. If you must add a document, provide the new document separately and a revised bundle (11.2(m)) — the court may have marked the original.

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Getting started

Creating a PD27A-aligned court bundle doesn't have to be complicated. Whether you're a solicitor managing multiple cases or a litigant in person preparing for your first hearing, the requirements are the same.

BundleCreator handles the technical complexity so you can focus on your case. Bates (or Arabic, for financial remedy) pagination, hyperlinked indexing, section bookmarking, OCR, and compression — all automatic.

Start your 14-day trial at bundlecreator.co and start creating your first PD27A-aligned bundle today.

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Further reading

• Practice Direction 27A — Official judiciary guidance
• Preparing Court Bundles for Family Proceedings: Guide for Litigants in Person — Judiciary's LiP guide (2 March 2026)
• FHDRA Hearing: How to Prepare Your Bundle — First hearing preparation
• C100 Application Guide 2026 — Application form walkthrough
• Representing Yourself in Family Court — Guide for litigants in person