Part of: Financial Settlement after Divorce
The slip rule in the family court is rule 29.16 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010. It lets the court correct an “accidental slip or omission” in an order or judgment at any time, so the order actually says what the court meant it to say. It fixes clerical mistakes, not disagreements with the decision itself. So if the order correctly reflects what the judge decided but you think the judge decided wrong, this rule cannot help you. That’s a matter for an appeal.
This guide covers family court orders in England and Wales, such as the orders made in a financial settlement after divorce. It explains what counts as a slip, how to ask for a correction, and when an appeal is the right route instead.
Reviewed by: Garry Steedman, Family Law Consultant (Divorce, Children & TOLATA), Kabir Family Law
Key takeaways
- The slip rule (FPR 29.16) lets a family court correct an accidental slip or omission in an order “at any time”. Its purpose is to make the order say what the court actually intended, not to let anyone reopen or improve on the decision.
- It only reaches clerical and drafting errors, such as a wrongly transposed name, an incorrect date or figure, a missing clause or a typo. It never gives a party a different or better outcome that they wish the court had ordered.
- If you disagree with the substance of what was decided, it is the wrong tool. The route is an appeal under FPR Part 30. You usually need permission, and you must normally file within 21 days of the decision (FPR 30.4).
- Minor, obviously typographical corrections can be made by a court officer without a judge under Practice Direction 29D. Anything the officer isn’t sure about, and anything in a judgment itself, must go to a judge.
- A genuine slip has no deadline, but an appeal does. Waiting to see whether a correction request works can cost you the time you need to appeal.
What is the slip rule in the family court?
Rule 29.16 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 says, in full:
“(1) The court may at any time correct an accidental slip or omission in a judgment or order. (2) A party may apply for a correction without notice.”
Two things in that wording matter in practice. First, “at any time” means there’s no deadline. The court can correct a genuine slip years after it made the order, and even after the order has otherwise finished having effect.
Second, “without notice” means a party can ask for a correction without formally serving the other side first. Even so, the other party still gets a chance to object. In the case example below, the judge corrected the order on paper but let the other side apply within seven days to set the correction aside.
The rule is supplemented by Practice Direction 29D, which sets out who can make the correction.
What counts as a slip the court can correct?
A slip is an error in how someone recorded the order or judgment, not in what the judge decided. Examples that typically qualify:
- A name, date or figure that someone transposed or misspelled when drawing up the order.
- A clause that names the wrong party. For example, a maintenance order that says payments stop on “the Applicant’s” remarriage when the court plainly intended it to say “the Respondent’s”. This was the actual error in the case example below.
- An obvious arithmetic or drafting error that doesn’t match the figures the court was working from.
- A clause someone accidentally left out of the final order, where the judgment or hearing record shows the court meant to include it.
Under Practice Direction 29D, a court officer can fix the most obviously typographical of these, such as misspelt names, wrong dates or venues, or details the officer wrongly transposed from the approved draft, without referring the file to a judge. However, if the officer isn’t sure an error fits that category, it has to go to a judge. So does any wording or numbering change, and any correction to a judgment itself.
What if you disagree with the decision itself?
You cannot use the rule because you have changed your mind, think the order should have gone differently, or want to add a term the court never actually decided on. If the order accurately reflects what the judge intended and decided, there is nothing to “correct”. The only way to challenge that is an appeal.
FPR Part 30 governs family court appeals. An appeal court will allow an appeal where the decision was wrong, or unjust because of a serious procedural or other irregularity (FPR 30.12(3)). Our guide to grounds for appeal in family court explains when you can challenge a decision.
Timing is the big difference. You must normally file an appellant’s notice within 21 days of the decision, unless the judge sets a different period. For a case management decision, the limit is 7 days (FPR 30.4). In most cases you also need permission to appeal (FPR 30.3). That is considerably tighter than the “any time” window that applies to a genuine slip.
Can the slip rule fix an old order? What happened in IC v RC
IC v RC [2020] EWHC 2997 (Fam) shows how the courts draw this line in practice. In 2017 a judge reduced a husband’s periodical payments to his ex-wife but refused to end them. The order drafted afterwards said the payments would stop on “the Applicant’s” remarriage.
At that hearing, though, the husband was the applicant. Read literally, the clause said his own remarriage would end the spousal maintenance he was paying her. The person drafting it had simply copied the wording from an earlier order, in which the wife was the applicant. When the husband remarried in 2019, he stopped paying. The wife then applied to correct the order under the slip rule, and the district judge corrected it.
