Can I get Help with Fees for a C100?

Yes, if you pass the savings test (under £4,250 for a fee of this size if you and any partner are 65 or under) and either get a qualifying benefit or have a low enough income. The C100 fee is £270, and help can be full or partial.

Does my ex-partner's income count on the EX160?

Not if you are permanently separated and not living with a new partner: you tick single. If the case is against your partner, EX160A says their savings are excluded, though your share of joint savings still counts.

Is it better to apply online or on paper?

Both use the same tests. Online gives you a reference to write on your court form; paper means sending the EX160 with the court form. Either way, apply at the same time as your court application.

Can I get a refund if I already paid?

Yes, if you paid within the last 3 months and were eligible at the time. Answer the EX160 using your circumstances when you paid, and send it to the court you paid.

Do I need a new EX160 for every fee in my case?

Yes. Each fee needs its own Help with Fees application, for example one for a C100 and another for a later C2.

How to fill in form EX160 for Help with Fees (2026 guide)

Family court · Fees · England and Wales · Last checked 23 October 2026

Short answer. Form EX160 is the paper application for Help with Fees, which can reduce or remove a court fee such as the £270 for a C100 if your savings are under the limit and you get certain benefits or have a low income. You can apply online instead and put the reference on your court form, or send the paper EX160 with the court form. Each fee needs its own application.

Key points

For any fee of £1,420 or less, savings must be under £4,250 if you and any partner are 65 or under.
The full-help income limit is £1,420 a month gross if single, £2,130 for a couple, plus amounts per child.
If your case is against your partner, their finances are not counted.
A fee paid in the last 3 months can be refunded if you were eligible when you paid.
Send the form within 28 days of signing it, or it may be rejected.

Court fees arrive at the worst moment, often alongside the cost of separating. Help with Fees is a government scheme run by HM Courts and Tribunals Service, and the EX160 is its paper form. This guide goes through the form and the rules behind it, with family court examples.

What form EX160 is for

The EX160 asks for money off a court or tribunal fee in England and Wales. It is not a court application itself. It goes with the court form whose fee you want help with, or with a description of the fee if there is no form. Help can be full (you pay nothing) or partial (you pay part of the fee).

The full rules are in the gov.uk guidance How to apply for help with fees (EX160A), published as its own page on 19 January 2026.

When you need it, and when you do not

Typical family court fees from the EX50 fees list (updated 13 July 2026) where people apply for help:

Application	Fee
C100, child arrangements and other Children Act applications	£270
C79, enforcement of a child arrangements order	£270
C2 in existing proceedings, on notice (no other fee specified)	£195
C2 by consent or without notice, for example to adjourn a hearing	£62
Financial order not by consent (Form A)	£321
Divorce application	£628

All of these are under £1,420, so the lowest savings limit applies. See our C2 guide, Form A guide and family court fees guide for when each applies.

When you do not need it. Some family applications have no fee at all, and responding to an application, for example on a C7, has no fee. EX160A also says help is not available for copies of documents, searches, or charges by third parties such as transcripts (which have a separate scheme on form EX105).

The tests: savings, benefits, income

Savings and investments come first. You and any partner must be under the limit for the fee:

Court fee	Savings must be (65 or under)
Up to £1,420	Less than £4,250
£1,421 to £5,000	Less than 3 times the fee
£5,001 or over	Less than £16,000

If you or your partner are 66 or over, savings under £16,000 can still qualify whatever the fee. Savings include ISAs and the value of a second home.

Benefits. If you pass the savings test and get income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Universal Credit with earnings under £6,000 a year, or Pension Credit Guarantee Credit (Savings Credit on its own does not count), you are likely to get full help.

Income. Otherwise the test is gross monthly income: for the last calendar month, or the average of the last 3 months if that is lower. Full help is available below £1,420 a month if single, or £2,130 for a couple, plus £425 for each child aged 0 to 13 and £710 for each child aged 14 or over. Partial help is possible up to £4,420 single or £5,130 for a couple, plus the same child amounts. The gov.uk EX160C calculator estimates what you would pay.

Some benefits are not counted as income, including Carer's Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Housing Benefit and the housing element of Universal Credit. Student loans do not count.

Partners, separation and family cases

This matters in family court. The EX160 says to tick "single" if you are permanently separated, even if a divorce is under way, and not living with a new partner. It also says to tick single if your partner has a conflicting interest in the case. EX160A adds that if your case is against your partner, their savings are excluded, though your share of joint savings still counts.

