How to join a class action, and how to leave it

Service page: Class actions and consumer claims lawyer.

This guide is for anyone who found out that a class action was filed on a matter that concerns them, for example against a company that charged them, and wants to know what they should do. Anyone considering filing a motion themselves will find the conditions and the procedure in the guide how to file a class action: the conditions and the procedure.

Who counts as a member of the class?

A class action is an action conducted on behalf of a group of people who have not authorized the representative plaintiff, and it raises substantial questions of fact or law common to all the class members (section 2 of the Class Actions Law). When the court certifies a class action, it defines in its decision the class on whose behalf it will be conducted (sections 10(a) and 14(a)(1)). Anyone included in this definition is a member of the class. A person whose cause of action arose after the date on which the action was certified will not be included in it (section 10(a)).

The court may allow a person who was not included in the definition to be added to the class, by a date it sets (section 10(b)), and define a sub-class when questions arise for some of the members that are not common to all of them (section 10(c)). As long as the motion to certify a class action has not been decided, the motion is filed on behalf of the class (section 4(a)(1)), but exactly who is included in the class is decided only in the certification decision.

Do you need to do anything to join a class action?

As a rule, no. Section 11(a) provides that after certification, “anyone who belongs to the class that the court defined in its decision shall be regarded” as having agreed that it be filed as a class action on their behalf, unless they gave notice that they do not want to be included in the class. In other words, anyone within the definition is included automatically, and anyone who does not want this needs to opt out.

The exception is a class action by way of joining (section 12). The court may, in special circumstances, order that the class will include only those who notified it in writing that they want to join; for example, when there is a reasonable possibility that a substantial part of the class members will file claims themselves, or when the amount of the claim is substantial for each of them, including in a claim for bodily injury (section 12(a)). In such an action, you file a notice of joining on Form 2 in the Schedule to the Class Actions Regulations, 5770-2010 (תקנות תובענות ייצוגיות, התש״ע-2010), within 45 days from the day the notice of the decision was published (regulation 8). The court may decide that everyone who joins will share in the costs of conducting the action (section 12(c)). This route does not apply to claims on a cause of action under the Economic Competition Law, 5748-1988 (חוק התחרות הכלכלית, התשמ״ח-1988), or on a cause of action arising from a connection to a security or to a unit in a mutual fund (section 12(d) and the Third Schedule).

How do you opt out of a class action, and why does it matter?

Anyone who belongs to the class and does not want to be included in it notifies the court within 45 days from the day the certification decision was published, or by a later date the court set (section 11(a)). The notice is made on Form 1 in the Schedule to the Regulations (regulation 7). The court may extend the period for a particular person if it finds a special reason for this (section 11(b)).

A judgment in a class action is res judicata (binding) for all the class members on whose behalf the action was conducted (section 24). For anyone who gave notice that they do not want to be included in the class, the limitation period for their claim on the same cause of action will not end before a year has passed from the day of the notice, provided that their claim was not time-barred by the date on which the certification motion was filed (section 26(d)). And anyone who stays in a class that was certified is regarded, for limitation purposes, as having filed an action on the date on which the certification motion was filed (section 26(a)).

Where are notices to the class members published?

The Law requires a notice to the class members to be published on several events (section 25(a)): a decision to certify a class action, including the definition of the class, the identity of the representative plaintiff and the representative counsel, the causes of action and the remedies; the withdrawal of all the representative plaintiffs or of all the representative counsel from an action that was certified; the filing of a motion to approve a settlement agreement; a decision to approve a settlement agreement; and the judgment. The court may order further notices (section 25(b)).

The court approves the wording of the notice before it is published. A notice of a decision or of a settlement agreement includes their main points and a reference to the register and to other places where the full text can be read (section 25(d)). The court sets the method and date of publication, among other things according to the cost, the number of class members, the possibility of identifying them and giving them personal notice, and their characteristics, including language (section 25(e)). So there is no single channel in which all the notices are published, and the fixed place to check is the register.

How do you check the Class Actions Register?

The Director of Courts keeps a Class Actions Register, and the register and the documents given to it “shall be open to public inspection on the website of the Courts Administration” (section 28(a)). As of 1 October 2026, the link “Class Actions Register” (פנקס תובענות ייצוגיות) appears on the Net HaMishpat website of the Judicial Authority (in Hebrew). The register records, among other things, notices of:

• the filing of a certification motion, together with the motion and the text of the action (section 6(a));
• a decision to certify a class action or to dismiss a certification motion (section 14(b));
• the addition of a person to the class (section 10(b));
• the withdrawal of all the applicants or of all the representative plaintiffs (section 16(d)(3));
• a motion to approve a settlement agreement, and the decision on it together with the approved settlement (sections 18(c) and 19(e));
• notices published to the class members (section 25(g)), and appeals against decisions on a certification motion or in the action (regulation 17(d) of the Regulations).

This way you can check whether a certification motion was filed on a matter that concerns you, in which court, and which decisions were recorded in it. Anyone considering filing a certification motion must also check the register, before filing, whether it lists a pending motion or action that raises identical or substantially similar questions, and mention it in their motion (section 5(a)(2)).

What can a class member do at each stage?

The table brings together what the Law and the Regulations allow a class member to do, by stage of the proceeding:

A settlement agreement was filed. Can you object or opt out?

A settlement agreement in a class action, or in a certification motion, requires the court’s approval (section 18(a)). When a motion to approve a settlement was filed and the court found no reason to dismiss it outright, it orders a notice with the details of the settlement to be published (section 18(c)). From then on, a class member can:

• file a reasoned objection in writing to the settlement, and also to the agreed recommendation on the award and legal fees, within 45 days from publication of the notice or by a later date the court set (section 18(d));
• ask the court, by the same date, to allow them to opt out of the class to which the settlement will apply (section 18(f)).

The court approves a settlement agreement only if it finds that it is “appropriate, fair and reasonable, taking into account the interests of the class members”, and in its decision it addresses, among other things, the objections filed and the ruling on them (section 19(a) and (c)(2)(b)). It may also make the approval conditional on a term that allows a class member to give notice that they do not want the settlement to apply to them, and then the decision is not res judicata toward anyone who gave such notice (section 19(d)). On the considerations in approving a settlement, see a settlement agreement in a class action: approval and opting out.

If the action succeeds, how does the remedy reach a class member?

The Law gives the court several ways (section 20(a)): compensation or another remedy for each class member whose entitlement was proved; an instruction that each class member prove their entitlement; or compensation in a total amount, with a way of calculating each member’s share. When the court orders that each member prove their entitlement, it may set the way and the date for the proof, and appoint a commissioner for this purpose (section 20(b)(1)). An appeal against a commissioner’s decision can be filed with the court within 30 days from the day it was served, or from the day it was published if it was not served personally, or by a later date the court set (regulation 15(a)).

When monetary compensation to the class members is not practical, for example because it is impossible to identify them and pay them at a reasonable cost, the court may order another remedy for the benefit of the class or of the public (section 20(c)). In a class action, the court does not award exemplary damages, nor compensation without proof of damage, except in claims under item 9 of the Second Schedule, which concerns the rights of people with disabilities; but it may award compensation for non-pecuniary damage (section 20(e)).

What is the difference between a class member and the representative plaintiff?

The representative plaintiff is the person the court approved as the representative plaintiff in the action (section 2). When the court decides in favor of the class, including by approving a settlement agreement, it orders an award to be paid to the representative plaintiff, unless it finds, for special reasons, that this is not justified. In setting the award, it takes into account, among other things, the effort and risk of the representative plaintiff, the benefit the action brought the class members, and its public importance (section 22). The legal fees of the representative counsel are set under section 23. A class member does not conduct the proceeding, and what they receive, if anything, is set in the judgment or in the approved settlement (sections 19 and 20).

Do you want to find out whether you are included in the class, or to consider opting out of it? Arrange a first call to look at your case.

Frequently asked questions

How do you leave a class action?

You notify the court, on Form 1 in the Schedule to the Class Actions Regulations, that you do not want to be included in the class, within 45 days from the day the certification decision was published or by a later date the court set (section 11(a) of the Law; regulation 7). The court may extend the date for a particular person if it finds a special reason for this (section 11(b)).

Can you object to a settlement agreement in a class action?

Yes. Anyone who belongs to the class on whose behalf a motion to approve a settlement agreement was filed may file a reasoned objection in writing with the court, within 45 days from the day the notice of the motion was published or by a later date the court set (section 18(d)). By the same date, a class member may also ask the court to allow them to opt out of the class to which the settlement will apply (section 18(f)).

How do you know whether a class action has been filed against a company?

You check the Class Actions Register, which the Director of Courts keeps and which is open to public inspection on the website of the Courts Administration (section 28(a)). It records, among other things, notices of the filing of motions to certify, of decisions on them, and of settlement agreements.

The certification motion was dismissed. What about the personal claim?

An applicant who wants to pursue their personal claim files a separate action in the competent court (regulation 9). For anyone who belongs to the class, the limitation period for a claim on the same cause of action will not end before a year has passed from the day the decision on the certification motion became final, provided that their claim was not time-barred by the date on which the certification motion was filed (section 26(b)).