Statement of Claim in Ukraine: Template, Court Fee • DSA GROUP

A statement of claim is the document that starts a court case. How it is drafted determines whether the court opens proceedings or returns the documents – and later whether it can grant the claims exactly as you need. Below are the requirements of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine (CPC) as of 27 October 2026, a template structure, the 2026 court fee and the differences in commercial and administrative proceedings.

What a statement of claim is

“In the statement of claim, the claimant sets out their claims regarding the subject matter of the dispute and the grounds for them” (part 1 of Article 175 CPC). It is filed in writing and signed by the claimant, their representative or another person entitled by law to apply to court on behalf of someone else (part 2 of Article 175 CPC).

Similar requirements apply under the Commercial Procedure Code (CommPC, Article 162) and the Code of Administrative Procedure (CAP, Article 160); the differences are described below.

Which court to file with

General rule. A claim against an individual is filed at their registered place of residence or stay; a claim against a legal entity is filed at its location according to the Unified State Register (Article 27 CPC).
At the claimant’s choice, a claim may also be filed at the claimant’s own place of residence:
- maintenance (alimony) claims and related claims, claims to establish paternity and employment disputes (part 1 of Article 28 CPC);
- divorce claims – if the claimant has children under 18 in their care or cannot travel to the defendant’s place of residence for health or other good reasons (part 2 of Article 28 CPC);
- consumer protection claims – also at the consumer’s place of residence (part 5 of Article 28 CPC).
Exclusive jurisdiction. Claims concerning real property are filed where the property is located (part 1 of Article 30 CPC); claims to release property from arrest – where that property is located (part 2 of Article 30 CPC).

What the statement of claim must contain

Under part 3 of Article 175 CPC, the statement of claim must contain:

the name of the court of first instance;
details of the parties and other participants: full name or full legal name, place of residence (stay) or location with postal code, taxpayer registration number (RNOKPP) for individuals, if any, or EDRPOU code for legal entities, known phone numbers and email addresses, and whether they have an electronic cabinet;
the value of the claim, if the claim can be valued in money, and a substantiated calculation of the amounts;
the substance of the claims – the method of protection you ask the court to apply; if there are several defendants – for each of them;
the circumstances on which the claims are based and the evidence confirming them;
information on pre-trial settlement of the dispute, if it took place;
information on securing evidence or the claim before filing, if this was done;
a list of attached documents and evidence; evidence that cannot be submitted with the statement; who holds the originals;
a preliminary (estimated) calculation of court costs;
confirmation that you have not filed another claim against the same defendant with the same subject matter and on the same grounds.

If the claimant is exempt from court fee, the statement must state the grounds for the exemption (part 4 of Article 175 CPC).

Law No. 4833-IX of 7 April 2026 added part 7 to the article: in a claim for recovery of money, the claimant’s bank account details must be given, and an individual without an account says so and states the preferred way to receive the money (part 7 of Article 175 CPC).

Template structure of a statement of claim

You can use the structure below as a basis. Square brackets show the details you fill in.

Heading:
- To [name of the court of first instance]
- Claimant: [full name / full legal name], [address with postal code], RNOKPP / EDRPOU code [____], tel. [____], email [____], electronic cabinet: [yes / no]
- Defendant: [full name / legal name], [address with postal code], [known codes and contacts], electronic cabinet: [yes / no / unknown]
- Third party (if any): [____]
- Value of the claim: UAH [____]
Title: STATEMENT OF CLAIM for [recovery of … / recognition of … / divorce …]
Narrative part:
- the facts of the case – what happened, when, and what evidence confirms it;
- legal grounds – provisions of law, terms of the contract;
- calculation of the amount;
- pre-trial settlement of the dispute: [took place / did not take place];
- measures to secure evidence or the claim before filing: [taken / not taken];
- preliminary calculation of court costs: court fee UAH [____], professional legal assistance UAH [____], other [____];
- confirmation that the claimant has not filed another claim against this defendant with the same subject matter and on the same grounds;
- the claimant’s bank account details (in a claim for recovery of money): [____];
- where the originals of written evidence are kept: [with the claimant / with ____].
Operative part – “I ASK THE COURT:”
- [the claim – worded exactly as it should appear in the judgment];
- to recover court costs from the defendant in favour of the claimant.
Attachments: list of documents (see the next section).
Date and signature of the claimant or representative.

Word each claim so that the court can carry it over word for word into the judgment: what to recover, from whom and how much; what to recognise; what to dissolve. Do not add claims “in case the other claim is refused” – each claim should be independent and unambiguous.

