Form

How to apply for help with fees: EX160A

Updated 25 October 2024

When to apply for help with fees

You must apply for help with fees at the same time as your court or tribunal application and where you would otherwise be paying a fee. Each fee requires a separate help with fees application. Staff will process your applications at the same time and let you know if you need to pay an amount towards the fee or if they need more information.

Apply for help with fees online, or on paper using the EX160 application form.

If you are making your court or tribunal application online, you may need to apply for help with fees online too.

Court of Protection

If you are making an application to the Court of Protection and need help paying the fee, you need to complete Form COP44A and refer to the relevant guidance instead.

Who can get help with fees

You may not have to pay a fee, or you may get some money off if you:

• have no savings or investments, or only a small amount
• receive certain benefits
• receive income below a certain amount

Help with fees is sometimes known as ‘fee remission’.

Only individuals can apply for help with fees. This includes sole traders (people who run their own business).

In most instances, non-UK nationals can apply for help with fees if a case or claim is being dealt with by a UK court or tribunal. However, in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), you will not be eligible for help with fees if you are not in the UK at the time you start your appeal.

You cannot get help with fees for the fee to request a copy or duplicate documents and searches. You also cannot get help with fees charged by a third party, such as for transcripts or an insolvency deposit.

If you are not eligible for help with fees for any reason and are likely to experience exceptional hardship, you may be eligible for a part or full fee remission under the Lord Chancellors’ exceptional power.

Your personal details

The court or tribunal needs details such as your name, date of birth, National Insurance number or Home Office reference number to identify you. If you have a partner, you should also provide their National Insurance number or Home Office reference number.

You can usually find your National Insurance number on letters from the Jobcentre Plus, your payslip, or P60. How to find a lost National Insurance number.

You may have a Home Office reference number if you are subject to immigration control. You will find the Home Office reference number on any correspondence you have received from the Home Office.

We may check the details you provide (including about your partner if you have one) against information held by other government departments. This will help prevent you from being asked for further information before a decision is made.

If you are a legal representative or litigation friend, you can apply on behalf of someone for fees due to be paid on or after 27 November 2023. You must make the application in the name of the person on whose behalf you are applying using their financial and personal details, but you must use your own contact details and sign the form.

If you are in the process of applying to be a litigation friend, you must complete Form FP9 before you can apply for help with fees.

Your status

If you have a partner, your partner’s financial details will be taken into consideration, and you must give details of their savings and income.

Choose ‘single’ if you:

• live alone (with or without dependent children) and rely on your own income
• are permanently separated and may be in the process of applying for a divorce, dissolution or annulment, and you do not live with a new partner
• have a partner, but they have a conflicting interest in your case

Choose ‘married or living with someone’ if you:

• are married or in a civil partnership
• live together with a partner as if you were married or in a civil partnership
• have a partner but are forced to live apart, for example, because one or both of you serve in the armed forces, are in prison or live in residential care

Applying for a refund if you’ve already paid the fee

You can apply to get some, or all of your money back if you have paid a fee in the last 3 months, and you believe that you were eligible for help with fees at the time you paid.

If you are applying for a refund, you need to provide details about the savings, investments, benefits and income you had at the time you paid the fee, rather than now.

Finding your court or tribunal form number

You need to give the number of the form that you are using to make your court or tribunal application. You can usually find this number at the bottom of the form.

If you do not have a form number, for example if you are applying for help with a hearing fee for a small claim or a divorce through our online system, then write ‘hearing fee for small claim’ or ‘online divorce’ as the answer to this question.

If you do not know the answer to this question, leave it blank.

Finding your case, claim, appeal or ‘notice to pay’ number

The court or tribunal creates a reference number for every case. This may be called a claim number, case number, appeal or ‘notice to pay’ number.

If your case is ongoing then you’ll find the reference number on letters from the court or tribunal.

If you do not have a reference number (this might be because your case has not started yet) leave this question blank.

Paying a fee for a probate case

This is when you are applying for the right to deal with the property, money and belongings (the ‘estate’) of someone who has died in England or Wales.

More about applying for probate

Your savings and investments

Start by adding up your savings. If you have a partner, remember to also include their savings.

