Part of: Your First Family Court Hearing
If a court fee is the one thing standing between you and your case, the EX160 form is how you ask the court to reduce it or cancel it. Perhaps you face a £628 divorce fee, or £270 to apply for a court order about your children, and you do not know where that money will come from. Help with Fees can take off part or all of it if your savings, benefits and income are low enough (GOV.UK). Our guide to your first family court hearing explains what comes next.
This guide covers England and Wales only. It is not a line-by-line guide, because the right answers depend on your circumstances.
Reviewed by: Iblal Iqbal, Partner & Family Law Strategist, Kabir Family Law
Key takeaways
- It asks for money off a fee. The EX160 is the paper route into Help with Fees, and you can also apply online (GOV.UK: Form EX160).
- Three tests decide it. Savings, certain benefits and monthly income, usually including a partner’s money (GOV.UK).
- Timing is strict. You apply alongside your court application, and a refund normally only reaches fees paid in the last 3 months (Fees Order, Sch 2).
- Each fee needs its own request. A divorce fee and a later consent order fee are separate (EX160A).
- It covers the court’s fee only. It does not pay for advice, or for costs a court orders you to pay (GOV.UK: court fees; Fees Order, art. 4).
What is the EX160 form, and who is it for?
Form EX160 is the official fee remission form for courts in England and Wales, used when you cannot comfortably pay an application fee. GOV.UK has the form (EX160 download) and its guidance notes, called EX160A (EX160A).
You can apply for Help with Fees online and get a reference number, or send the paper form with your court papers (GOV.UK). Our C100 guide shows where that reference goes on a children’s application. Some applications have no fee at all, such as an injunction to protect you from domestic abuse (GOV.UK).
Timing matters most. If you have not paid yet, the fee request must go in with your court application. Send it later, and you may have to pay first and claim a refund within 3 months.
What does fee remission mean on an EX160 form?
Fee remission is the legal name for Help with Fees. The fee rules come from the Courts Act 2003, s.92, which requires the Lord Chancellor to keep access to the courts in mind. For family cases, the rules sit in Schedule 2 of the Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008. In plain terms, you ask for fee remission, meaning the court lets you off some or all of its own charge.
A full remission of the fee means you pay nothing. A part remission means you still pay a set amount, and the court tells you how much and by when. Either way, Help with Fees reduces the court’s fee and nothing else.
So if you plan as if the scheme pays for the whole case, you could be short later. Our guide to family law costs sets out what else a case can cost, including help with court fees.
Who qualifies for help on the EX160 form?
Three things decide it: your savings, certain benefits and your income. A partner’s money usually counts too. But you can apply as single if you have split up for good and no new partner lives with you, or if your partner is on the other side of your case (EX160A).
| Test | The limit | Easy to miss |
|---|---|---|
| Savings | Under £4,250 when the fee is £1,420 or less; higher for bigger fees. Under £16,000 if you or a partner are 66 or over. | A second home’s equity, money abroad, and your share of joint savings with a partner you are in a case against. Your own home does not count. |
| Benefits | Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related ESA, Income Support, the Pension Credit top-up (not Savings Credit on its own), or Universal Credit if you earn under £6,000 a year. | The savings test still applies. |
| Income | £1,420 a month or less if you are single, or £2,130 as a couple. Add £425 for each child aged up to 13, and £710 for each child aged 14 or over. | Pay before tax, plus maintenance, cash gifts and loans. If you are up to £3,000 a month over the limit, part of the fee may still come off. |
These limits come from the fees order (Sch 2, paras 3, 4, 10, 11, 11A and 12). The form ends with a statement of truth, and deliberately untrue answers can lead to fraud proceedings. Even an honest slip can mean more letters and a bill you did not plan for.
Close to a limit, or unsure what counts? Book a free initial consultation before you apply. One of our specialists will give you initial advice on your situation.
Can you get help with divorce fees on the EX160 form?
Yes. The divorce application fee is £628, and Help with Fees can cover some or all of it if you qualify (GOV.UK). For divorce, Help with Fees works in one of two ways: online, with a reference number you quote when you apply, or on paper, sent by post with your divorce application.
Joint applications carry a trap. When you apply together and want help, you must both apply for it. If your husband or wife does not qualify, or does not apply, you pay the full fee.
Other fees can follow. For example, asking the court to approve a financial consent order costs £62 (GOV.UK), and that fee needs its own request. Plan for one fee, and you may meet several, each with its own form and its own decision.
Where does an EX160 form usually go wrong?
Usually in the detail. These points from the official guidance are easy to miss in a family case (EX160A):
- The wrong status. Applying as a couple after a permanent separation, or as single while you still live together as a couple.
- Missing savings. Leaving out your share of joint money, the equity in a second home, or money held outside the UK.
- The wrong income figure. Using take-home pay when the form asks for pay before tax, or forgetting maintenance you receive.
