How to get help paying family court fees (Help with Fees and EX160)

How long it takes, and what it would cost

On your own

An hour or two

With Wren

15 to 30 minutes

Solicitor for each short form

£250 to £4901 to 2 hours

Times and hours are Wren’s estimates for a typical case, not quotes. Solicitor costs are those hours at £247 an hour, the courts’ guideline rate for a solicitor with over four years’ experience, outside London (GOV.UK, Solicitors' guideline hourly rates (in effect from 1 January 2026)). The guideline runs from £200 to £295 an hour outside London depending on experience, firms set their own rates, and VAT is added on top.

What Help with Fees is

You can apply for money off a court fee before or after you pay it. If you have already paid, you can ask for money back if you paid in the last 3 months and were eligible then.

Whether you qualify depends on your savings, the benefits you get and your income. If you have a partner, their savings count too, and a higher income limit applies.

Savings limits

If you and your partner are 65 or younger, the savings limit depends on the fee. You can have up to £4,250 in savings if the fee is £1,420 or less. GOV.UK says most court fees are below that.

If you or your partner are 66 or older, you can have up to £16,000 in savings, whatever the fee.

Benefits and income

You can get money off if you get one of these benefits and are under the savings limit:

1. Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance.
2. Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
3. Income Support.
4. Universal Credit, if you earn less than £6,000 a year.
5. Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit).

Income limits

You report either your income for the last calendar month or your average over the last 3 months, whichever is lower. Income means earnings before tax and other payments you receive.

You can get money off if your income is £1,420 or less if you are single, or £2,130 or less with a partner. Add £425 for each child aged 0 to 13 and £710 for each child aged 14 or over. If you earn more, you may still get some money off, depending on the fee.

How to apply

You can apply online when you make your court application. Or you can fill in Form EX160 and send it with your court application to the address on that application. GOV.UK publishes guidance on Form EX160 in leaflet EX160A.

You must apply separately for each fee. Form A guidance says that if you apply jointly, both of you must qualify.

If you need help applying online, GOV.UK lists We Are Group on 03300 160 051, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Common family court fees

These fees took effect on 13 July 2026, from the EX50 family court fees list.

1. Form A financial order application, not by consent: £321.
2. Financial consent order application: £62.
3. C100 application about children: £270.
4. Application on notice within existing proceedings, where no other fee applies: £195.
5. Application by consent or without notice, where no other fee applies: £62.
6. Divorce or dissolution application: £628.
7. FL401 non-molestation or occupation order: no fee.