What to attach to the statement of claim

The list is in Article 177 CPC:

copies of the statement and all attachments for each defendant and third party; if you file through the electronic cabinet – proof that copies were sent to the other participants (part 1).
- No copies are required in employment disputes or in cases on compensation for damage caused by a criminal offence, injury, other harm to health or death, or by unlawful decisions, actions or inaction of bodies carrying out operational and investigative activities or pre-trial investigation, the prosecutor’s office or the court (part 2).
proof of payment of the court fee or documents confirming the grounds for exemption (part 4);
all evidence you have (part 5). The claimant must submit evidence together with the statement of claim (part 2 of Article 83 CPC); evidence submitted later without good reason will not be admitted by the court (part 8 of Article 83 CPC);
in a dispute over the invalidity of a contract or an act – a copy or the original, or, if you do not have it, a motion to obtain it (part 6);
a document confirming the representative’s authority, if the statement was signed by a representative (part 7);
a document confirming the bank account, if you have given its details (part 8);
if necessary – motions for exemption from, deferral or reduction of the court fee, appointment of an expert examination, obtaining evidence, etc. (part 3).

Court fee in 2026

The fee is calculated from the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons as at 1 January of the year in which the claim is filed (part 1 of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine “On Court Fee”). In 2026 it is UAH 3,328 (Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026”).

Civil case (item 1 of part 2 of Article 4 of the Law “On Court Fee”):

property claim by an individual or an individual entrepreneur – 1% of the value of the claim, but not less than UAH 1,331.20 and not more than UAH 16,640;
property claim by a legal entity – 1.5% of the value of the claim, but not less than UAH 3,328 and not more than UAH 1,164,800;
non-property claim: an individual – UAH 1,331.20; a legal entity or individual entrepreneur – UAH 3,328;
divorce claim – UAH 1,331.20;
claim for division of property on divorce – 1% of the value of the claim, but not less than UAH 1,331.20 and not more than UAH 9,984.

If the claim is filed electronically, the rate is multiplied by 0.8 (part 3 of Article 4). Examples:

an individual’s claim to recover UAH 300,000: 1% is UAH 3,000; through the electronic cabinet – UAH 2,400;
a claim to recover UAH 100,000: 1% is UAH 1,000, which is below the minimum, so UAH 1,331.20 is payable (UAH 1,064.96 through the electronic cabinet).

Commercial court: property claim – 1.5% of the value of the claim, but not less than UAH 3,328 and not more than UAH 1,164,800; non-property claim – UAH 3,328 (item 2 of part 2 of Article 4).
Administrative court: non-property claim by an individual – UAH 1,331.20; by a legal entity, individual entrepreneur or public authority – UAH 3,328; property claim by an individual or individual entrepreneur – 1% of the value of the claim (UAH 1,331.20 to UAH 16,640); by a legal entity or public authority – 1.5% (UAH 3,328 to UAH 33,280) (item 3 of part 2 of Article 4).

Exempt from the fee, in particular (Article 5 of the Law “On Court Fee”):

claimants in cases on recovery of wages and reinstatement at work;
claimants in maintenance (alimony) cases and related claims;
claimants in cases on compensation for damage caused by injury, other harm to health or death;
persons with group I and II disabilities;
combatants (participants in hostilities) – in cases concerning violation of their rights.

Filing online: the electronic cabinet

Advocates, notaries, legal entities registered in Ukraine, public authorities and certain other persons must register an electronic cabinet in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System; other persons do so voluntarily (part 6 of Article 14 CPC).
If a person who must have an electronic cabinet files a claim without one, the court leaves the claim without action (part 1 of Article 185 CPC). The same applies where that person is represented by an advocate (part 6 of Article 14 CPC).
When filing through the electronic cabinet, the claimant sends copies to the other participants – to their electronic cabinets or, if they have none, by letter with a list of enclosures (part 7 of Article 43 CPC) – and attaches proof of sending to the claim (part 1 of Article 177 CPC).
Electronic documents are signed with a qualified electronic signature (part 8 of Article 43 CPC).

What happens after filing

Leaving the claim without action. If Article 175 or 177 CPC has not been complied with, the judge issues a ruling leaving the claim without action within 5 days (part 1 of Article 185 CPC). The ruling lists the defects and the time to correct them – no more than 10 days from service of the ruling; if the court fee was not paid, the exact amount (part 2). If the defects are corrected in time, the claim is deemed filed on the date of the original filing; if not, it is returned (part 3).
Return. A claim is also returned, in particular, if (part 4 of Article 185 CPC):
- it is not signed or is signed by a person not entitled to sign it;
- the rules on joinder of claims are breached;
- the claimant has already filed the same claim against the same defendant with this court;
- evidence of pre-trial settlement is not attached where such settlement is mandatory.
Return does not prevent you from applying again once the reason has been removed (part 7 of Article 185 CPC). But if the claim was returned because of an identical claim, the court fee paid is not refunded (part 8 of Article 185 CPC).
Refusal to open proceedings (Article 186 CPC) – in particular, if the case is not subject to civil jurisdiction (the court explains which court to apply to – part 5), if there is a court decision that has entered into force between the same parties on the same subject matter and on the same grounds, or if the same dispute is already being heard by a court.
Opening of proceedings – within 5 days (part 1 of Article 187 CPC). In the ruling, the court states whether the case will be heard under the general or simplified claim procedure and sets the time limit for the defendant’s statement of defence (part 2). If the defendant is an individual without entrepreneur status, proceedings are opened no later than the day after the court receives information on their registered place of residence (part 1).

Time limits: limitation period and administrative claims

The general limitation period is three years (Article 257 of the Civil Code of Ukraine). The court will accept a claim even after it has expired (part 2 of Article 267 of the Civil Code), but if a party applies for the limitation period to be applied before the judgment, this is a ground for refusing the claim (parts 3–4 of Article 267), unless the court finds the reasons for missing it valid (part 5).
Law No. 4434-IX of 14 May 2025 on resuming the running of limitation periods deleted item 19 of the Final and Transitional Provisions of the Civil Code; the law entered into force on 4 September 2025. If your limitation period fell within the period of martial law, it is worth calculating the remaining time with a lawyer.
Administrative claims: the general time limit is six months from the day the person learned or should have learned of the violation of their rights (part 2 of Article 122 CAP); after a pre-trial complaint – three months from service of the decision on the complaint (part 4); in disputes on admission to, performance of and dismissal from public service – one month (part 5).

Commercial and administrative claims: the differences

CommPC:
- before filing, the claimant sends the other participants a copy of the statement of claim with attachments by letter with a list of enclosures or through the electronic cabinet (part 1 of Article 172 CommPC) and attaches proof of sending (item 1 of part 1 of Article 164 CommPC);
- besides the facts and evidence, the claim states its legal grounds (item 5 of part 3 of Article 162 CommPC);
- otherwise the claim is left without action (part 1 of Article 174 CommPC).
CAP:
- a claim may be drawn up by filling in a claim form provided by the court, and a member of the court staff may help to complete it (parts 3–4 of Article 160 CAP);
- in a claim against a public authority, the claimant explains how exactly its decision, action or inaction violates their rights (item 9 of part 5 of Article 160 CAP);
- if the time limit for applying to court was missed, an application to renew it with evidence of valid reasons is attached (part 6 of Article 161 CAP).

Common mistakes

filing with the wrong court – check the jurisdiction rules (Articles 27, 28 and 30 CPC);
no value of the claim or no substantiated calculation (item 3 of part 3 of Article 175 CPC);
vaguely worded claims – the court cannot carry them over word for word into the judgment;
evidence “to be submitted later” – the court may not admit it (part 8 of Article 83 CPC);
the wrong amount of court fee – the claim will be left without action and the court will state the exact amount (part 2 of Article 185 CPC);
no information on the participants’ electronic cabinets, or a claim filed without a cabinet by a person obliged to have one (part 6 of Article 14 CPC);
no confirmation that no identical claim has been filed (item 10 of part 3 of Article 175 CPC).

Frequently asked questions

Can a statement of claim be filed online?

Yes, through the electronic cabinet in the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System. Documents are signed with a qualified electronic signature, and the court fee is paid with a 0.8 coefficient. For advocates and legal entities registered in Ukraine, an electronic cabinet is mandatory (part 6 of Article 14 CPC).

What if the court leaves the claim without action?

Correct the defects within the time set in the ruling – no more than 10 days from its service. The claim will then be deemed filed on the date of the original filing (part 3 of Article 185 CPC).

Do I need a lawyer to file a claim?

The law allows the claimant to sign and file a claim personally (part 2 of Article 175 CPC). A lawyer helps choose the right method of protection, the court and the value of the claim and gather evidence – which often determines the outcome.

This article is for information only and reflects the law as of 27 October 2026. It does not replace advice on your specific situation.

Need a statement of claim? We will draft the claim, gather evidence and represent you in court → Civil and commercial disputes · Debt recovery · Family law · Administrative disputes. If the decision goes against you, read how to appeal a court decision.