Claim a court fee refund
Guidance and form when applying for a refund of court fees. Fill in the form online and email it to us, or print it off and send it by post.
The Ministry of Justice has launched a court fee refund scheme because we have identified that some fees have been:
- Over-charged: where we have charged a fee that is greater than the cost of the service; and/or
- Mischarged: where we have charged the wrong fee or we should not have charged a fee at all.
The refund scheme will now include refunds for low value personal injury part 8 claim issue fees, copy fees, and refunds identified by the most recent cost recovery assessment (for the period between April 2014 and July 2018).
During this unprecedented public health emergency, we’re focusing on priority work and changing working practices to keep our vital justice system functioning. We’re still accepting applications for the refund scheme, but for a temporary period it may take us longer than usual to process your application. We apologise for any inconvenience. Waiting times for calls may be longer than anticipated. We would encourage applicants to get in touch by email in the first instance.
Documents
Our guidance has been revised to include new fees. For Part 8 Stage 3 claims, please use the specific Part 8 application form and guidance.
More information on Part 8 claims.
Who can claim
You can only claim a refund if:
- you paid the fee straight to the court
- someone put a claim against you and you were ordered to pay their fees.
You can only claim a refund if your circumstances and the fee you paid are referred to in the guidance document above. As set out in the guidance document, 16 fees have been identified as having been unintentionally overcharged - including some fees for the magistrates’ courts, insolvency proceedings, civil proceedings and for the Court of Protection. A further 3 fees have been identified as mischarged in the magistrates’ courts, civil proceedings and the Court of Protection.
What you’ll need to claim
You must apply for a refund using either:
- application for full or partial refund of court fees
- low value personal injury (LVPI) Part 8 stage 3 refund form
All applications must be submitted using these forms.
You may not be required to fill in all of the form. Please read each section carefully and ensure you answer all of the questions that apply to you. If some of the required fields are left blank it could cause a delay and you might have to send in a new form.
Form you fill in on screen
You can fill in this form and save it using Adobe Reader XI. If you save it to your computer, you do not have to complete the form in one go.
To use this interactive PDF:
- save it to your computer
- fill it in
- save it to your computer and send it as an email attachment with any evidence, or print the completed form and post it with your evidence
Form you fill in with a pen
To use this PDF:
- print the form
- fill it in with a pen
- sign it
- send it by post with your evidence
Documents you’ll need to provide
If since paying your court fee your contact details have changed, you’ll need to send proof of your:
- name
- address
- right to apply (if you’re not the client)
You can send scanned and photocopied documents.
Please do not send original documents unless we specifically request these from you.
Acceptable documents of proof are:
- a bank statement
- utility bill
- passport
- driving licence
- marriage certificate
- Decree Absolute (if you have changed back to your maiden name)
- Death certificate
- Deed Poll notification.
Apply by email
Send the form and your evidence as email attachments to civil_refunds@justice.gov.uk.
You’ll need to attach scanned copies or clear photographs of original documents. The email size limit is 10MB but you can send more than one email.
Please write ‘Civil fees refund application’ as the subject.
Apply by post
Post the form and your evidence to:
HMCTS
PO Box 8793
Leicester
LE1 8BN
Help and alternative formats
Email or call to ask for:
- a copy of the form
- alternative formats – braille, large print or audio CD
If you email us for support, please include:
- the name of the form you want
- your name
- your address
- your telephone number
After you’ve claimed
You’ll be told by email or letter:
- if any information is missing
- whether your claim is successful
- the refund amount and when it’ll be paid
- the reasons for any rejection
When you’ll get the refund
We will try to process your application in 20 working days from the day we get it.
Your payment remission notice will be sent as a ‘do not reply’ email from our provider Liberata. It will show as: ‘auto.reporting@liberata.com’. Please save this email address as a ‘safe sender’ to make sure the email arrives in your inbox (If not check your junk folder).
Contact us
We aim to respond within 5 working days.
Personal information
The Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunals Service processes personal information about you. We are committed to the responsible handling and security of your personal information.
Your privacy is important to us and protected in law by the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Personal information you send to us might be used in different ways. For example:
- to stop fraud
- to check you can claim a refund
HMCTS will check some of the information you have sent as part of this application. We will use a credit reference agency. This check will appear in your credit history. Lenders will not see it. It will not affect your credit rating.
See the standards we follow when processing your data
To receive a paper copy of this privacy notice:
call 0300 123 1024
Textphone 18001 0300 123 1024.
If calling from Scotland:
call 0300 790 6234
Textphone 18001 0300 790 6234.
Updates to this page
Published 16 January 2020Last updated 18 May 2023 + show all updates
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Removed phone number from contact us block
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Added translation
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Updated Refund scheme guidance pdf
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Deleted Welsh language document (Canllawiau ad-daliad ffioedd Cam 3 Anaf Personol Gwerth Isel (LVPI) Rhan 8) as it is no longer accurate.
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Uploaded a revised version of the Low Value Personal Injury (LVPI) Part 8 Stage 3 fees refund guidance PDF to the Documents section and deleted the Welsh version which is no longer accurate.
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Guidance updated to include part 8 claims. Forms updated.
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Temp message of coronavirus outbreak on refund scheme.
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Added translation
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First published.