- A missed window. An online reference, like a signed paper form, should reach the court within 28 days or it may be rejected.
Any of these can turn a simple request into a refusal, an evidence letter, or a fee you must now pay by a deadline the court sets. That hurts most when your case is urgent and the other side is already moving ahead.
Recognise any of these? Book a free initial consultation before you send anything. One of our specialists will give you initial advice on your situation.
What happens after a Help with Fees application?
After you apply, the steps usually run like this (EX160A):
- The request reaches the court. Your online reference, or a paper EX160 Help with Fees request signed in the last 28 days, goes to the court handling your case.
- Staff check what you declared. They may confirm your benefits with the Department for Work and Pensions.
- A letter may ask for evidence. This could be payslips or bank statements. Reply within 28 days, otherwise the request is treated as abandoned.
- A decision arrives. You may pay nothing, pay part of the fee, or be refused. Any amount still due must be paid within the time the court gives you (Sch 2, para 15).
- You can challenge a refusal. Write to the court by the date in the refusal letter. A reply is due within 10 working days. If it is still a no, you can ask a senior manager within 14 days.
Urgent family matters can move faster. If you need a decision in under 5 working days, for example in a case about children, domestic abuse or an injunction, the court’s senior manager can make it (EX160A). It is still a decision on whether you qualify, so the answer can still be no.
Each stage runs to its own clock. Miss the 28-day window for evidence, and you have to start a new application.
Can the court waive the fees if you fall just outside the limits?
Sometimes. The fees order allows remission in exceptional circumstances (Sch 2, para 16). A senior manager at the court decides, and will generally only agree if you show you cannot realistically afford the fee, or that other circumstances justify it.
This route needs evidence sent with your request, such as notices about unpaid bills and details of your income, savings and spending. You also need to show you have tried other ways to pay (EX160A). Once a senior manager makes a final decision on appeal, the matter is closed.
What does an EX160 form not cover?
It covers court fees, which are different from legal costs (GOV.UK). So Help with Fees will not pay for advice. Nor does it cover copies, searches or third-party fees, such as for transcripts, which have a separate scheme (form EX105).
Costs orders are separate. A family court “may at any time make such order as to costs as it thinks just” (Family Procedure Rules, r.28.1), and our guide to the costs of unreasonable conduct explains when that can happen. If a court orders you to pay towards the other side’s costs, fee remission does not touch that bill, because it only applies to fees set by the fees order (art. 4).
Before you send an EX160 form: are you on track?
Use these points to see where you stand. They cannot tell you whether you qualify.
There is no score. Anything you cannot tick yet is worth raising before you apply.
The calls a checklist can’t make for you
- Whether a separated partner’s money counts, especially when you still share a home or an account.
- Whether your case needs a different application, and so a different fee, first.
- How the figures you declare now fit with the financial details your wider case may need later.
- What to do if you are refused, or offered only part remission, while a deadline is running.
These depend on the facts of your case, and they are easier to get right before you apply than after a refusal.
Book a free initial consultation
One of our specialists will give you initial advice on your situation.
Frequently asked questions
Can Help with Fees make a divorce free?
It can, if you qualify for full remission of the £628 application fee. In a joint application, you both need to qualify, and later fees need their own requests.
Does getting benefits mean you qualify automatically?
No. You still need to pass the savings test, which is usually under £4,250. Universal Credit only counts if you earn less than £6,000 a year.
Can you get a refund if you have already paid?
You can, if you paid in the last 3 months and would have qualified at the time. You give details of your money as it was when you paid, not as it is now. The Lord Chancellor can extend the 3 months where there is a good reason.
Is one EX160 enough, or a new form for each fee?
A new one for each fee. A divorce fee and a later consent order fee each need their own application.
What happens if the court asks for evidence?
You will get a letter listing what to send, such as payslips or bank statements. Reply within 28 days of the date it was sent. Otherwise the request is treated as abandoned, and you have to make a new application.
Can you apply if you have no income at all?
Yes. If you and any partner have no income, you may be asked for evidence of how you support yourself.
Does your partner’s money count if they are on the other side of your case?
No. You can apply as single and leave out their savings and income, but you still count your share of any joint savings.
Worried the fee will hold up your case? Get advice before you apply
You have enough to deal with already. A wrong status, an unanswered evidence letter or the wrong application can cost you time you would rather give your family. Book a free initial consultation and one of our specialists will give you initial advice on your situation. You can also read more about your first family court hearing.
Expert Tip
One mix-up to watch for is the status question. If you have separated for good and no new partner lives with you, the EX160A notes say you can apply as single. Choose “married or living with someone” out of habit, and your former partner’s savings and income will count with yours. So settle your status first, then answer any evidence letter within 28 days, or the fee can land back in front of you just when you want your case moving.
Hannah Overton, Complex Children Specialist & Client Support
