Step by step guide - Examination order

You will need two forms: 

• ​Form 53 – Notice of Motion - Examination order
  
• Form 54 – Examination order
  

You can file Form 53 – on the NSW Online Registry website. You do not need to fill out a Form 54 if you are applying online.​

You can get blank copies of the forms from: ​​

• ​​​any Local Court, or
  
• the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules (UCPR) forms website. 

You can fill out your form:

• ​​​by completing it on your computer
  
• by printing the form and completing it in blue or black pen
  
• on the NSW Online Registry​ website.
  

To fill in the forms you will need to have the following information ready:

​​​​Your case number. You will find this on the stamped copy of the Statement of Claim.

• The date of the judgment against the other party. 
  
• A list of the documents you want from the other party.
  
• A list of questions you want the other party to answer.
  
• Amounts of payments received, if any, from the other party.
  
• The amount awarded by the Court as judgment.
  
• A re-calculated amount of post judgment interest to include the extra days between the judgment and the filing of the Notice of Motion. 
  
• The cost of the filing fee.
  
• The cost of the service fee for the Examination order.
  
• The date the Examination notice was sent. 
  
• The reason why the other party has failed to comply with the Examination notice.
  
• Whether the other party lives or works within 30 ​kilometres of the Court.
  
• Whether any instalment order has been made. 
  

It will help to have your copy of the Examination notice with you while you fill out the forms.

A copy of the Examination order (Form 54) you posted to the other party must be attached (annexed) to the Notice of motion - examination order (Form 53).

The judgment debtor will need to attend an examination hearing. This will be the Court where judgment was entered. If the other party lives or works more than 30 kilometres from the Court where the judgment was entered the examination hearing will be at the Court nearest to them. 

• Instructions: Notice of motion - Examination order (PDF, 152KB)
• Sample: Notice of motion - Examination order (PDF, 147KB)
• Instructions: Examination order (PDF, 128KB)
• Sample: Examination order (PDF, 91KB)
  

If you are filing your forms at your local court, you will need to file both forms. You should file the original signed documents and three copies. One of the copies will be for you, one copy for the other party and one copy to be annexed to the Affidavit of Service.

You will have to pay a filing fee when you file the forms. The filing fee is $106.00 for an individual and $212.00 for a corporation (as at 1 July 2024). For more information, see Fees on the Local Court of NSW website.

The Court officer will complete the section titled 'When and Where to attend Court' on the Examination order. This will tell the other party the time, date and place to attend for examination. 

If you decide to file your forms on the NSW Online Registry website, you only need to fill out the Notice of motion - examination order (Form 53). You do not need to file a separate Examination order (Form 54) online. The Court will check the form has been completed and will issue you with an auto-generated Examination order (Form 54) ready to be served on the judgment debtor. 

The Examination order must usually be served on the judgment debtor personally. This can be done, by handing it to them or leaving it in their presence with an explanation of what the order is. 

If the judgment debtor is a sole trader you can serve the document personally or by leaving it, addressed to them, at their business or residential address. This can be done with a person who appears to be above the age of 16 years and apparently employed or residing at that address. 

If the judgment debtor is a corporation, you can serve the document in the following ways:

• by leaving it at, or posting it tom, the company's registered office; or
• if addressed to the company director, by delivering a copy of the document personally.

You can pay for a professional process server to serve the examination order or arrange it yourself.  If you are using a professional process server, the amount you can claim is usually limited to the fee the Sheriff would charge for that service. The current fee is $81 (as at 1 July 2024) for each address the Sheriff attends and each time the Sheriff attempts or effects service. For more information, see Sheriff's forms and fees on the Office of the Sheriff website. 

An Examination order must be served on the judgment debtor at least 14 days before the examination hearing.

If a professional process server serves the Examination order, they will also prepare an Affidavit of Service (Form 41).

If you served the Examination order yourself or arranged for a friend or relative to do it, the person who served the Examination order needs to fill out and sign an Affidavit of Service.

You should then file the Affidavit of Service with the Court. If you do not file the Affidavit of Service before the Court date, make sure you take the original Affidavit of Service and a copy with you to the Examination.

• Instructions: ​ Affidavit of Service (PDF, 17KB)
• Sample: Affidavit of Service (PDF, 10KB)

On the date given, you must go to Court for the examination hearing.

The examination process is an informal process between you and the judgment debtor – it's not a formal hearing, and the Registrar or Magistrate is not usually involved unless the judgment debtor refuses to answer questions. You should ask the other party questions about their income, assets and other debts, and to provide documents about their financial circumstances.

For example, you could ask the judgment debtor things like:

• ​​​Are you currently working and how much do you earn?
  
• Do you own a house or any other real property, and what is its market value? Do you have a mortgage on that property and how much do you owe?
  
• Do you own any motor vehicles, boats or caravans? What is the year, make, model, and do you owe any money?
  
• Describe all debts that you have, including credit cards, store cards, personal loans
  
• How much do you spend on day to day living?
  

This information can help you decide the best way to enforce the judgment. If they do not answer questions, you should tell the Registrar. They will advise the judgment debtor that the questions have to be answered. If the debtor still refuses, the Registrar can refer the matter to a Magistrate. 

If the examination is at a Court a long way from where you live, you can ask the Registrar at that Court to conduct the examination on your behalf.