Court Fees from 13 July 2026: What Costs Practitioners Need to Update

Practice Guides — 2026-07-13

A practical guide to the July 2026 civil, family and Court of Protection fees most relevant to costs-only proceedings, detailed assessment and related applications.

Overview

HM Courts & Tribunals Service updated civil and family court fees with effect from 13 July 2026. The changes include a 2.6% inflationary increase across a large group of fees, together with separate adjustments to selected fees.

Not every detailed assessment fee changed. Costs practitioners should use the current EX50A schedule rather than apply a general percentage uplift to an old fee table.

This guide identifies the figures most likely to arise in costs work. It is based on the July 2026 EX50A published by HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice’s implementation table.

Costs-only and Solicitors Act proceedings

The fee under item 1.8(b) for an assessment of costs under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 or for costs-only proceedings is now £69, increased from £67.

That fee applies when the relevant proceeding is issued. It should not be confused with the separate commencement fee payable when a request for detailed assessment is filed after an inter partes costs order.

Applications made within proceedings

The principal civil application fees are now:

£321 for a general application on notice, increased from £313; and
£126 for a general application by consent or without notice, increased from £123.

Specific reduced fees continue to apply to certain applications under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and for payment out of funds in court.

The correct fee depends on the substance of the application and whether notice is required. Practitioners should not assume that an agreed order necessarily attracts the without-notice or consent fee without checking the applicable fee item and HMCTS filing route.

Detailed assessment fees in the Senior Courts and County Court

The July 2026 EX50A gives the following fees for determination of costs:

| Amount of costs claimed | Fee |

| --- | ---: |

| Legally aided party filing the request | £296 |

| Not exceeding £15,000 | £398 |

| Exceeding £15,000 but not £50,000 | £801 |

| Exceeding £50,000 but not £100,000 | £1,192 |

| Exceeding £100,000 but not £150,000 | £1,595 |

| Exceeding £150,000 but not £200,000 | £1,992 |

| Exceeding £200,000 but not £300,000 | £2,988 |

| Exceeding £300,000 but not £500,000 | £4,980 |

| Exceeding £500,000 | £6,640 |

The applicable band is determined by the amount of costs claimed when the request is filed. Practitioners should confirm the correct treatment of VAT, interest and any separate costs orders when calculating the sum on which the fee is based.

The other current fees in this section are:

£82 for the issue of a default costs certificate;
£290 for an appeal in detailed assessment proceedings;
£152 for a request or application to set aside a default costs certificate; and
£408 for a request for a fixed-cost determination.

These figures appear in the current schedule. They should be checked again whenever a request is filed because EX50A is updated periodically and the statutory fee orders remain authoritative.

Court of Protection costs

For costs determined in the Court of Protection, the current fees are:

£102 for filing a request for detailed assessment;
£81 for an appeal in detailed assessment proceedings; and
£76 for a request or application to set aside a default costs certificate.

These are listed separately from the Senior Courts and County Court fee bands. Using the general detailed assessment table for a Court of Protection request would produce the wrong fee.

Family proceedings

The family costs table contains its own fee bands and should be checked separately. The July implementation changes included:

the fee for a family detailed assessment appeal increasing from £238 to £244;
the fee to set aside a family default costs certificate increasing from £125 to £128; and
the £100,000 to £150,000 determination band increasing from £1,365 to £1,400.

Other family determination bands remain set out in the current EX50A. The family table should not be substituted for the civil table even where the assessment takes place in the Senior Courts Costs Office.

Practical implications for Costs Lawyers

Fee changes should be implemented at the point of filing, not merely when a bill is prepared. A bill or advice prepared before 13 July may remain accurate as to work done but use an obsolete court fee if the request is issued later.

Recommended controls are:

update bill-drafting, N258 and costs-only issue checklists;
remove hard-coded historic fees from precedents and workflow software;
verify the fee on GOV.UK immediately before filing;
record the fee code as well as the amount;
distinguish civil, family and Court of Protection assessments; and
keep evidence of the payment and filing date on the matter file.

A short underpayment can delay issue or lead to rejection at a point when a procedural deadline is approaching. An overpayment is also avoidable client expenditure and may complicate the final reconciliation of the bill.

Practical implications for Litigation Practitioners

Solicitors instructing Costs Lawyers should allow for the current fee when seeking authority to commence assessment proceedings. Where a client is eligible, the Help with Fees scheme should be considered before payment.

Parties negotiating costs should also remember that the court fee is ordinarily a recoverable disbursement if reasonably and properly incurred. The receiving party should use the correct fee in any schedule of assessment costs and produce proof of payment if challenged.

Conclusion

The July 2026 changes are not a uniform uplift to every costs-related fee. The most visible changes for general costs practice are the £69 costs-only or Solicitors Act issue fee and the £321 and £126 civil application fees. The detailed assessment banding, default certificate, appeal and Court of Protection figures must be taken from the correct section of the current EX50A.

The safest working rule is simple: treat any fee stored in a precedent as a prompt, not an authority, and verify the live HMCTS schedule on the day of filing.

Official sources

Related Specialist Support

Bills of Costs: Clear, defensible traditional and electronic bills prepared for recovery.
Costs Lawyer Support: Direct help with costs procedure, strategy, drafting and advocacy.
Costs Budgeting and Detailed Assessment: Precedent H, dispute documents, negotiations and assessment strategy.