Exhibits to witness statements and affidavits: PD 32 and PD 57AC
Practice Direction 32 still sets how documents are exhibited in the civil courts of England and Wales. In the Business and Property Courts, PD 57AC turns the default around for trial witness statements: list the documents, don’t exhibit them.
Where the rules are
The exhibit rules sit in Practice Direction 32 (Evidence). Paragraphs 11 to 15 deal with exhibits to affidavits; paragraph 18.5 applies them to witness statements. The trial bundle is a separate matter, now in PD 32 paragraph 27 — see our guide to court bundles in England and Wales.
| Provision | What it covers |
|---|---|
| PD 32, paras 3.2 and 17.2 | What goes in the top right-hand corner of an affidavit or witness statement, including the exhibit marks |
| PD 32, paras 4.3 and 18.4 | The words a deponent or witness uses to refer to an exhibit |
| PD 32, paras 11.1–11.3 and 18.3 | Exhibits stay separate from the statement; the first page of each exhibit is marked |
| PD 32, paras 12–15 | Letters, other documents, objects, fastening and pagination |
| PD 32, paras 4.3(2) and 18.6 | Exhibit numbers run on across a witness’s statements |
| PD 32, para 25 | What happens when an exhibit does not comply |
| PD 57AC, para 3.2; Appendix paras 3.4–3.5 | Trial witness statements in the Business and Property Courts: a list of documents instead of exhibits |
Marking an exhibit
An exhibit is identified by a mark made of the witness’s initials and a number — “JS1”, “JS2” for a witness called Jane Smith. PD 32 asks for “the identifying initials and number of each exhibit”; it does not prescribe the exact form, so “JS-1” is seen as well. Choose one form and keep it.
The exhibit marks also go into the top right-hand corner of the statement’s first page, with the party, the witness’s initials and surname, the number of the statement and its date (para 17.2; for affidavits para 3.2, which adds the backsheet). The first page of each exhibit carries the same details and its own mark (para 11.3, applied to witness statements by para 18.5).
Claimant
J. Smith
First statement
Exhibits JS1–JS3
14 October 2026In the text, a witness refers to an exhibit as “I refer to the (description of exhibit) marked ‘…’” (para 18.4). An affidavit uses the older formula “there is now shown to me marked ‘…’ the (description of exhibit)” (para 4.3(1)).
I refer to the letter from the Ministry of Energy to Meridian Holdings Ltd dated 3 March 2014, at pages 12 to 14 of the exhibit marked “JS1”.The exhibit stays separate from the statement: it is verified and identified by the witness, not stapled to the back of it (paras 11.1 and 18.3).
Numbering across several statements
When the same witness makes a second statement with exhibits in the same proceedings, the numbers continue: “the numbering of the exhibits should run consecutively throughout and not start again with each witness statement” (para 18.6; para 4.3(2) says the same for affidavits). If the first statement exhibited JS1 to JS3, the second starts at JS4.
A document already exhibited is referred to by its existing mark, not exhibited a second time. That keeps one document, one mark — and the bundle index short.
Putting an exhibit together
- Letters: collected into a bundle, in date order with the earliest on top, firmly secured; a front page states that the bundle consists of original letters and copies, and the letters are numbered consecutively (paras 12.1–12.2).
- Several documents in one exhibit: a front page lists the documents with their dates (para 13.3).
- Fastening: not stapled, but securely fastened in a way that does not hinder reading (para 15.1(1)).
- Pagination: pages numbered consecutively at bottom centre (para 15.1(2)). Typed copies of illegible pages follow the page they transcribe, numbered with “a” — page 7a after page 7 (para 15.2).
- Copies: photocopies may be exhibited if the originals are available for inspection by the other parties before the hearing and by the judge at it (para 13.1).
- Court documents are not exhibited: official copies prove themselves (para 13.2).
- Objects carry a mark that cannot become detached; small items go into a marked container (paras 14.1–14.2).
- Many exhibits: separate bundles, with the pages numbered consecutively throughout (para 15.3); if serving them is impracticable because of their bulk, ask the court for directions (para 15.4).
Exhibit JS1 — front page
1 Letter, Ministry of Energy to Meridian Holdings Ltd, 3 March 2014 ...... pp. 1–3
2 Concession Agreement, 12 May 2009 (extract) ................. pp. 4–11
3 Notice of termination, 15 August 2016 ......................... pp. 12–14PD 57AC: list the documents, don’t exhibit them
In the Business and Property Courts, trial witness statements signed on or after 6 April 2021 follow PD 57AC. A trial witness statement must “identify by list what documents, if any, the witness has referred to or been referred to” in preparing it (para 3.2).
The Statement of Best Practice in the Appendix goes further: a trial witness statement should refer to documents only where necessary, and where it does, “it should not exhibit the document but should give a reference enabling it to be identified by the parties” — unless the witness is producing a document that has not been disclosed (Appendix para 3.4). The list should let the documents be found easily at trial; disclosed documents may be listed by disclosure reference, privileged ones by category or general description (Appendix para 3.5).
PD 57AC does not touch affidavits or witness statements other than trial witness statements (para 1.1). A statement for an interim application in the Commercial Court still exhibits documents under PD 32.
| Statement | Exhibit documents? | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Affidavit, any court | Yes, marked with initials and number | PD 32, paras 3.2, 4.3, 11 |
| Witness statement outside the Business and Property Courts | Yes, where the witness relies on documents | PD 32, paras 18.3–18.6 |
| Statement for an interim application in the Business and Property Courts | Yes — PD 57AC does not apply | PD 57AC, para 1.1(2) |
| Trial witness statement in the Business and Property Courts | No: a list of documents, cited by reference | PD 57AC, para 3.2; Appendix paras 3.4–3.5 |
When an exhibit does not comply
If an affidavit, witness statement or exhibit does not comply with Part 32 or the practice direction as to form, the court may refuse to admit it and may refuse the costs of preparing it (para 25.1). A judge may give permission to use a defective exhibit (para 25.2) — better not to need it.
Checklist before the statement is signed
- Exhibit marks in the top right-hand corner of the statement match the exhibits referred to in the text.
- Each exhibit’s first page carries the statement’s details and its own mark.
- Numbering continues from the witness’s earlier statements.
- Front pages list the documents with their dates; letters run oldest first.
- Pages numbered consecutively at bottom centre, “a” pages for typed transcriptions.
- Business and Property Courts trial statement: a list of documents with disclosure references instead of exhibits.