How to fill in the SEND7 form (request a change to your appeal)
Once your SEND tribunal appeal is registered, the SEND7 lets you ask the tribunal to change something about how it runs - postpone the hearing, extend a deadline, add a witness, or amend your grounds. It’s a short form, but you must contact the other side first and give real reasons.
- Deadline
- No fixed deadline, but you must consult the other party first and allow them at least 5 working days to respond before you submit. Apply as early as you can; the tribunal aims to deal with requests within 15 working days of receipt.
- Time to complete
- Allow about 30 to 60 minutes
- Who it’s for
- Parents (or a young person aged 16 or over) who already have an open SEND tribunal appeal and need to change something about how it proceeds.
- Where it applies
- England
The SEND tribunal only covers England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own appeal route.
GOV.UK is the official source and is always the most up to date. These copies are provided for convenience.
We’ve put the parts that decide the claim first. The question numbers tell you where each one sits on the form.
When to use the SEND7
The SEND7 is the form you use once your appeal is registered and you need to ask the tribunal to change something about how the case proceeds. It’s not for starting an appeal (that’s the SEND35 or SEND35A) and it doesn’t change your EHCP directly. Use it for any of the following.
Change the hearing date
- What they’re really asking
- Whether you have a genuine reason - illness, a key witness unavailable, a family commitment that can’t be moved - and whether you have already agreed, or tried to agree, alternative dates with the local authority.
- How to answer it well
- The tribunal expects you to provide three alternative dates that both you and the local authority can attend. If you haven’t been able to agree dates with the local authority, explain what you tried. Don’t wait until the last week before the hearing to apply - late applications are harder to grant and may be refused.
- Common mistake
- Asking to change the date without providing any alternatives, or leaving it until the last days before the hearing, when the tribunal will rarely agree to a delay.
Extend the time to comply with a direction
- What they’re really asking
- Whether you have a good reason for needing more time - for example, a professional report hasn’t arrived, or you were ill during the deadline period.
- How to answer it well
- State the direction you need more time for, its current deadline, and the extra time you’re asking for. Be specific: "I’m asking for an extension of 10 working days because the independent educational psychologist report, due to me on 4 July, hasn’t yet been sent." Explain why the extension won’t unfairly disadvantage the local authority.
- Common mistake
- Leaving out the current deadline or the amount of extra time you need, so the tribunal can’t judge whether to grant it.
Permission to amend your grounds of appeal
- What they’re really asking
- Whether there’s a genuine reason your grounds need to change - for example, new information from the local authority’s bundle has raised an issue you didn’t originally include.
- How to answer it well
- Once an appeal is registered, any change to the grounds must have the tribunal’s permission. Explain exactly what you want to change and why - what new information or events have made the change necessary. Send a copy of the revised grounds with the form.
- Common mistake
- Assuming you can simply change your appeal form. Without permission, any amended grounds won’t be accepted.
Witness summons
- What they’re really asking
- Whether there’s a professional who holds important evidence, is refusing to come, and whose evidence can’t adequately be given in written form.
- How to answer it well
- First check whether the evidence can be given another way, such as a written statement or report. If it can’t, explain what efforts you made to get the witness to attend, that they refused, and why no other means is possible. Give the witness’s full name, occupation and address, and apply as early as you can.
- Common mistake
- Applying for a summons without first trying to get the evidence in writing, or leaving out the witness’s full name, occupation and address - the tribunal needs all of this.
Other requests (additional witness, observer, withdraw the appeal)
- What they’re really asking
- Whether your situation is one of the listed options on the form or falls under "other".
- How to answer it well
- If you want to bring more than three witnesses, need an observer to attend, or want to withdraw the appeal, use the SEND7. For withdrawal, explain clearly why you’re withdrawing. If you want to withdraw close to the hearing date, a tribunal judge may want to confirm your reasons before granting permission.
- Common mistake
- Withdrawing by phone call or email to the clerk without using the form - the tribunal requires the request for changes form for withdrawal.
Before you fill it in: contact the other side first
The SEND7 requires you to tell the local authority about your request before you send it to the tribunal. You must allow a minimum of 5 working days for a response. This step isn’t optional - the form asks for the date you contacted them and their response.
Q5 - Date you sent the request to the other party
- What they’re really asking
- Whether you have consulted the local authority and allowed enough time for a reply before submitting to the tribunal.
- How to answer it well
- Write to the local authority (email to the case officer is fine) explaining what you’re asking the tribunal for and why, and keep a copy. If they agree, say so in Q8; if they disagree, or don’t reply within 5 working days, state that instead. You must still submit the form even if they object - the tribunal decides, not the local authority.
- Common mistake
- Submitting the SEND7 to the tribunal the same day you contact the local authority. The 5-working-day rule exists so the other side can respond.
Show the wording on the form
Q5, page 1
Final hearing date and whether previously adjourned
Q2 - Your appeal or claim number
- What they’re really asking
- The unique reference the tribunal gave you when your appeal was registered.
- How to answer it well
- Find the appeal number on the letter confirming your appeal was registered. It will appear on all correspondence from the tribunal. Without it, the clerks can’t match your request to your case.
