NI to raise vehicle seizure charges from 10 Nov 2025
If you or your students are reading statutory notices and wondering what changes from next month, here’s the short version: Northern Ireland is uprating the fees people pay when a vehicle is seized under a court order for unpaid fines. The Department of Justice has made the Enforcement of Fines and Other Penalties (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025, which revise the removal, storage and disposal charges. This sits alongside two related rules on police seizure fees for uninsured and anti‑social driving. All three are listed on legislation.gov.uk as SR 2025/166 to 168.
Let’s ground this in how the system works today. Under the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 and the 2018 Regulations, courts can issue a vehicle seizure order when a debtor hasn’t paid a criminal court fine or other financial penalty. Police can seize the vehicle, move it to storage, and, if payment still doesn’t arrive after 28 days, arrange sale or disposal. Those steps come with set charges in Schedule 3 for removal, for each 24 hours of storage, and for disposal.
What the new 2025 rule does is update those price lists. In plain terms, the tables in Schedule 3 are replaced: Table 1 covers removal (with higher fees for heavier vehicles and difficult recoveries, such as off‑road or when a vehicle isn’t upright); Table 2 sets daily storage rates; Table 3 sets disposal fees. The Department says the changes apply to vehicles seized on or after 10 November 2025, so earlier cases stay on the old rates. The rule amends the 2018 Regulations; it doesn’t create new seizure powers.
You’ll see the heaviest charges where a large goods vehicle is difficult to recover. As an example to teach from: the 2018 tariff sets £6,000 for removing a vehicle over 18 tonnes that is laden, off‑road and not upright. The Department consulted in 2024 on a 28% uplift to bring Northern Ireland back in line with Scotland, England and Wales, where fees were updated in 2019 and 2023. If applied to that top band, the £6,000 would rise to about £7,680-illustrative only; check the final tables in the 2025 rule for the exact figure.
For learners new to legal reading: look for three anchors in a statutory rule-the title (tells you the law being changed), the commencement date (when it starts to apply), and the schedules (where the working numbers live). With seizure fees, the schedules matter most because they set what you’ll actually pay to get a vehicle back from storage, or what is charged if it’s disposed of after the deadline. The listing on legislation.gov.uk confirms SR 2025/166 is the instrument that refreshes these charges.
Who pays and when? If your vehicle is seized under a court order, you must clear both the outstanding fine and the recovery charges. Once the court confirms payment of the fine, you pay the authorised recovery operator for the charges and the vehicle should be released without delay. Waiting increases storage fees because they’re charged for every 24‑hour period or part of a day the site is open. That flow is set out in the 2018 Regulations.
What if you’re struggling to pay? Engage early. The Fine Collection and Enforcement Service (part of NI Courts and Tribunals Service) can agree payment plans after default, usually up to 12 months for court‑imposed fines. Early contact can prevent a vehicle seizure order being used at all-an important classroom point about how process design can protect people from spiralling costs. Details are on the Department of Justice site.
Why change now? The Department’s consultation noted Northern Ireland hadn’t updated these fees since 2008, while other UK nations had done so more recently. Recovery operators face higher costs; the tariff needs to reflect that while staying fair to people whose vehicles are taken. That’s the policy logic students should look for: a mix of inflation catch‑up and parity with neighbouring jurisdictions.
For context beyond unpaid fines, two companion rules update police seizure charges for other situations: SR 2025/167 covers vehicles seized for careless or illegal off‑road driving under the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008, and SR 2025/168 covers uninsured driving under the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. Seeing the trio together helps you map how fee updates are being applied across different seizure powers.
Teacher tip you can use tomorrow: set a quick source‑reading exercise. Ask learners to find the ‘coming into operation’ line, identify which schedules were substituted, and explain-in two sentences-how a storage charge is calculated. Then compare their answers with the 2018 baseline and the 2025 update to check comprehension of legal change over time.
Finally, names matter for transparency. The Department of Justice is responsible for these regulations and Naomi Long is the current Justice Minister. If learners are tracing accountability, start with the Department’s news pages and the legislation.gov.uk listing for SR 2025/166. It’s a tidy way to connect policy intent, legal text and day‑to‑day impact.