Legal Aid and Court Fees for Special Guardianship in Wales

The Court Filing Fee

Under the HMCTS fee schedule (updated July 2026), filing a private law application for a Special Guardianship Order on Form C1 costs £270. The same fee applies to a Child Arrangements Order filed on Form C100. This is a one-off fee paid when you submit your application to the Family Court.

Fee Remission Through Help with Fees (EX160)

If you are on a low income or receiving qualifying benefits, the fee can be reduced or eliminated entirely. You apply by completing Form EX160 and submitting it alongside your court application.

You may qualify for full fee remission if you receive one of these qualifying benefits and meet the applicable savings test:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Universal Credit if you earn less than £6,000 a year
• Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit)

If you do not receive a qualifying benefit, the court assesses your gross monthly income and savings. For a £270 fee, the standard disposable-capital limit is less than £4,250. If you or your partner are 66 or older, GOV.UK says you may qualify with less than £16,000 in savings. Income thresholds depend on whether you are single or have a partner and how many children you support; partial remission may still be available above the full-remission income threshold.

Submit the EX160 at the same time as your C1 or C100 application. Court staff process the fee-help request alongside your application and tell you if you still need to pay anything.

Legal Aid for SGO Applications

Legal aid in Wales is administered by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). Whether you qualify depends on the type of proceedings:

Public law care proceedings — If a child is subject to care proceedings brought by the local authority and you are joined as a party (for example, as a proposed special guardian within those proceedings), you may qualify for legal aid subject to means and merits testing. Birth parents in care proceedings receive automatic non-means-tested legal aid, but prospective guardians do not get the same automatic entitlement.

Private law applications — If you are applying for an SGO or CAO outside of care proceedings, legal aid is subject to strict means and merits tests. You generally need to demonstrate either domestic abuse evidence or child protection risks to qualify. A grandparent applying for a private law SGO without these factors will usually fall outside the scope of funded representation.

What If You Do Not Qualify for Legal Aid?

Most kinship carers applying privately for an SGO in Wales will need to either:

• Self-fund a solicitor — Family solicitors in Wales typically charge £200 to £350 plus VAT per hour. A straightforward uncontested SGO application might cost £2,000 to £5,000 in total. Contested cases with multiple hearings can reach considerably more.
• Represent yourself as a litigant in person — You have the right to handle your own case without a solicitor. The court must treat you fairly and explain procedures, though judges cannot advise you on your case.

Some local authorities contribute toward legal costs for kinship carers, particularly where the child was previously looked after. This is not automatic — you must specifically request a legal fees contribution as part of your Section 14F support needs assessment.

Free Legal Advice

Even without legal aid, several organisations provide free legal guidance:

• Kinship (formerly Grandparents Plus) — free advice line for kinship carers across Wales
• Family Rights Group — free telephone advice on SGOs, foster care and care proceedings (0808 801 0366)
• Child Law Advice — free legal advice covering family court matters in England and Wales
• Citizens Advice Cymru — general welfare and benefits advice, including court fee exemptions
• Support Through Court — volunteers at Family Court centres help with paperwork, though they cannot give legal advice

Getting the Full Picture

The Kinship Care in Wales guide covers court fees, legal aid eligibility, how to request a local authority legal fees contribution, and how to prepare your case if you are representing yourself — all in one place.

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