Court Issue Fees

When you issue a court claim, you must pay a fee to the court. The fee depends on the value of your claim and how you issue it (online or on paper). Below are the key issue fee bands under the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 (as amended):

• Claims up to £300: £35
• Claims £300.01 to £500: £50
• Claims £500.01 to £1,000: £70
• Claims £1,000.01 to £1,500: £80
• Claims £1,500.01 to £3,000: £115
• Claims £3,000.01 to £5,000: £205
• Claims £5,000.01 to £10,000: £455
• Claims £10,000.01 to £25,000: 5% of the claim value
• Claims £25,000.01 to £50,000: 5% of the claim value
• Claims £50,000.01 to £100,000: 5% of the claim value
• Claims £100,000.01 to £200,000: 5% of the claim value
• Claims over £200,000: £10,000 (capped)
• Non-money claims: £308

Online claims through Money Claims Online (MCOL) attract a 10% discount on issue fees. Hearing fees are separate and depend on the track:

• Small claims hearing fee: £181
• Fast track hearing fee: £545
• Multi-track hearing fee: £1,090

These figures are current as of 2026. Fees are reviewed periodically by the Ministry of Justice. Always check the latest fee schedule at HMCTS or on Courts.uk.

Application Fees

Various applications during proceedings attract their own fees. Key examples include:

• General application (with notice): £119
• Application for a consent order: £53
• Application for default judgement: £75
• Application to set aside a judgement: £275
• Application for a charging order: £119 (interim), £119 (final)
• Application for a third-party debt order: £119
• Application for attachment of earnings: £119
• Warrant of control (County Court enforcement): £77

Enforcement fees (for writs of control, charging orders, and other enforcement methods) are governed by the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 and are separate from court fees. For enforcement fee calculations, see Enforcement.uk.

Help with Fees (EX160)

If you cannot afford court fees, you may be eligible for Help with Fees (previously known as fee remission). The scheme provides full or partial exemption from court and tribunal fees based on your income and savings.

You may qualify if:

• You receive certain benefits (Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Pension Credit guarantee credit) and have savings below the threshold.
• Your income (after tax, National Insurance, and childcare costs) falls below the threshold for the fee amount. The thresholds vary depending on whether you are single, in a couple, and how many children you have.
• Your savings are below the relevant threshold: £3,000 if you are under 61, or £16,000 if you are 61 or over.

You can apply online at gov.uk/get-help-with-court-fees or by completing Form EX160 (paper application). You must apply before or at the same time as submitting your court form. If you are granted full remission, you pay nothing. Partial remission means you pay a reduced amount.

Fixed Costs

CPR Part 45 sets out a fixed costs regime for many types of straightforward civil claim. Fixed costs provide certainty: you know in advance how much the legal costs will be at each stage, regardless of how much work is actually done.

The fixed costs regime is stage-based:

• Pre-issue: fixed costs for the work done before issuing proceedings (letter before claim, attempting settlement).
• Post-issue: fixed costs for the work after issue but before trial (statements of case, disclosure, witness statements).
• Trial: fixed costs for trial preparation and attendance.

The Extended Fixed Costs regime (introduced in October 2023) applies to most County Court claims valued up to £100,000 that are not personal injury cases. It replaced the previous fixed costs rules that applied only to certain lower-value claims.

For personal injury cases, the separate fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime applies, also stage-based and organised by claim value.

Costs Budgeting

In multi-track cases with a value below £10 million, the court requires the parties to prepare costs budgets. Costs budgeting is governed by CPR Part 3, Section II.

• Precedent H: the standard form for costs budgets. Each party sets out its estimated costs for each phase of the litigation (pre-action, issue, case management, disclosure, witness statements, expert reports, trial preparation, trial, ADR).
• Costs management orders: the court reviews the budgets at a costs management conference and may approve, vary, or reduce the estimated costs for each phase. Once a costs management order is made, the court will not depart from the approved budget on assessment unless there is good reason to do so.
• Budget discussion reports: the parties must file a report identifying areas of agreement and disagreement on the budgets before the costs management conference.

The purpose of costs budgeting is to control litigation costs and ensure proportionality. Parties who fail to file a costs budget on time risk being limited to court fees only.

What Happens if You Cannot Pay

The courts should never be inaccessible because of fees. If you genuinely cannot afford to pay, several options are available:

• Fee remission: as described above, Help with Fees can reduce or eliminate your court fees entirely.
• Fee waiver: in exceptional circumstances, the Lord Chancellor can waive fees where imposing them would effectively prevent access to justice. This is a high threshold.
• Instalment orders: if you are the defendant and a judgement has been entered against you, you can apply for an instalment order, allowing you to pay the amount owed in regular instalments that you can afford. The court considers your income, essential expenditure, and other debts.
• Debt advice: if you are struggling with debts generally, free advice is available from Citizens Advice (online and in person), StepChange (0800 138 1111), and National Debtline (0808 808 4000). These organisations can help you manage your debts and negotiate with creditors.

Never be discouraged from accessing the court system because of cost. Help is available, and the court has a duty to facilitate access to justice. For a full list of advice organisations, see our Directory.