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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteAn electronic hearing bundle, or e-bundle, is an organised PDF of documents prepared for a particular court hearing. It gives the judge and other participants a shared, paginated reference set that can be searched and navigated using an index, links and bookmarks. In England and Wales, the exact contents, format, filing route, deadline and person responsible depend on the court, type of case and any directions made in that case.
How an e-bundle is used at a hearing
The bundle is a common reference point for the judge, parties and advocates before and during the hearing. Its page numbers let participants identify the same passage; links and bookmarks help them reach relevant documents; and optical character recognition (OCR) makes scanned text searchable and selectable. A properly prepared bundle therefore makes it easier to find, read and refer to the documents the court needs.
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The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary describes its general guidance as intended to support the efficient preparation for and management of court hearings. That guidance concerns court hearings, not tribunal hearings, and is subject to specific court guidance and case directions. Read the directions for the particular hearing before relying on general formatting advice.
What belongs in the bundle?
The applicable procedure and the court’s directions determine what to include. A bundle should be a focused hearing set, not a dump of every document exchanged in the case. For example, Family Procedure Rules Practice Direction 27A says to include documents relevant to the hearing that the court needs to read or that will actually be referred to, subject to its exceptions and any contrary direction. It normally excludes categories such as general correspondence, emails and messages, recordings, financial records, contact notes, social-services files other than relied-on assessments, and photographs unless they are necessary or will be referred to.
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Where possible, parties should agree the contents. The rules for other proceedings may define required documents differently, so do not assume the family-court exclusions apply elsewhere.
Preparing a navigable PDF
The Judiciary’s general guidance for court e-bundles recommends a PDF with consistent page numbering and clear navigation. Its 29 November 2021 guidance gives the following preparation requirements and recommendations:
- Paginate continuously: use computer-generated page numbers starting at page 1 on the first page and continuing to the final page. Displayed pagination should match the PDF page numbering; any paper copy should use the same pagination.
- Make the index clickable: hyperlink every index entry to the relevant document.
- Add bookmarks: bookmark significant documents and sections, using short descriptions that include the relevant page number.
- OCR scanned text: apply OCR to typed text in scanned pages so it can be searched and selected. OCR does not replace checking that the scan is legible and correctly oriented.
- Check readability: ensure pages are right-side up, landscape pages read left to right, and the default PDF view is 100%.
- Keep the file practical: the general guidance says resolution should not exceed 300 dpi and the PDF should be optimised to avoid unnecessary file size.
- Avoid unnecessary separate files: the guidance generally favours one hearing bundle and, where appropriate, a separate authorities bundle, subject to court-specific instructions.
These are general Judiciary recommendations, not a replacement for a court’s own technical or filing instructions.
Who prepares and files it, and when?
There is no single answer for every court hearing. The relevant practice direction and case-specific order identify the responsible party, deadline and filing channel. The examples below illustrate why the procedure must be checked rather than inferred from another kind of case.
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Family proceedings in England and Wales
Practice Direction 27A applies to hearings in the Family Court and Family Division of the High Court. It makes an electronic bundle the default, except in exceptional circumstances; where the responsible person cannot produce one, a paper bundle should be filed and served. It also specifies situations when paper copies must accompany an e-bundle.
Responsibility generally rests with the applicant, or in cross-applications the party whose application was made first. If the applicant is a litigant in person and the respondent is represented, the represented respondent is generally responsible, subject to court directions. In the exceptional situation where all parties are litigants in person and none can prepare the bundle, the court may arrange for HMCTS to do so.
The family direction requires a PDF with computer-generated page numbering, an index, document bookmarks and searchable content where possible; scanned typed text must be OCRed. Its default limit is 350 A4 pages unless the court permits more. The bundle is filed through an available HMCTS portal; email may be used if the portal facility is unavailable, subject to applicable email guidance. The filename must include the hearing date, case reference, short case name and bundle type.
The general timetable in PD27A calls for parties to seek agreement seven working days before the hearing and for the bundle to be filed and served five working days before. Preliminary documents not already filed are due by 11am on the working day before the hearing. Case-specific directions and exceptions may alter what applies.
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Judicial review in England and Wales
Practice Direction 54A requires the parties to agree the contents of a paginated and indexed hearing bundle containing relevant documents or extracts. If that bundle exceeds 400 pages, the parties must agree a core bundle containing the pleadings, the challenged decision or measure, and other documents they consider essential. The hearing bundle is to be lodged at least 21 days before the hearing in electronic and hard-copy form; the authorities bundle has a separate seven-day deadline. PD54A directs parties to the Administrative Court’s e-bundle guidance for electronic preparation.
Civil appeals to the Court of Appeal
Practice Direction 52C provides for core and, where needed, supplementary appeal bundles, with parties expected to seek agreement on contents. Its format rules cover pagination and indexes, and it sets a filing timetable for appeal bundles. Its requirements are distinct from those for family proceedings and judicial review.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to do if documents need to be added
If material must be added after the bundle has been sent to the judge, follow the court’s stated process rather than circulating a replacement informally. Under the Judiciary’s general guidance, append and paginate the new pages, ask the court how it wants the addition provided and, unless directed otherwise, send both the new section and a revised bundle. The judge may already have marked up the earlier version. In family proceedings, PD27A separately requires the court’s prior agreement before amending a bundle after filing.
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Official guidance
- Courts and Tribunals Judiciary: General guidance on electronic court bundles (29 November 2021).
- Practice Direction 27A – Family Proceedings: Court Bundles.
- Practice Direction 54A – Judicial Review.
- Practice Direction 52C – Appeals to the Court of Appeal.
Procedural details can change and are subject to current amendments, local court instructions and orders in the individual case. The family, judicial-review and appeal examples above apply to their named procedures; they are not interchangeable rules for all courts.
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