Help With Court Fees — EX160 Form Guide for Family Court in England

What Form EX160 Actually Does

Family court in England is not free. A divorce application costs £628. A child arrangements application (Form C100) costs £270. A financial consent order costs £62. And if your case becomes contested, enforcement applications and variation orders stack additional fees on top.

Form EX160 — officially "Apply for Help with Fees" — is the mechanism for getting some or all of those fees waived. It's means-tested, and the eligibility criteria are more generous than most parents expect. If you're on a low income, receiving certain state benefits, or your savings fall below specific thresholds, you may qualify for a full remission — meaning you pay nothing.

The form can be completed online through the gov.uk portal or submitted as a paper application alongside your court filing. You need a separate EX160 for each court fee you want help with (one for the D8 divorce fee, another for the C100 fee, and so on).

Who Qualifies Automatically

If you receive any of the following means-tested benefits, you qualify for a full fee waiver without further income assessment — provided your savings are below the threshold:

• Universal Credit (where your annual earnings are under £6,000)
• Income Support
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
• Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit element)

The critical word is "income-related" or "income-based." Contribution-based ESA and contribution-based JSA do not qualify for automatic remission. If you're unsure which version you receive, check your benefit award letter or contact the DWP directly.

The Savings and Capital Test

Even if you're on a qualifying benefit, your application will be rejected if your disposable capital exceeds the relevant threshold. "Disposable capital" includes bank accounts, savings accounts, ISAs, stocks and shares, cryptocurrency, and redundancy payouts. It does not include the value of your home, household belongings, or a single vehicle.

For standard family court fees (those under £1,420 — which covers divorce, C100, and most common applications), the savings limit is:

• Under 66: savings must be below £4,250
• 66 or over: savings must be below £16,000

The higher threshold for applicants aged 66 or over acknowledges that pension-age applicants may have modest savings that shouldn't disqualify them from access to justice.

For fees from £1,421 to £5,000, the savings limit is three times the fee. For fees of £5,001 or more, the savings limit is £16,000.

Income-Based Eligibility (If You're Not on Benefits)

If you don't receive a qualifying benefit, you can still get help based on your gross monthly income. The thresholds for a full fee waiver are:

So a single parent with two children aged 8 and 15 would have a threshold of £1,420 + £425 + £710 = £2,555 per month. If their gross income falls below that figure, they qualify for a full waiver.

Partial waivers are available for incomes above the full-waiver threshold but below the ceiling. For a single person, the partial-waiver ceiling is £4,420. For a couple, it's £5,130. Use the EX160C fee remission calculator to work out the amount you may need to pay.

Common Mistakes That Get Applications Rejected

Declaring the wrong income figure. EX160 asks for gross monthly income — before tax and National Insurance, not your take-home pay. Many applicants instinctively enter their net pay, which is lower, and then get caught when HMCTS cross-references with HMRC records.

Including a partner's income when you shouldn't (or excluding it when you should). If you're married or living with a partner, their income counts toward the household total. If you're permanently separated from your spouse or civil partner and do not live with them, their income does not count; a new partner you live with does. You need to state this clearly on the form. Ambiguity here is a common rejection trigger.

Forgetting about savings in joint accounts. Your share of any joint bank account or investment counts as your disposable capital. A joint account with £8,000 means you hold £4,000 — just under the threshold. But a joint account with £9,000 puts you at £4,500, which disqualifies you.

Submitting the wrong version. The online portal and the paper form are separate systems. If you apply online, you receive a Help with Fees reference number (HWF-XXX-XXX) that you enter on your court form. If you apply on paper, you submit the physical EX160 alongside your court filing. Mixing the two up — or applying online but then submitting a paper court form without the reference number — causes delays.

Step-by-Step: How to Apply

Step 1: Decide online or paper. The online system at gov.uk/get-help-with-court-fees is faster and gives you an immediate reference number. Paper applications can take several weeks to process. Use online unless the portal is temporarily offline.

Step 2: Gather your evidence. You'll need your most recent bank statements (all accounts), benefit award letters if applicable, your last three months' payslips or evidence of self-employment income, and details of any savings or investments.

Step 3: Complete the form. Whether online or on paper, you'll declare your income, savings, benefits, and household composition. Be precise — round numbers or estimates invite scrutiny.

Step 4: Submit with your court filing. Attach the Help with Fees reference number (online) or the completed EX160 (paper) to the court form it relates to. You need one application per fee.

Step 5: Wait for the decision. Processing times vary. If HMCTS needs more information, it will tell you what evidence to provide and when; if only partial help is granted, you'll be told how much you need to pay.

What EX160 Covers (and What It Doesn't)

EX160 covers court filing fees — the £628 divorce fee, the £270 C100 fee, enforcement application fees, and variation order fees. It does not cover:

• Solicitor or barrister fees — legal representation is a separate cost
• Mediation fees — the MIAM and follow-up sessions are paid directly to the mediator (though the £500 Family Mediation Voucher Scheme is a separate government programme)
• Expert report fees — if the court orders a psychological or financial expert, those costs are handled separately

If you're navigating the full child arrangements process on a tight budget, the England Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide covers the complete fee landscape — including where fee waivers apply, how to access the mediation voucher scheme, and how to prepare court documents yourself to avoid solicitor charges.

See more England guides →