What to include in savings and investments:

• money in ISAs and any other savings account, including matured child trust funds and Junior ISAs
• any unspent income from previous months
• fixed rate or investment bonds
• any lump sum (for example, a redundancy payout)
• stocks and shares (including cryptocurrency)
• value of equity in second homes
• any money or property outside the UK
• your share of any joint savings or investments that you have with your partner if your case is against them, or they have a conflicting interest in the case

Do not include the following in your savings total:

• wages or benefits
• personal pensions
• student loans
• capital value of self-employed businesses
• your partner’s savings or investments if your case is against them, or if they have a conflicting interest in the case

Do not include payments from the following in your savings total:

• unfair dismissal awards or settlements of unfair dismissal claims
• the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
• compensation as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire
• the Windrush Compensation Scheme (Expenditure) Act 2020
• the Lambeth Children’s Homes Redress Scheme
• the London Emergencies Trust
• medical negligence or personal injury awards
• the Medomsley Detention Centre Physical Abuse Settlement Scheme
• the Miscarriage of Justice Compensation Scheme
• the Criminal Injury Compensation Scheme
• the National Emergencies Trust
• the Infected Blood Support Schemes
• compensation relating to interment, forced labour, injury, or loss of a child during the Second World War
• the Jesus Fellowship Redress Scheme
• Vaccine Damage Payment compensation
• compensation as a result of Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
• the Victim of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme
• the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund

If you have £4,250 or more in savings

Your court or tribunal fee	You must have less than this amount in savings and investments to be eligible for help with fees
Up to £1,420	£4,250
Between £1,421 and £5,000	3 times your court or tribunal fee
£5,001 or over	£16,000

Fees depend on your claim or case. Find out more about court and tribunal fees.

If you (or your partner) are aged 66 or over and you have less than £16,000 in savings, you may be able to get help with your fee. If you have more than this amount, you will not be able to get financial help under the help with fees scheme.

If you receive benefits

You will be able to get help with fees if you have no savings, or you have less savings than the relevant amount depending on your court or tribunal fee, and you receive one of these benefits:

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income Support
• Universal Credit (and you earn less than £6,000 a year)
• Pension Credit (guarantee credit)

We will contact the Department for Work and Pensions to confirm that you are (or were) getting one of these benefits. We may also contact you if we need to see additional evidence.

Children living with you, or who you support financially

You need to give details of any children you (or your partner) support financially.

This includes children who are:

• under 16 and living at home
• between 16 and 19, single, living at home and in full-time education (not including studying for a degree or other higher education qualification)
• a child who does not live with you, but you (or your partner) pay regular maintenance for them

Read more about Child Tax Credit when your child reaches 16.

Your total monthly income

Write down how much money you received in the previous calendar month. If your income is not the same every month, you may use your income from the previous month or your average income for the last 3 months, whichever is lower.

What to include as income:

• gross wages (that is before any tax or National Insurance payments have been taken off)
• your net profits if you are self-employed
• Child Benefit
• Working Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• maintenance payments
• contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
• contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit
• pensions (state, work, private, and savings element of pensions credit)
• rent from anyone living with you and other properties that you own
• cash gifts (including all one-off payments)
• loans (excluding student loans)
• financial support from others
• other income – for example, from online selling, dividends or interest payments

Where to find information about your income

If we ask to see proof of your income, we recommend that you save any paperwork or screenshots you use to complete your application.

Wages

You should enter the gross amount on your payslip covering the last full calendar month. If your wages for the last full calendar month are not representative of what you usually get, you can enter the average of the amount you were paid over the last 3 months.

Select the last calendar month or 3-month average option below the income box to show which time period of income you are providing.

Net profit from self-employment

Net profit is the revenue earned in the calendar month before the application was made, minus the business expenses from that month.

If you are self-employed and need to enter your monthly earnings, you should calculate the net profit you made in the calendar month before you made the application. If your net profit is not the same every month, you can provide the average net profit you made over the last 3 months. If you are a partner in a business, you should only include your share of the profits.

The preferred method for calculating revenue and expenses for simple businesses is to recognise income when it comes into the business and to recognise expenses when they go out. This accounting method is called ‘cash basis’. Profits calculated on an ‘accruals basis’ will also be accepted – this is when you record income when you invoice your customers and expenses when you receive a bill. Select the last calendar month or 3-month average option below the income box to show which time period of income you are providing.

You should include all bank accounts in which you receive income or pay business expenses to work out your net profit, whether personal or business accounts.

Child Benefit, Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit

You can usually find the monthly income on the last page of the letter from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), or on any online account confirming that you are receiving Child Benefit, Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit.

Contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit

You can usually find the monthly income on the letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), or on your online account confirming that you’re receiving the benefit.

Pensions

Your monthly pension income should be on your pension statement.

Prisoner Income and Expenditure Statement

You can find your monthly income on your Prisoner Income and Expenditure Statement if you’re a prisoner.

Include your partner’s income

If you have a partner, remember to also include any money they receive. See the ‘Your status’ section if you are not sure whether to include your partner’s income.

No income

If you (and your partner) do not have an income, you may be asked for evidence to show how you support yourself.

If you live outside the UK

Convert your monthly income into pounds sterling (GBP) using the current exchange rate. Our staff will allow for small changes in the exchange rate from when you complete your application to the date it is assessed.

Excluded income

Do not include these benefits as income:

• advance payments made on account under Universal Credit or other legacy benefits
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Attendance Allowance
• Bereavement Support Payment
• Carer’s Allowance
• Carer Element of Universal Credit
• Childcare Element of Working Tax Credit
• Childcare Element of Universal Credit
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• disabled and severely disabled elements of Child Tax Credit
• disabled and severely disabled child elements of Universal Credit
• disabled and severely disabled child elements of Working Tax Credit
• Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance
• financial support under an agreement for the foster care of a child
• Housing Benefit
• Housing Credit Element of Pension Credit
• Housing Element of Universal Credit
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Limited Capability for Work Element of Universal Credit
• payments made out of the Social Fund
• payments made to support people in need of social care
• payments out of the Independent Living Funds
• pension paid under the Naval, Military and Air Forces Service Pension Order
• Personal Independence Payment
• Severe Disablement Allowance

How your income affects whether you can get help with your fee

We can provide a full fee remission if, depending on the type of case, you or the person the application relates only have a small amount of savings and meet the income criteria.

Single applicants

If you are single, you must have a monthly income less than £1,420 plus £425 for each child aged up to 13, and £710 for each child aged 14 or older.

For example, a single parent with one child aged under 13 must have a monthly income less than £1,845. A single parent with one child aged 14 or older must have a monthly income of £2,130 or less.

If you have a partner

You must have a monthly income less than £2,130 plus £425 for each child you have aged up to 13, and £710 for each child you have aged 14 or older.

For example, if you are part of a couple with one child aged under 13, you must have a monthly income less than £2,555. If you both have one child aged 14 or older, the maximum income is £2,840.

Partial fee remission

If your monthly income is more than the maximum for a full fee remission, you may still be able to apply for part of the fees to be paid.

You may be eligible for a partial fee remission if:

• you are single and have a monthly income less than £4,420 plus £425 for each child you have aged 13 and under, and £710 for each child aged 14 or older
• you are part of a couple and have a monthly income less than £5,130 plus £425 for each child you have aged 13 or under, and £710 for each child aged 14 or older

Paying part of the fee

You can use the EX160C fee remission calculator to work out how much money you may need to pay towards your fee.

Do not send this amount with your court application. Court staff will process your help with fees application and tell you what you need to pay and how to pay it.

Providing evidence of your income

You may get a letter from the court or tribunal asking for evidence of your income. If this happens, the letter will tell you what information you need to provide. This may include bank statements, payslips or letters from Jobcentre Plus.

You must provide any information requested in the letter within 28 days of the date the letter was sent to you by the court or tribunal. If you do not send it within this time, your application will be treated as abandoned and will not be processed further. You will then need to start a new application for the court or tribunal to consider.

You do not need to send any evidence of your income unless you get a letter asking for it.

Signing the form

You must sign and date the declaration and statement of truth to confirm you believe you may be entitled to help with fees, and that all the information you have given is true. If you are found to have been deliberately untruthful or dishonest, criminal proceedings for fraud can be brought against you.

If you are a legal representative or a litigation friend completing the form on someone’s behalf, you will need to sign the declaration and statement of truth, confirming that the information the applicant has provided is correct.

Multiple claims or applications

In some courts and tribunals there are cases where 2 or more people are named on the same claim form. This is known as a multiple claim or application.

In a multiple claim or application, everyone involved is responsible for the fees that need to be paid. Each person should make a separate application for help with fees. If you are applying with your partner, you only need to submit one help with fees application.

If one of the group of applicants does not qualify for help with the fee, then the full fee is payable.

