Scottish court fees 2025-2027: consultation
We are consulting on proposals for 3% court fee increases in April 2026 and April 2027. These interim measures aim to protect court fee income for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service while a wider review of the fee structure is carried out.
Open
20 days to respond
Respond online
Section 2: Consultation – substantive proposals
21. In this section, we discuss increases which the Scottish Government considers should be applied to court fees and the reasons why it considers these increases to be appropriate.
Increase in Court Fees – Adjusting for Inflation
22. An additional review was completed in 2024 to adjust for the largely unforeseen rise in inflation in the previous period. The last full round of fee changes was implemented in 2021.
23. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) inflation forecasts for 2023–2026 are set out in the following table. These figures reflect the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Retail Price Index (RPI), and the GDP deflator[1] – a broader measure of whole economy inflation that better captures public sector cost pressures.
| Indicator | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPI | 5.4 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.1 |
| RPI | 8.1 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 3.1 |
| GDP Deflator (est.) | ~6.0 | ~3.0 | ~3.5–4.0 | ~3.0 |
24. The OBR has stated that inflation, having peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, is expected to moderate over the coming years. While CPI inflation is forecast to rise temporarily to 3.2% in 2025 before returning to the 2% target, broader measures such as the GDP deflator suggest whole economy inflation may remain above 3.5% through 2025–2026. This reflects ongoing cost pressures across the public sector, including wages, energy, and capital investment, which are particularly relevant for assessing the financial sustainability of services such as SCTS.
25. Although it is anticipated that inflation will eventually return to around 2%, the sharp, unprecedented increase has necessarily had a bearing on SCTS finances which were already under significant pressure from the pandemic.
26. Having considered these factors, the Scottish Government proposes that there should be a 3% increase in court fee levels to reflect inflationary pressures as well as the financial pressures on SCTS in operating the courts. Subject to the results of the consultation and parliamentary approval the Scottish Government would hope to have changes into effect from April 2026.