Form

Guidance for applying: UT6

Updated 4 December 2023

The Administrative Appeals Chamber is part of the Upper Tribunal and decides appeals on points of law from decisions of the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal and from the Pensions Appeal Tribunal for Scotland. The Upper Tribunal consists of specialist judges appointed by the King. Some are also judges in the courts, including the High Court. 

Form UT6 is to be used for applying to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal against a decision of a First-tier Tribunal or Pensions Appeal Tribunal for Scotland.  It should also be used for appealing to the Upper Tribunal if the First-tier Tribunal or Pension Appeal Tribunal has already granted permission to appeal. 

Form UT6 should be sent to the Upper Tribunal office so that it is received no later than one month after the date the First-tier Tribunal or Pension Appeal Tribunal sent you notice of the refusal or grant of permission to appeal or the refusal to admit your application. If you are late, you must explain why in Part D of the form.

Before applying

You must ask for a written statement of the First-tier Tribunal or Pension Appeal Tribunal’s reasons for its decision.  

You must apply to the First-tier Tribunal or Pension Appeal Tribunal for permission to appeal.

You should have received information from the First-tier Tribunal or Pension Appeal Tribunal about how and when to apply for a statement of reasons and about how and when to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for permission to appeal.

The appellant

We use the word appellant to describe a person who makes an appeal, or who is asking for permission to appeal, to the Upper Tribunal. 

If the application or appeal is being brought on behalf of someone who has died, please put that person’s name as the appellant and write ‘(deceased)’ after their surname. If the application or appeal is about your claim for widow’s pension please enter your own name as appellant and not that of the deceased.

The designated person or representative

A designated person is a person who may be entitled to act in the place of someone who has died. 

If the application or appeal is being made for a war pensioner who has a designated person, please put the name of the pensioner as the appellant in Part A, even if they have died. Give the designated person’s details separately in the boxes provided in Part B.    

A designated person is different from a representative who is someone helping the appellant, dealing with the correspondence and representing them at any hearing.  Indeed, a designated person can have a representative. If you have a representative, you should give their details in the boxes provided in Part B. The Upper Tribunal office will then correspond only with your representative.

The First-tier Tribunal or Pension Appeal Tribunal that decided your case

The place of the tribunal hearing, the date of the decision and the number of your case should all be on both the decision notice and the written statement of reasons. 

If you do not have a statement of the tribunal’s reasons, you must explain why. It may be possible for you to appeal without having a statement of reasons but often it is impossible to show that the tribunal was wrong in law if there is no statement of the tribunal’s reasons.

Reasons for any delay

You should have applied to the First-tier Tribunal or Pension Appeal Tribunal for permission to appeal within 42 days of being sent a written statement of the tribunal’s reasons for its decision. 

Form UT6 should be sent to the Upper Tribunal office. If you are late, you must ask for an extension of time and explain the delay in Part D of the form. 

Your application or appeal to the Upper Tribunal must be made so that it is received no later than one month after the date the First-tier Tribunal sent you notice of the refusal or grant of permission to appeal or the refusal to admit your application.    

If your application or appeal to the Upper Tribunal is late, you must show a good reason for the Upper Tribunal to accept your application or appeal. If the First-tier Tribunal did not admit your application for permission to appeal because it was late or because you did not have a written statement of reasons, it will only be admitted if the Upper Tribunal considers that it is in the interests of justice to do so. In any event you must explain the delay. 

The Upper Tribunal may take into account the length of the delay, and other matters such as the amount of money at stake, the potential importance of the case, so you can also mention these as reasons. Use the box provided on the form or a separate sheet of paper if necessary. If you use a separate piece of paper, make sure it has your name on it.

Reasons for appealing

You must explain why you think the First-tier Tribunal or Pension Appeal Tribunal decision is wrong in law (except in a penalty case when you are not limited to points of law).  

Examples of mistakes of law are that the tribunal:

• did not apply the correct law or wrongly interpreted the law
• made a procedural error
• had no evidence, or not enough evidence, to support its decision
• did not give adequate reasons (in the written statement of its reasons)

These are only examples and the tribunal’s decision may be wrong in law for some other reason. You should explain in as much detail as possible why the decision in your particular case is wrong in law. If you are unsure whether the tribunal was wrong in law you may wish to consult Citizens Advice or other welfare benefits adviser but you should not miss the one month time limit for sending in your application form. 

What you have said on form UT6 will be treated as your main submission on the appeal (even if you are now only applying for permission to appeal). You should therefore make sure that you say everything you wish to at this stage. On the other hand, remember that short clear submissions may be more effective than long repetitive ones. You may use a separate piece of paper if you wish, but make sure it has your full name on it and is sent with the form.

Request for an oral hearing

If you are applying to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal and you or your representative wish to appear before an Upper Tribunal judge at an oral hearing of your application, fill in the relevant boxes in Part F. 

The Upper Tribunal judge will not necessarily grant your request for an oral hearing.  If there is no oral hearing, the judge will use the documents to decide whether to give you permission to appeal. An oral hearing could be face to face or by video or phone.  Hearings are held in:

• Birmingham
• Cardiff
• Edinburgh
• Exeter
• Leeds
• London
• Manchester
• Newcastle

You will be sent further information if the Upper Tribunal judge allows your request for an oral hearing.

Do not fill in the boxes about an oral hearing if the First-tier Tribunal or Pension Appeal Tribunal has given you permission to appeal. In that case, or if you are given permission to appeal by the Upper Tribunal, you will be given an opportunity of asking for an oral hearing of your appeal at a later stage.

Application or appeal to the Upper Tribunal

Even if you have a representative, the appellant or designated person must sign the form personally in Part G. Your signature will be taken as authority for the representative named in Part B to act for you. The only exception to this rule is where the representative is a solicitor. A solicitor is presumed to be acting on instructions and may sign the form on behalf of the appellant or designated person.

Required documents

You must enclose the documents listed in Part I of the form. Otherwise, your application or appeal may be delay and may not be admitted.

Where to send the form

If you are legally represented, you must use the E-Filing service to send form UT6 and the required documents to the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber).

You can find out more about how to use the E-Filing service.

If you are not legally represented and the hearing took place in England, you should use the E-Filing service. If you are unable to, you must email or send form UT4 to:

The Upper Tribunal Office (Administrative Appeals Chamber)
5th Floor Rolls Building
7 Rolls Buildings
Fetter Lane
London
EC4A 1NL

Email: adminappeals@justice.gov.uk

If you are not legally represented and the hearing took place in Wales, you should use the E-Filing service. If you are unable to, you must email or send form UT4 to:

The Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal (Wales)
Civil Justice Centre
2 Park Street
Cardiff
CF10 1ET

Email: adminappeals@justice.gov.uk

If you are seeking to apply for permission to apply or appeal from a decision of the Pension Appeal Tribunal for Scotland, you must send the form to:

The Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber)
George House
126 George Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4HH

Email: UTAACMailbox@justice.gov.uk

If you are late, you can still end in your form but you must explain the delay in Part D of the form.

Contact the office if you are not told within a week that the form has been received.