Upcoming Changes to Court Fees: What You Need to Know

From April 8, 2025, a series of changes to court fees, including family law fees ,will take effect across England and Wales, following the introduction of the Court and Tribunal Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2025. These changes are part of a wider effort to ensure that court and tribunal fees better reflect inflation and the actual costs involved in running the legal system. For anyone involved in family law proceedings, it’s important to understand how these changes could impact the cost of your case.

What’s Changing in Family Law Fees?

1. Divorce Fees
   The cost to file a divorce petition will increase from £593 to £612. 
2. Form A Fees
   If you’re starting financial remedy proceedings with Form A (to deal with the financial arrangements in a divorce or separation), the fee will go up from £303 to £313. 
3. Consent Order Fees
   If you and your ex-partner have reached an agreement on financial matters and need to formalise it with a consent order, the fee will increase from £58 to £60.
4. Child Arrangements Proceedings Fees
   If you’re seeking to arrange where your children will live or how they will spend time with each parent, the fee for starting child arrangements proceedings will rise from £255 to £263.

What Does This Mean for You?

For many people, these fee increases could add to the overall cost of family law proceedings. While the increases might seem small, they could still impact those with limited financial resources, particularly when you add up the costs associated with a lengthy family law case.

Legal practitioners will need to be aware of these changes so that they can help clients plan for the increased costs. It’s important to discuss fee updates early on, as they can affect the financial aspects of your case.

Why Are These Fees Changing?

The fee increases are part of a broader update across the court and tribunal system. A total of 171 court and tribunal fees are being adjusted, with most seeing a 3.2% rise. However, some fees will see higher increases (up to 13.5%) to reflect inflation from as far back as March 2022. The aim is to align the fees with inflation and ensure the court system remains adequately funded. Interestingly, 24 fees will be reduced to better reflect the actual costs involved in those proceedings.

What Should You Do?

If you’re about to start a family law case, these changes are something you’ll need to keep in mind. It’s important to speak to your lawyer about how the fee increases will affect your case. They will be able to help you factor these costs into your legal strategy and help you plan accordingly.

Jamie Beland