- Common mistake
- Leaving Q2 blank or using the local authority’s case reference instead of the tribunal’s own reference number.
Show the wording on the form
Q2, page 1
Appeal or claim number
Stuck on a question? The assistant can help you word it for your child.
Ask the assistantFilling in the form
The SEND7 is short - two pages, ten questions. The decisions that matter are in Q6 (what you’re asking for), Q7 (your reasons), and Q8 (the other side’s response). The character limits on Q7 and Q8 are tight, so plan what you’ll write before you type.
Q6 - What are you applying for?
- What they’re really asking
- Which type of change you need. The options are: an extension of time; a change to the hearing date; a witness summons; permission to amend grounds; strike-out or barring; permission for an additional witness; an observer; or other.
- How to answer it well
- Tick all that apply. If you tick "other", use the free-text field to describe your request precisely. You can make more than one request on a single SEND7 - for example, asking for an extension of time and permission to bring an additional witness at the same time.
- Common mistake
- Ticking "other" and leaving the description vague. The tribunal can only grant what you’ve clearly asked for.
Show the wording on the form
Q6, page 1
What are you applying for?
Answer options: An extension of time to comply with a direction / A change to the final hearing date / A witness summons / Permission to amend grounds of appeal/response / Strike out the appeal/LA barred / Permission to bring an additional witness / An observer to attend the hearing / Other (specify below)
Q7 - The reasons I am applying are
- What they’re really asking
- The grounds for your request in plain, specific language. The text box holds approximately 312 characters - about 4 short lines.
- How to answer it well
- Be direct and specific: state what you’re asking for, why you need it, and the key fact that makes it necessary. Example for a date change: "I’m asking to postpone the hearing of 15 September because my independent EP has confirmed she can’t attend on that date and three agreed alternatives are: 1 October, 8 October, 15 October." Draft your reasons elsewhere first and count characters before you type. If your reasons are complex, the tribunal can also consider a covering letter.
- Common mistake
- Writing vague reasons such as "I need more time" without saying why or for how long. The tribunal makes its decision on the papers, so the reasons must stand alone.
Show the wording on the form
Q7, page 1
The reasons I am applying are
Q8 - The other party’s response to your request
- What they’re really asking
- What the local authority said when you consulted them, or confirmation that they didn’t reply within 5 working days.
- How to answer it well
- Write either: "The local authority agreed to this request by email on [date]" or "The local authority objected, stating [brief reason]" or "I contacted the local authority on [date] and received no response within 5 working days." The box holds approximately 234 characters.
- Common mistake
- Leaving Q8 blank. A missing response raises questions about whether you contacted the other side at all.
Show the wording on the form
Q8, page 1
Other party's response to your request
What happens after you send it
Send the completed SEND7 to both the tribunal and the local authority at the same time. A registrar or tribunal judge will consider it on the papers and issue an order. You’ll receive the outcome in writing.
How the tribunal decides
- What they’re really asking
- Whether the request is granted, refused, or sent to a telephone case management hearing if the issues can’t be resolved on the papers.
- How to answer it well
- Most SEND7 requests are decided on the papers without a hearing. The tribunal will consider the reasons you gave, the other side’s response, and whether granting the request would be fair and proportionate. If granted, an order will be issued setting out what happens next. If refused, the refusal will be in writing with reasons.
- Common mistake
- Assuming the request is automatically granted because the local authority agreed. The tribunal issues the order; the agreement of the parties is relevant but not binding.
If your request is refused
- What they’re really asking
- Whether you can make a further application or ask for the decision to be reviewed.
- How to answer it well
- If a request is refused, you can write to the tribunal to ask for the decision to be reconsidered, setting out any additional reasons. For hearing date changes in particular, if your circumstances change after a refusal (for example, you receive a medical certificate), apply again with the new information.
- Common mistake
- Doing nothing if the request is refused. A tribunal decision on a procedural request isn’t final in the way a hearing decision is.
Common questions
The tribunal expects you to use the SEND7 form for requests to change the appeal. A covering letter can add detail if your reasons don’t fit in the character-limited boxes, but the form itself is required. Requests made by email without the form may be returned.
Yes, but each application is considered on its merits and the tribunal is less likely to grant a second or third date change, especially as the hearing approaches. Always apply as early as possible and provide genuine agreed alternative dates.
You can still submit the SEND7. Their refusal doesn’t prevent you from asking. State their objection in Q8 and give your reasons clearly in Q7. The tribunal decides whether to grant the request, not the local authority.
Yes. Tick "other" in Q6 and state clearly that you wish to withdraw. If the hearing is close, the tribunal may ask you to explain your reasons before granting permission. It’s important to withdraw formally - stopping participation without notifying the tribunal can result in the appeal being struck out rather than withdrawn, which affects the record.
The tribunal aims to deal with requests within 15 working days of receipt. If your request is urgent - for example, a hearing is approaching - mark it as urgent in a covering letter and explain why. You can also phone the tribunal helpline (the number is on your appeal correspondence) to confirm receipt.
Related forms
Sources
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