Criminal legal aid fees change from 28 July 2026
If you do not work in criminal courts, a change to legal aid fees can sound like a niche update for specialists. It is not. The government has laid the legal change that will raise some payments under the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme, known as AGFS, and the new rules will apply to cases with a representation order dated on or after 28 July 2026. That matters because AGFS is one of the systems used to pay defence advocates in Crown Court cases. When fees change, it affects what work is recognised, how claims are made and, over time, how realistic it is for publicly funded criminal defence to keep functioning well.
The first change is straightforward on paper. According to the Ministry of Justice notice on GOV.UK, the fixed fee for additional preparation will rise from £62 to £81. That is a clear increase, but it also tells you something about the old rate: many in the profession did not think it properly reflected the work being done. **In plain English:** a representation order is the formal approval for criminal legal aid. If that order is dated 28 July 2026 or later, the new rules apply. If it is dated earlier, the older fee rules stay in place.
The second change is easy to miss unless you know the system already. The additional preparation fee is being extended to guilty plea cases. That may sound like a small technical fix, but guilty plea cases can still involve serious reading, evidence review and advice before a case is concluded. The third change lowers the number of trial days needed to qualify for a wasted preparation claim, from five days to two. In practice, that widens access to payment where an advocate has already done substantial work for a trial but the case does not end up using that preparation in the way first expected.
The government says these measures are being introduced ahead of a wider AGFS reform package. Most of that broader package is still due to go out to public consultation, but ministers say these three steps are being moved first because they are especially important to the criminal Bar, meaning barristers who do criminal court advocacy. The Ministry of Justice also says the move follows extensive engagement with the sector, including through the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board. **What this means:** this is not the full rewrite of criminal legal aid fees. It is an early move in a bigger debate about how defence work is valued, and about whether courts can keep expecting careful preparation while paying too little for it.
For defendants, the real question is simple: does the system pay properly for the work that happens before a case reaches court? Good preparation can shape the advice a person receives, the issues spotted early and the way a case is managed before anyone stands up in the courtroom. If preparation is treated as optional, the pressure does not stay with barristers. It can feed into delay, rushed choices and a justice system that feels harder to trust. That is why a rise from £62 to £81 matters beyond the billing form. It is still a modest reform, but it recognises that preparation happens in guilty plea cases as well as trials, and that shorter trials can still involve a lot of unseen work.
The practical side matters too. The government says advocates should claim the additional preparation fee through the Claim for Crown Court Defence billing tool, usually shortened to CCCD. In the system, the claim is made through the miscellaneous fees page, by selecting 'additional preparation fee' from the drop-down list and then completing the submission. There is, however, an awkward detail. The Ministry of Justice says the CCCD update needed for the higher fee and for guilty plea cases may not be ready by 28 July 2026. If that happens, officials say they will provide temporary instructions for how claims should be submitted in the meantime.
If you want to check the legal wording behind the announcement, the government points readers to The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026 and the updated Crown Court Fee Guidance. The AGFS calculator, which is used to work out claims, is also due to be updated. For now, the clearest takeaway is this. From 28 July 2026, some criminal legal aid preparation work will be paid at a higher rate, more guilty plea cases will be able to attract that fee, and more shorter trials will qualify for wasted preparation claims. It is a targeted reform rather than a full reset, but it shows how much the justice system depends on work that the public rarely sees.