It is rare we have the opportunity to alert out clients to a reduction in court fees, but here we are. Since the Court of Protection Fees Order 2007, the applicable fee for making an application to start court proceedings and the fee for filing an appellants notice have both been £400.00.
As per Form COP44 (link here), from the 24th July 2018 fees will be as follows:
| Application Fee | £385.00 |
| Appeal Fee | £320.00 |
| Hearing Fee | £500.00 |
| Copy of Document Fee | £5.00 |
Fee remissions are available if the person making the application or the person the application is the subject of, cannot afford to pay the same. The fee remission is made via form COP44A (link here).
Otherwise the fee is payable by the party who submits the appeal. The fee must be provided with the application, but depending on the nature of the application the fee is likely to be recoverable from the person the application is about.
COP44: ‘If your application relates to the person’s property and affairs then you (the applicant) can recover the fee from the person the application is about. If your application relates to a personal welfare matter, then you must pay the fee yourself. However, if you are already the deputy or attorney for the person, you may recover any expenses incurred from carrying out your duties, which include court fees, even if your application relates to a personal welfare matter.’
The court retains discretion to order the applicant or another party should pay the fees, however this is relatively rare.
A reduction to court fees, even a modest reduction, is welcome. However this does not reflect any wider policy change and further court fee reductions are unfortunately not expected.