A number of new Circuit Court Family Law forms are due to come into effect on 23 November 2026. From this date the Courts Service will only be able to accept the new forms.
What's changing
The Circuit Court rules committee approved the rule changes and the new forms earlier this year.
Details of the new forms are below. To view samples of these new forms please click on the hyperlinks in the first column. Please review them with a view to using them from 23 November 2026 onwards.
If you have any queries please contact familylawreform@courts.ie.
| New Form | Details | Form Being Replaced |
|---|---|---|
| Family Law Civil Bill (Form 37E) | Applications for Divorce, Judicial Separation and Dissolution of Civil Partnership are now covered by a new Civil Bill (Form 37E) | Civil Bill (Form 2N) Civil Bill (Form 2S) |
| Family Law Civil Bill (Form 37F) | Any other family law applications are covered by a separate Civil Bill (Form 37F) | |
| Defence and Counterclaim (Form 37Z) | Used to respond to Civil Bill (Form 37E) | Defence (Form 6A) |
| Defence and Counterclaim (Form 37ZA) | Used to respond to Civil Bill (Form 37F) | |
| Appearance (Form 37B) | Can be used across all Circuit Court Family Law case types | Entry of Appearance (Form 5B) |
| Affidavit of Means (Form 37A) | Can be used across all Circuit Court Family Law case types | Affidavit of Means (Form 37A) |
