DA415 form: certificate of service for DAPO papers
Form DA415 is the certificate of service in domestic abuse protection order (DAPO) proceedings. It records each person served, the documents they were given, and how, when and where service happened, or that the documents could not be served. DAPOs are being piloted. GOV.UK says you can only apply in a family court if the person you need protection from lives in Greater Manchester, the London boroughs of Croydon, Bromley or Sutton, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Cleveland or Stockton-on-Tees, or North Wales, and only at the family courts in Manchester, Stockport, Wigan, Croydon, Bromley, Teesside, Caernarfon, Prestatyn and Wrexham. Elsewhere, an FL401 non-molestation or occupation order is the route.
Fill in the DA415 form with Wren
How Wren helps with the DA415
Official forms are written for lawyers. With Wren you do not have to decode this one on your own, and you still follow the court’s procedure.
- Plain questions, one at a timeEach part of the DA415 becomes short questions in everyday words. Answer at your own pace and come back to it.
- Help beside each questionWhat the question is asking and what the official guidance says about it, in plain English.
- The official form, filled inYour answers go into the official DA415. You check it, sign it and send it yourself. Nothing goes to the court for you.
- What comes next, kept with your caseWhat usually happens after you send it, with the dates worked out from the published rules.
Time and money
- On your own
- A day or more
- With Wren
- About an hour for most forms
- Solicitor for this form
- £740 to £1,2403 to 5 hours
A solicitor’s time for the DA415 can run to £1,240. With Wren it is part of £19.99 a month, and it takes about an hour for most forms rather than a day or more.
Times and hours are Wren’s estimates for a typical case, not quotes. Solicitor costs are those hours at £247 an hour, the courts’ guideline rate for a solicitor with over four years’ experience, outside London (GOV.UK, Solicitors' guideline hourly rates (in effect from 1 January 2026)). The guideline runs from £200 to £295 an hour outside London depending on experience, firms set their own rates, and VAT is added on top.
Key facts
- Official title
- Certificate of service for domestic abuse protection orders in a family court: Form DA415
- Edition
- 11.24Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Who files it
- The person or organisation who served the documents, or their representativeSource: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Unrepresented applicants
- Must not serve the respondent themselves; a court bailiff will serve for freeSource: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
Who uses the DA415
The person or organisation who served the documents, or their representative. The form says an unrepresented applicant must not serve the documents on the respondent themselves; a court bailiff does that for free.
When it is used
After DAPO documents have been served, or after attempts to serve them have failed.
Before you start
- The case number and the court's name.
- The name and address of each person served.
- How the person was identified, and how, when and where they were served.
- The list of documents served.
How to fill in the DA415
Open each part for what it asks and how to answer it. In Wren, each part is a few plain questions, and your answers fill in the form.
Heading
Case number, the parties' names and the court.
Questions 1 to 3
Who was served, anyone else served, and whether service succeeded. If it did not, you describe the attempts and go to the statement of truth.
Questions 4 to 8
How the person was identified, how, when and where they were served, and the documents.
Statement of truth
Signed on the printed form by the person who served, who also says in what capacity.
Prepare your DA415 with Wren Family
Wren Family turns official forms into short, plain-English questions you can answer at your own pace. You check everything before you send it: nothing goes to the court for you.
Get startedFree for 14 days, no card. Then £19.99 a month, with your money back within 14 days if it’s not right.
What happens after you send it
The certificate goes to the court dealing with the DAPO case. You can prepare the form in Wren once it is available in the Forms list. Wren does not file, serve or send anything for you.
Common mistakes
- An unrepresented applicant serving the respondent personally.
- Leaving out the date and time of service.
- Forgetting to list every document served.
Common questions
Do I need a DA415 if a bailiff served the papers?
Practice Direction 36ZG says the certificate is filed by whoever served the documents or their representative.
What if the papers could not be served?
The form says to use it to tell the court, giving details of your attempts.
Where these facts come from
These are the official rules and pages this page is based on. They are listed so you can check a detail for yourself; you do not need them to use Wren. They are outside Wren and open in a new tab.