In 2020, Mrs Justice Knowles refused the husband’s late bid to appeal. She held that the words “at any time” in rule 29.16(1) need no extra gloss, so the power also covers an order that has stopped having effect. She found the error was wholly accidental and genuine. Letting the husband benefit from wording the court never intended would have been profoundly unjust to the wife. She also noted that he still had a proper route: an application to vary the payments.
There was a second lesson. The husband’s appeal came far too late, and the judge said being a litigant in person was not a good reason for the delay.
How do you ask the court to use the slip rule?
Rule 29.16 itself does not name a form or a fee. So before you send anything, ask the court office whether a letter will do or whether it needs a formal application, which can carry a court fee. In practice:
- Write to the court that made the order. Quote the case number, the date of the order, and precisely what the order currently says versus what it should say.
- Explain why the wording is an accidental slip. Show that it is not a change you’d like made. Point to the judgment, the hearing record, or the figures the court was working from to show what the court actually intended.
- A court officer or a judge deals with it. An officer handles anything obviously typographical (PD 29D). Anything more substantial, or anything the officer isn’t sure about, goes to a judge.
- The court issues an amended order. If the court agrees, it issues an amended, sealed order. If the other party disputes that it’s a genuine slip, the matter may need a short hearing.
If the mistake is in an agreed order, our guide to a sealed consent order explains what happens once the court has approved it.
Not sure which route applies to your order?
The table below sets the two routes side by side.
| Correcting a slip (FPR 29.16) | Appeal (FPR Part 30) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it fixes | An accidental clerical error or omission: the order doesn’t say what the court decided | The decision itself: you say the court was wrong on the law, the facts, or the exercise of its discretion |
| Time limit | None: “at any time” | Normally 21 days from the decision, or 7 days for a case management decision (FPR 30.4) |
| Permission | Not needed | Usually needed (FPR 30.3) |
| Who deals with it | A court officer (minor typographical slips, PD 29D) or a judge | A more senior judge than the one who made the decision (PD 30A) |
| Outcome | The court corrects the existing order to match what it actually decided | The appeal court can affirm, set aside or vary the decision, or order a new hearing (FPR 30.11) |
The difficult cases sit in between. Sometimes it’s genuinely unclear whether a wording problem is a drafting slip, or whether it reflects what the judge actually intended, right or wrong.
Getting this wrong costs time. If you ask for a correction when the problem is really a disagreement with the decision, the 21-day appeal window can close while the point is argued out. By the time that’s resolved, the appeal route may already be closed. So if your order doesn’t match what you understood was decided, get advice on the judgment, the order and the timing together before you choose which route to take.
Frequently asked questions
What is the slip rule in family law?
It’s rule 29.16 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010. It gives a family court the power to correct an accidental slip or omission in an order or judgment at any time, so the order matches what the court actually decided.
Is there a fee to use the slip rule?
Rule 29.16 does not set a fee. Ask the court office whether a letter will do or whether it needs a formal application, because an application can carry a court fee.
How long do I have to ask for a correction?
There’s no deadline. Rule 29.16(1) applies “at any time”, including to orders that have otherwise finished having effect. In IC v RC, the court corrected a 2017 order in 2019, and the High Court confirmed in 2020 that it had the power to do so.
Can the slip rule change what the court decided?
No. It only corrects how the court recorded its decision, such as a wrong name, date, figure or missing clause. If you disagree with the decision itself, the route is an appeal under FPR Part 30, normally within 21 days.
Who corrects the order, a court officer or a judge?
Under Practice Direction 29D, a court officer can make obviously typographical corrections without asking a judge. Examples include a misspelt name or a wrong date that the court file confirms. Anything the officer isn’t confident about, and any correction to a judgment itself, must go to a judge.
What happens if the other party disagrees that it’s a genuine slip?
The correction isn’t automatic. If the other side says the error is a change of substance rather than an accident, the court may need a short hearing to decide whether rule 29.16 applies. In IC v RC, the judge heard both sides at a review hearing before confirming the correction.
Think your order doesn’t say what the judge decided? Get advice before the 21-day appeal window closes
A wrongly worded order can cost you years of payments you were never meant to make, or never meant to receive. The route matters too, because the usual 21-day time limit for an appeal runs from the date of the decision. Book a free initial consultation, where one of our specialists gives you initial advice tailored to your circumstances. You can also read how our specialists assist with a financial settlement after divorce.
Expert Tip
A common problem is that nobody reads the sealed order closely until years later, when a trigger event arrives. Read every clause as soon as the order reaches you, and compare it with what the judge said at the hearing. Check names, dates, figures and who pays whom. If something looks wrong, raise it straight away. A genuine slip has no deadline, but if the problem turns out to be the decision itself, the time to appeal is short.
Iblal Iqbal, Partner & Family Law Strategist
