How could this impact me?

The following increases will impact current and future clients:

• The fee for filing a petition for a divorce, nullity or civil partnership dissolution - £593 (previously £550)
• Financial Order, other than by consent - £275 (previously £255)
• Financial Order by consent or a Decree of judicial separation or Decree Nisi - £54 (previously £50)
• An application under the Children Act, for a Child Arrangements Order; Specific Issue Order; Prohibited Steps; Parental Responsibility or financial provision for children (amongst other applications of the Children Act) - £232 (previously £215)
• Requesting a copy of a document from Court - £11 (previously £10)

For a full list of the Family Court fees coming into force on 30^th September 2021, please see the link:

Court Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2021 (legislation.gov.uk)

HMCTS have indicated that the fee increases will be used to improve the service and cover the increasing running costs of HMCTS.

The pandemic has quickened the pace of the Court system being digitalised. This has improved significant delays. Many of the processes that were done via paper application are now digitalised and dealt with on-line.

As at the 13^th September, divorce cases now have to be dealt with on-line.

Help with Fees

Eligibility is changing.

Some clients may be eligible for help with fees, due to being in receipt of certain benefits or on a lower income. This is different to Legal Aid and only applies to Court fees. The increase in the eligibility should mean that more people will be able to obtain assistance with their Court fees. For a single person, not claiming benefits, the monthly threshold to be eligible for help for fees, will increase from £1,085 to £1,170 in respect of their monthly income.