To commence arbitration, a claimant typically needs: the underlying contract containing the arbitration clause, correspondence evidencing the dispute (demand letters, responses, or their absence), a draft or final notice of arbitration setting out the relief sought, and — where the clause requires party nomination — the name and consent of the claimant's nominated arbitrator.
Where the dispute involves quantified financial claims, supporting documentation (invoices, payment records, calculations) should be assembled early, even though full evidence submission typically happens later in the process — having it ready avoids scrambling once the procedural calendar is set.
Institutional registries can usually confirm, before formal filing, whether a notice meets the clause's formal requirements — a quick check that avoids a rejected or defective filing costing valuable time at the very start of the process.