Dramatic increase in court fees from 9 March 2015 (updated)

The court fees for issuing claims in England and Wales are set to increase by as much as £8,685. It is now confirmed that this increase applies from Monday 9 March 2015.

The current maximum court fee for issuing a claim in England and Wales is £1,920 which applies to claims with a value exceeding £300,000. The proposed maximum court fee for issuing a claim will be £10,000 and shall apply to claims with a value exceeding £200,000. All claims with a monetary value exceeding £15,000 will be affected by the impending fee increase. For any claim with a value exceeding £15,000, the court fee shall be 5% of the value of the claim up to a maximum fee £10,000. 

The table below sets out examples of the current court fees compared with the new fees: 

The Statutory Instrument which implements the court issue fee increase (the Civil Proceedings and Family Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2015 (SI 2015/576 (L.7)) comes into force on the next Monday after the day on which the Instrument is approved by each House of Parliament, i.e. 9 March 2015. 

How we can help

If you are intending to commence court proceedings in relation to a potential claim, we can provide you with advice in relation to issuing the claim before the increase in court fees comes into effect and we can also assist you with the process of issuing the claim.  

Once the new court issue fees come into effect, even more thought will need to be given to the decision to issue proceedings. The rise in court fees will increase the number of cases for which mediation or other alternatives to litigation will be more suitable.

We have a strong track record of helping clients resolve their disputes without the need for litigation and we can provide you with advice both in relation to the merits of your cases and also in relation to alternative strategies that may deliver your desired outcomes without the need to go to court.