Increased court fees from Monday 9 March 2015, and clarification from the fees policy team | Practical Law

Increased court fees from Monday 9 March 2015, and clarification from the fees policy team | Practical Law

The Civil Proceedings and Family Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2015, which introduces significant increases to court fees, took effect on Monday 9 March 2015. (Free access.) 

Increased court fees from Monday 9 March 2015, and clarification from the fees policy team

by Practical Law Dispute Resolution
Published on 05 Mar 2015 • England, Wales
The Civil Proceedings and Family Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2015, which introduces significant increases to court fees, took effect on Monday 9 March 2015. (Free access.)
Substantial increases to court fees were introduced on Monday 9 March 2015 by the Civil Proceedings and Family Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2015.
For claims above £10,000, the court fee is now based on 5% of the value of the claim in specified money cases (subject to a maximum of £10,000). This also applies to money claims of an unspecified value. Fees for claims less than £10,000 are unchanged, and there is still a discount on issue fees for all money claims initiated electronically using Money Claims OnLine.
The old fee structure applied to claims received on or before Friday 6 March 2015 "in a fit state to issue" (even if issued after 9 March). Applications received before 9 March 2015, but returned due to an error, will attract the new fee.
Following queries from practitioners, we have obtained the following clarification from the fees policy team:
  • What is meant by a money claim for the purposes of court fees? A money claim for the purposes of the new fees is any claim in civil proceedings that seeks money as a full or partial remedy (including claims for damages).
  • How are fees calculated when injunctive relief is sought? If the claim is purely for a non-monetary remedy, the new fees will not apply. However, where a claim for injunctive relief includes a claim for damages, the fees will apply and, where the damages claimed are unlimited, the applicant will have to pay the fee of £10,000. A freezing injunction will continue to be charged at £155, under the general application fee, as previously.
Do let us know if there are other points causing confusion (using our Ask service) and we will seek clarification. It is worth noting that the Law Society has indicated its intention to seek judicial review regarding the increased court fees (see Legal update, Law Society sends pre-action protocol letter for judicial review regarding proposed court fee increases). We will monitor developments.
We have updated our guides to court fees to reflect the changes. See High Court fees: a quick guide and County Court fees: a quick guide.
Source: Hansard for Wednesday 4 March 2015: Civil Proceedings and Family Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2015 and MoJ alerter email (5 March 2015).