As of April 2025, the family court fees have increased. Having only just increased last year already, the justification behind the increased fees provided by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is to produce a significant level of additional funding that will go towards improving service delivery, subsidising the cost of related court and tribunal services for which they do not charge a fee, and reducing the overall cost to the taxpayer. Ultimately, the MOJ is trying to match inflation and account for changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
What court fees that will be increasing in Private Family Proceedings?
It's proposed that over 60 Family Court fees will be increasing from 1 April, with the most notable being:
- Applications to commence divorce proceedings, nullity proceedings or civil partnership dissolution proceedings — fee to increase from £593 to £612.
- Applications to commence financial remedy proceedings to determine the financial claims stemming from a marriage or civil partnership where agreement can't be reached — fee to increase from £303 to £313.
- Applications for Financial Orders to formalise agreements — fee to increase from £58 to £60.
- General applications within proceedings on notice to the other party (D11) — fee to increase from £184 to £190.
- Applications for Orders under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (Child Arrangements Order, Prohibited Steps Orders & Specific Issue Orders) — fee to increase from £255 to £263.
Whilst the government asserts that the fee increase is necessary and provides assurance that access to justice will not be impeded, there is concern that the increase in fees will increase the challenge of accessing justice and act as a deterrent to commencing proceedings.
The fee increases proposed by the MOJ are unlikely to have a significant impact on user experience given the severe backlogs and consequential delays court users are currently facing. Therefore, the drive for Non-Court Alternative Dispute Resolution in family cases will remain prevalent (where appropriate).
Help with fees
The Help with Fees remissions scheme remains available for those with lower financial means who are unable to afford a court or tribunal fee. The scheme can provide a full or partial fee remission before the application is made to the court or for up to three months after the fee was paid.
Originally published April 17, 2025.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
