Residence Order Court Fees in Northern Ireland: Costs and Fee Exemptions

What the Court Charges

Court fees in Northern Ireland are set by fee orders from the Department of Justice. They are separate from solicitor fees — you pay them whether or not you have legal representation.

The cost depends on which court tier hears your case. Most residence order applications by kinship carers start at the Family Proceedings Court (the magistrates' tier):

For a straightforward application at the Family Proceedings Court, the minimum cost is £90 — the £71 filing fee plus the £19 summons fee. If you also need to apply for leave because you do not have automatic standing, add another £71 for Form C2, bringing the total to £161 before the case is even heard.

If your case is transferred up to the Family Care Centre or High Court due to complexity, the fees at those tiers apply.

Fee Exemption: Form ER1

Many kinship carers qualify for full fee exemption. You apply using Form ER1, available from any NICTS court office.

Passported benefits — if you receive any of these, you qualify automatically:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit
• Universal Credit with gross earnings below the prescribed threshold

Financial assessment — if you do not receive a passporting benefit, NICTS can assess your gross monthly income and liquid capital. Carers on low incomes or modest pensions may still qualify for full or partial remission.

Two practical points that catch people out:

1. File ER1 at the same time as your application. Do not pay the fee first and hope to reclaim it later — submit Form ER1 alongside Form C1.
2. File a separate ER1 for each fee. The filing fee and the summons fee are separate charges. You need an ER1 for each one.

Refunds

If you paid a court fee and later discover you qualified for exemption at the date of payment, you can submit a Court Fee Refund Form within the prescribed time limit. Contact your local court office for the form and deadline.

What About Solicitor Costs?

Solicitor fees are separate from court fees and vary widely. Private family solicitors in Northern Ireland typically charge £150–£300 per hour. For an uncontested residence order with cooperative parents, a solicitor's involvement might be limited to form preparation and one hearing — a few hundred pounds. Contested cases with welfare reports and multiple hearings can run into thousands.

Legal aid through LSANI (the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland) is available for family court cases but subject to both a financial means test and a merits test. If your household income and capital fall below the thresholds and your case has reasonable prospects, LSANI may fund your representation. You cannot apply for legal aid directly — it must go through a registered family law solicitor.

If you fall outside legal aid eligibility but cannot afford private rates, self-representation is an option. The Northern Ireland Kinship Care guide is designed for exactly this situation — it includes form preparation worksheets, the standing calculator, and the fee exemption checklist so you can handle the paperwork yourself and keep solicitor involvement to a minimum.

The Judge's Discretion on Fees

One detail worth knowing: if you apply for leave using Form C2 and the judge grants it, the judge has discretion to waive the subsequent Form C1 filing fee. This does not always happen, but it is worth being aware of — particularly if the leave application already demonstrates that your case has merit.

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