Court fees are payable at the time you file any document to commence an application or appeal to the Family Proceedings Court, Family Care Centre or High Court.
In addition to fees for applications, there are also fees for issuing the summons and for each additional document attached to the summons.
There is a summary of the fees below, and they can be found in Court Fees Nov 2023.
If you have a legal representative, you can ask them about the fees paid to the court.
Remember – these are separate to the fees you pay to your legal representative for their services. If you think you might be entitled to financial support to pay for legal services – known as legal aid – you can ask a solicitor to find out. You cannot apply for legal aid yourself, but a solicitor can apply on your behalf. See NI Direct Legal Aid Schemes.
If you do not have a legal representative, you will have to pay the court fees directly.
Payable fees
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Family Proceedings Court
The current fee for application for an Order at the Family Proceedings Court is £71.
This does not include the summons fee (£19) or fee for each document served with the summons (£4 each).
The current fee for a C2 application £71.
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Family Care Centre
The fee for application is £107 - not including the summons fee or any other applicable fees.
The current fee for a C2 application is £82.
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High Court of Justice
The fee for application is £142 - not including the summons fee or any other applicable fees.
The current fee for a C2 application is £107.
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Fees for Appeals
Appeal to the Family Care Centre is £107.
Appeal to the High Court is £142.
Where an application under the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 requires the permission of the court, the relevant fee applies where permission is sought. If a judge grants permission to apply to the court for an Order, at their discretion, they may waive the application fee for the Order sought.
Appeal to the Court of Appeal is £711.
How to pay
Once your application has been posted, you should email the court office to ask for the total fee amount and make arrangements to pay the fee.
You can pay fees by telephone (0300 200 7812) using debit or credit card, posting a cheque for the total fee amount made payable to ‘Northern Ireland Court and Tribunals Service’ or by cash at the court office.
For more information on how to pay court fees, see Department of Justice Court Fees.
Fee exemption
If you have a low income or are in receipt of state benefits or you are in financial hardship then you may be entitled to help with court fees.
To apply for an exemption or to claim back court fees, use Form ER1.
You may need to complete more than one form as you must submit a separate form for each individual fee for which you would like help with.
If you have already paid a fee and now realise you could have applied for help, you may be able to claim a refund - see Court fee refund form.
Contact the court office
If you have checked the website but are unsure what fees you need to pay, you can email the court to which you are applying, or where the case is ongoing - see NICTS contact details or Court office emails.