Where to send your application

Court or tribunal fees

If you are applying for help with court or tribunal fees you must send your completed form and your help with fees form to the court or tribunal handling your case or claim. You should send your help with fees application within 28 days of it being signed, or it may be rejected by the court or tribunal and you will need to make a new help with fees application.

Find a court or tribunal on GOV.UK

Online help with fees application

If you have completed an online help with fees application, you will receive a help with fees reference number in the format of ‘HWF-XXX-XXX’. You should send this to the court or tribunal you’ve made your application with within 28 days. If it is received later, it may be rejected and you will need to make a new help with fees application.

If you are applying to the court online, put your help with fees reference number onto their system when prompted.

If you are applying for a refund, see the ‘Applying for a refund if you’ve already paid the fee’ section.

What happens next

You’ll receive a letter if your application is unsuccessful, or if you need to provide more information. For example, you may be asked to send evidence of your income.

How to appeal

You can appeal if your application for help with your fee is unsuccessful and you do not agree with the decision.

You will need to write to the court or tribunal by the date stated in your refusal letter. You must explain why you are not happy with the decision and include any evidence that will support your appeal.

A response to your appeal will be provided within 10 working days.

If the court or tribunal refuses your appeal, you have the right to contact the court or tribunal’s senior manager within 14 days from the date your appeal was refused. They will look at your application for an appeal and make a final decision.

If you are likely to experience exceptional hardship

Where you believe that you are not realistically able to afford to pay your court or tribunal fee, or are facing other exceptional circumstances, you can ask the court or tribunal to consider reducing or waiving your fee.

This is an important safety net which may apply where, for example, you are not eligible under the help with fees scheme, you have been granted partial remission, or if your fee is payable in proceedings where the help with fees scheme doesn’t apply and you do not qualify for a remission under other rules.

The senior manager will generally only grant your request if you are able to demonstrate that you are not realistically able to afford the fee in practice, or that there are other circumstances which justify remission of the fee. The circumstances of applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

In considering whether to reduce or waive your fee, the senior manager will need evidence about your exceptional circumstances, including why you are not able to afford your fee, or why there are other circumstances which justify remission of the fee. You must provide this evidence with your application.

The type of evidence that you should provide can include (where relevant):

• notices threatening legal action due to non-payment of bills or housing costs
• details of your income, savings and expenses
• any other relevant information to support your request for an exceptional remission

All evidence must be in English or accompanied by a translation into English. Where evidence of your finances is presented in a currency other than pounds sterling (GBP), it must be accompanied by a conversion. Translations and conversions should be from a recognised source (this can include online translation or conversion services).

You will not automatically have your fee reduced or waived because of your status. For example, you will still be asked to provide evidence to support your application if you are:

• unemployed
• a seasonal, or part-time worker
• a student
• in prison

In considering an application for an exceptional fee remission, we would expect you to demonstrate that you have taken all reasonable steps to exhaust alternative sources of funding. For example, if you have a sponsor supporting you in an immigration related matter, you need to provide evidence showing that those parties cannot help you in paying your fee.

If you have any form of legal expenses insurance, you must provide evidence as to why that insurance cover would not be able to fund your fee.

If the court or tribunal does not grant your exceptional fee remission application, then you can appeal this decision to the senior manager. The senior manager will then consider any evidence that you have submitted previously and any further information you submit with your appeal. Once the senior manager has made their final decision, we will not be able to consider the matter any further.

You can use Form EX105 to apply for help with court transcript costs through a separate scheme.

Emergency cases

If you need a decision quicker than 5 working days, the court or tribunal’s senior manager can make a decision on whether you can get help with your fee.

Emergencies include cases involving:

• suspending an eviction
• debtor insolvency petition
• children or vulnerable adults
• domestic violence
• injunctions
• ‘out of hours’ provisions at the Royal Courts of Justice

If you have a disability that makes going to a court or tribunal or communicating difficult, contact the court or tribunal and they will be able to help you. Find a court or tribunal on GOV.UK.

Free and independent advice

Support Through Court

Practical and emotional support on:

• how the court works
• filling in forms
• organising papers
• how to settle your issue

Website: www.supportthroughcourt.org
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 03000 810 006
Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm

Citizens Advice

Free advice on how to deal with debt problems.

Website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Telephone: 03444 111 444
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

We Are Group

Support for people who do not have:

• access to the internet or an internet enabled device
• the digital skills or confidence to go online

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 03300 160 051
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm