The Civil Proceedings and Magistrates’ Courts Fees (Amendment) Order 2025, effective the day after its enactment, amends fee schedules in the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 and the Magistrates’ Courts Fees Order 2008 for England and Wales.
Specifically, it updates fees related to ship/goods sales in the High Court's Admiralty jurisdiction and liability orders/warrants of entry in Magistrates' Courts, with each fee's value restated.
This action was undertaken with the consent of the Treasury and following parliamentary approval, in accordance with the Courts Act 2003 and the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
Arguments For
Intended benefits: The amendments clarify and restate existing fees, ensuring administrative consistency and clarity for users of the court system.
Evidence cited: The Order references specific sections of the Courts Act 2003 and the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, providing legal basis for the fee changes.
Implementation methods: The changes are implemented directly by amending the relevant fee schedules in the specified Orders.
Legal/historical basis: The Order rests on the power granted by Section 92 of the Courts Act 2003 and Section 180 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, with parliamentary approval obtained via the affirmative procedure.
Arguments Against
Potential impacts: While the fee changes seem to be largely restating existing fees, any unintended consequences are not discussed in the document.
Implementation challenges: The Order does not address any potential implementation challenges beyond those inherent in amending fees in existing legal documents.
Alternative approaches: The Order does not discuss or consider options beyond updating the existing fee structure.
Unintended effects: The absence of an impact assessment means the potential short-term or long-term effects are unclear. There may be unintended effects on access to justice, particularly for those with limited resources.
- Citation, commencement and extent (1) This Order may be cited as the Civil Proceedings and Magistrates’ Courts Fees (Amendment) Order 2025 and comes into force on the day after the day on which it is made. (2) This Order extends to England and Wales.
This section provides the Order's title, effective date (the day after it's made), and geographical scope (England and Wales).
- Amendments to the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 (1) The Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 is amended as follows. (2) In the table in Schedule 1 (fees to be taken), in the entry for fee 11.2 (on the sale of a ship or goods)— (a) in column 1 (number and description of fee) in the words before fee 11.2(a), for “£205” substitute “£205”; (b) in column 2 (amount of fee or manner of calculation)— (i) for the entry corresponding to fee 11.2(a) (for every £100 or fraction of £100 of the price up to £100,000), for “£1” substitute “£1”; (ii) for the entry corresponding to fee 11.2(b) (for every £100 or fraction of £100 of the price exceeding £100,000), for “50p” substitute “50p”.
This section details amendments to the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008.
Specifically, it re-states the fees (no actual change in fee amount) for the sale of ships or goods, as listed in Schedule 1, fee 11.2.
The text shows the amendment process and makes no substantive changes to the fee values.
- Amendments to the Magistrates’ Court Fees Order 2008 (1) The Magistrates’ Courts Fees Order 2008 is amended as follows. (2) In the table in Schedule 1 (fees to be taken), in column 2 (amount of fee)— (a) for the entry corresponding to fee 4.1 (proceedings under the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 or the Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989 on an application for a liability order), for “50p” substitute “50p”; (b) for the entry corresponding to fee 9.1 (on an application for a warrant of entry), for “£22” substitute “£22”.
This section details amendments to the Magistrates’ Courts Fees Order 2008.
It re-states the fees (with no change in fee value) for applications for liability orders (fee 4.1) and warrants of entry (fee 9.1), as detailed in Schedule 1.
These amendments, much like those in Article 2, use quotation marks to indicate that no actual numerical change is occurring in the fee values.
Explanatory Note (This note is not part of the Order) By virtue of section 180(1) Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (c. 12) (“the Act”), the Lord Chancellor may, with the consent of the Treasury, prescribe certain court fees of an amount which is intended to exceed the cost of the matter in respect of which the fee is charged. Under section 180(7) of the Act the use of that power is subject to the affirmative Parliamentary procedure. Article 2 of this Order amends the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 by restating the value of the fee and the minimum fee on the sale of a ship or goods in the Admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court. Article 3 of this Order amends the Magistrates’ Courts Fees Order 2008 by restating the value of the fee for an application for a liability order in proceedings under the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 or the Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989 and by restating the value of the fee for an application for a warrant of entry. In each case, the fee value is restated in reliance on s. 180(1) of the Act, thereby authorising that the fee may recover an amount which exceeds the cost to His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service of processing such applications.
The explanatory note clarifies the legal basis for the fee changes, referencing Section 180 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
It also summarizes the amendments made to both fee orders, highlighting that the fees are being restated rather than changed numerically.
The note emphasizes that the fees are allowed to exceed the cost of processing applications.