NI Court of Judicature fees to rise from 1 April 2026

From 1 April 2026, most fees in Northern Ireland’s Court of Judicature will increase. The Department of Justice has made the Court of Judicature Fees (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2026 (S.R. 2026 No. 39), signed on 3 March 2026 by Justice Minister Naomi Long, with the Department of Finance concurring through Minister John O’Dowd after consultation with the Lady Chief Justice.

What changes is the price list the Court of Judicature uses when you file cases, make applications, or request official services. The Order replaces sections 1 to 6 of the 1996 Fees Order and sets staged uplifts: 5% from 1 April 2026, 2% from 1 April 2027, and a further 2% from 1 April 2028. The note to the instrument confirms the majority of fees move on this schedule.

If you are bringing a case or responding to one in these higher courts, you usually pay a fee when you start proceedings, make certain applications, or ask the office to carry out administrative steps. The exact amount depends on the document or request. The updated Schedule lists the figures; your solicitor or the court office can confirm what applies to you.

There is a clear exception for environmental litigation. The Order says the 1996 Fees Order, as it stood immediately before 1 April 2026, continues to apply to judicial reviews and statutory reviews of decisions, acts or omissions that fall under the Aarhus Convention. Aarhus is the United Nations treaty agreed in 1998 on access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters.

A quick worked example helps you budget. If a particular filing was £200 before the change, it becomes £210 on 1 April 2026. On 1 April 2027 a 2% rise would take it to £214.20, and on 1 April 2028 another 2% would make it about £218.48. This is illustrative only; each fee has its own starting figure and some items may be treated differently under the Schedule.

The Order also tidies when certain administration charges start and stop in cases about managing a patient’s property and affairs. For fee number 48, the annual administration fee runs from the date the first application to appoint a controller is issued until the case ends, and no administration fee is taken if proceedings finish before any court order is made.

Fees 48 and 49 are not payable where an officer of the court is acting as controller for the patient. This recognises that when the court itself provides the controller function, charging these particular fees would not be appropriate.

Fee number 49 includes special cases, such as certain orders listed in the instrument. Where the court approves a transaction that produces an identifiable capital sum for the patient, the standard fee can increase. The fee is charged when the transaction is approved and the Office issues a certificate showing what is due. Unless the court directs otherwise, no fee under 49 is taken for selling or buying personal chattels or for investments authorised for trusts or quoted on a UK stock exchange.

Two timing protections are set out. For fee 47, the patient’s clear annual income for fee purposes excludes money that became payable more than six months before the court first exercised jurisdiction. For fees 48 and 50, no annual fee is taken if proceedings end within four weeks of the first application to appoint a controller.

There are also specific protections for veterans and civilians injured in war. No fee is charged on income that comes from defined war pensions or war injury schemes, including service in the armed forces around the Second World War period and comparable civilian and Polish forces schemes, as set out in the Order.

A naming note for students of law and government. The Supreme Court Fees Order (Northern Ireland) 1996 has been retitled the Court of Judicature Fees Order (Northern Ireland) 1996, reflecting constitutional reforms made by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. You will see this updated title used throughout the instrument.

If you need the policy detail behind these changes, the Department has provided an Explanatory Memorandum and a Regulatory Impact Assessment through the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service at Laganside House, Belfast, and online alongside the Statutory Rule. If you plan to file on or after 1 April 2026, budget for the new rate, check whether Aarhus applies to your case, and ask the court office to confirm the correct fee before you lodge paperwork.