Neutral citation number formatting

Most of the judgments/decisions submitted to Find Case Law should contain a neutral citation number (NCN). This is a unique reference number which aids in identifying a document.


For a detailed breakdown of NCN formats for each court/tribunal featured on Find Case Law, please see the table below:

NCN formats

Court/Tribunal NCN format
Supreme Court [20XX] UKSC XX
Privy Council [20XX] UKPC XX
Court of Appeal (Civil Division) [20XX] EWCA Civ XX
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) [20XX] EWCA Crim XX
High Court: Chancery Division [20XX] EWHC XX (Ch)
High Court: Patents Court [20XX] EWHC XX (Pat)
High Court: Intellectual Property Enterprise Court [20XX] EWHC XX (IPEC)
High Court: King’s Bench Division [20XX] EWHC XX (KB)
High Court: Queen’s Bench Division [20XX] EWHC XX (QB)
High Court: Administrative Court [20XX] EWHC XX (Admin)
High Court: Admiralty Court [20XX] EWHC XX (Admlty)
High Court: Commercial Court [20XX] EWHC XX (Comm)
High Court: Technology and Construction Court [20XX] EWHC XX (TCC)
High Court: Family Division [20XX] EWHC XX (Fam)
High Court: Senior Court Costs Office [20XX] EWHC XX (SCCO)
High Court: Court of Protection [20XX] EWCOP XX
High Court: Court of Protection (Tier 1) [20XX] EWCOP XX (T1)
High Court: Court of Protection (Tier 2) [20XX] EWCOP XX (T2)
High Court: Court of Protection (Tier 3) [20XX] EWCOP XX (T3)
Family Court [20XX] EWFC XX
Family Court (without a High Court Judge) [20XX] EWFC XX (B)
Crown Court [20XX] EWCR XX
County Court [20XX] EWCC XX
Investigatory Powers Tribunal [20XX] UKIPTrib XX
Employment Appeal Tribunal [20XX] EAT XX
Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) [20XX] UKUT XX (AAC)
Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) [20XX] UKUT XX (IAC)
Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) [20XX] UKUT XX (TCC)
Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) [20XX] UKUT XX (LC)
First Tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) [20XX] UKFTT XX (GRC)
First Tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) [20XX] UKFTT XX (TC)
First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) [20XX] UKFTT XX (PC)
Xs have been used in this table to denote elements which will change depending on the document being submitted and the year it is published.

If you are experiencing any difficulties in obtaining an NCN, please contact the Judgments Helpdesk team: judgmentshelpdesk@judiciary.uk

Documents without an NCN

We currently publish a limited number of decisions which do not contain an NCN. If you believe your judgment/decision does not require an NCN, please contact us: judgments@nationalarchives.gov.uk