You should know
For Civil Law matters, unless a Judge directs otherwise, an appeal does not act as a stay on the Circuit Court order.
Making an appeal
You can appeal or review any decision made in the Circuit Court.
- If the decision was made by a County Registrar, you can apply to a Circuit Court Judge to review the decision.
- If the decision was made by a Circuit Court Judge, you can appeal the decision to the High Court.
You must have valid legal grounds (reasons) on which to make an appeal. Depending on the outcome of your appeal, you may have to pay further costs.
Reviewing a decision made by a County Registrar
If you are not happy with any decision made by the County Registrar, you can apply to a Judge of the Circuit Court to review it.
To make an appeal, you should submit the following documents in the court office where the decision you are appealing was made:
- A Notice of Motion - you complete this form to notify the court and your Mortgage Lender that you intend to appeal the decision of the County Registrar. You must serve and file the Notice of Motion within twenty eight days of the date the decision was made
- A Grounding Affidavit - you complete a Grounding Affidavit to inform the court of your legal reason(s) for appealing the County Registrar's decision.
You should make three copies of the Notice of Motion and Grounding Affidavit. The originals will be stamped and kept on file in the court office. You will need a copy to serve on your mortgage lender and you will need a copy for your own records.
Once you have submitted the documents above, you will be given a return date for your appeal hearing by the court office.
For more information on serving and proof of service, please see our serving and proof of service page.
What happens at your appeal hearing
At your appeal hearing, the Circuit Court Judge will read the information in the Grounding Affidavit. They may ask you questions about the evidence you have provided. The Circuit Court Judge can then make a number of decisions including:
- Grant an Order for Possession.
- Dismiss/strike out the case.
- Refer the case back to the County Registrar for a new hearing.
The Judge can also decide who pays the legal costs of both parties of the appeal.
Appealing a decision made by a Circuit Court Judge
If you are not happy with a decision made by a Circuit Court Judge, you can apply to the High Court to appeal it.
The appeal process and documents required are the same as the Circuit Court. However, where you submit your Notice of Motion (Appeal) depends where the Circuit Court decision was made, and on whether oral evidence was given when determining the case. Oral evidence means that a party gave spoken or signed evidence under oath in person or virtually to the court.
If the Circuit Court order was made in Dublin, you must submit your Notice of Appeal in the Central Office of the High Court in Dublin. The appeal will also be heard in Dublin.
If the Circuit Court decision was made outside of Dublin and no oral evidence was given in the Circuit Court, you must submit the Notice of Appeal in the Central Office of the High Court in Dublin. The appeal will also be heard in Dublin.
If the Circuit Court decision was made outside of Dublin and oral evidence was given in the Circuit Court, you must submit the Notice of Appeal in the Circuit Court Office in the county of your Circuit Court case.
Cost for your appeal
Original documents must be stamped with a court fee. You can pay the court fees at your local court office (or in Dublin, at the Stamping Office in the Áras Uí Dhálaigh building in the Four Courts complex). You can pay these fees by card or cash.
Each Notice of Motion submitted in the Circuit Court and High Court: €60.
Any supporting Affidavit submitted in the Circuit Court €15 and High Court: €20.
