Scottish Court Expenses Unit Rate Rises to £22.10 in October 2026

This is one of those court rule changes that can look as if it only matters to lawyers. It does not. The text published on legislation.gov.uk shows that a new Act of Sederunt will update the rules for judicial expenses in Scotland's Court of Session, Sheriff Appeal Court and Sheriff Court. The dates matter here. The instrument was made on 18 August 2026, laid before the Scottish Parliament on 20 August 2026, and comes into force on 10 October 2026. If you are involved in a civil case, or even just trying to understand how Scottish court costs are counted, that last date is the one to keep in mind.

First, it helps to translate the legal language. Judicial expenses are not a fine, and they are not taxes in the everyday sense either. In Scottish civil cases, they are the legal costs and related sums that may be recovered, challenged or checked after the court has dealt with the dispute itself. That is why the rules talk about 'taxation of judicial expenses'. Here, 'taxation' means examining and assessing a bill of expenses. **What this means:** even after a case is decided, there can still be a separate argument about money, and this instrument changes part of the system used to work that out.

The biggest financial change is simple to state. The value of the 'unit' in rule 3.2 of the 2019 rules goes up from £18.00 to £22.10. That unit is used in the charging structure behind certain court-related legal fees, so when the unit rises, the figures produced from it can rise too. For ordinary court users, the main lesson is that this is not an abstract bookkeeping tweak. If your case involves expenses being taxed or assessed by reference to those tables of charges, the increase can affect the amount at stake once costs are calculated.

There is also an important limit built into the instrument. The higher £22.10 rate only applies to work carried out on or after 10 October 2026. Work done before that date stays on the old £18.00 basis. That sounds technical, but it is actually one of the most practical points in the whole document. If a case runs across the changeover, the date of the work matters. **What it means for you:** when a fee note is being checked, one of the first questions should be which tasks were done before 10 October 2026 and which were done after.

Another change deals with simple procedure, which is the route used in Scotland for many lower-value civil claims. Rule 3.7 is retitled so it clearly refers to the 'reduction of charges', and the wording is adjusted to make clear that the rule applies where expenses in a simple procedure case are taxed or assessed by reference to the table of charges in schedule 5. This is more of a clarification than a dramatic policy shift. Still, clarity matters. When rules are easier to read, it is easier for court users, advisers and sheriffs to see what the rule is supposed to do when a bill of expenses is being questioned.

The instrument also amends rule 4.2 so that allowable outlays expressly include court fees. Outlays are the separate costs of running a case, rather than the charge for legal work itself. They can include money spent in the course of the litigation. That small wording change could make a real difference in how people read a costs account. Court fees are a routine part of using the civil courts, and the updated wording says plainly that they count as an allowable outlay. For anyone trying to understand what can be reclaimed, that is useful clarity rather than legal decoration.

The wider point is that court procedure often changes through documents that look dry until you stop and translate them. According to legislation.gov.uk, this amendment updates the 2019 rules, which were last amended in 2023, and it was approved through the Scottish Civil Justice Council process before being made by the Court of Session. So the plain-English version is this: from 10 October 2026, some Scottish civil court costs calculated through the unit system will be based on £22.10 instead of £18.00, court fees are clearly treated as allowable outlays, and the simple procedure wording is clearer. If you are a litigant in person, a small business, or anyone weighing up a civil claim, this does not decide who wins your case, but it can shape what the costs stage looks like when the case is over.