Before you start

Online or paper. The gov.uk Help with Fees service lets you apply online and gives you a reference to write on your court form. The paper EX160 goes in with the court form. Gov.uk says to submit Help with Fees at the same time as your court application.
The current version. The form's footer reads EX160 (11.23). The gov.uk form page was last updated on 19 January 2026 and also offers a large print version.
Your National Insurance number, or Home Office reference number if you have one instead, and your partner's if their finances count.
The court form number (printed at the bottom of the first page of a paper form) and any case number.
Figures for savings, benefits and income for you and any partner whose finances count.

The form, question by question

Your personal details. Name, address, date of birth, National Insurance or Home Office number, or why you cannot give one.
Relationship status. Single, or married or living with someone (see the partner rules above).
Your partner's details, if they count.
Have you already paid the fee? If yes, give the date; this makes it a refund application.
Form number of your court form, or a description of the fee.
Case, claim, appeal or "notice to pay" number, if you have one.
Probate. Not relevant to family cases; answer no.
Savings and investments, in bands.
Are you or your partner 66 or over? Only if your savings are in the middle band.
Benefits. If you get one listed, you go straight to question 14.
Children living with you or supported financially, by age band.
Types of income received last month, for you and your partner.
Total income last month, before tax and National Insurance, or the 3-month average.
Declaration and statement of truth. Giving false information can lead to criminal or civil proceedings.
Litigation friend or legal representative, if one completed it for you.

Evidence, refunds and emergencies

Evidence. You do not send evidence unless asked. HMCTS may check with other government departments. If you are asked for bank statements, payslips or benefit letters, reply within 28 days of the letter or the application is treated as abandoned.
Refunds. You can apply for a refund of a fee paid in the last 3 months if you were eligible when you paid. Answer questions 8 to 13 about your circumstances at the time you paid.
Emergencies. EX160A says that where a decision is needed in less than 5 working days, for example in urgent applications about children, a senior manager can decide. For emergency applications only, gov.uk also publishes form EX160B, an undertaking to apply for help or to pay the fee.

Common mistakes

One EX160 for two fees. Each fee needs its own application; staff process them together.
Counting a former partner's income after a permanent separation, or the other party's in your own case.
Using net pay. The form asks for income before tax and National Insurance.
Leaving out child benefit or maintenance, which the form asks you to include.
Posting the EX160 more than 28 days after signing it.
Sending the court form without the Help with Fees reference, or without the paper EX160.

What happens next

The court or tribunal decides and writes to you. If help is refused, EX160A says you can write by the date in the refusal letter explaining why you disagree, with evidence; a response comes within 10 working days. If that is refused, you can ask the court's senior manager for a final decision within 14 days. If you get partial help, you pay the amount set out in the decision.

Official form

Download form EX160 from gov.uk, or apply online on gov.uk.

Where EvidenceCanvas fits, and where it does not. EvidenceCanvas has nothing to do with Help with Fees: it does not fill in or send an EX160 or any court form, and it cannot tell you whether you qualify. Its job is the case paperwork after you have applied. You upload your own documents, confirm the dates it finds, and it can draft a chronology, statement or position statement from them for you to check. No person reads a draft before you get it, drafts can be wrong, and you check every line.

Questions people ask

Can I get Help with Fees for a C100?: Yes, if you pass the savings test (under £4,250 for a fee of this size if you and any partner are 65 or under) and either get a qualifying benefit or have a low enough income. The C100 fee is £270, and help can be full or partial.
Does my ex-partner's income count on the EX160?: Not if you are permanently separated and not living with a new partner: you tick single. If the case is against your partner, EX160A says their savings are excluded, though your share of joint savings still counts.
Is it better to apply online or on paper?: Both use the same tests. Online gives you a reference to write on your court form; paper means sending the EX160 with the court form. Either way, apply at the same time as your court application.
Can I get a refund if I already paid?: Yes, if you paid within the last 3 months and were eligible at the time. Answer the EX160 using your circumstances when you paid, and send it to the court you paid.
Do I need a new EX160 for every fee in my case?: Yes. Each fee needs its own Help with Fees application, for example one for a C100 and another for a later C2.

Checked on 23 October 2026: gov.uk, Get help paying court and tribunal fees; form EX160 (updated 19 January 2026; form EX160 11.23); EX160A guidance and EX160C calculator (published 19 January 2026); EX50 family court fees (updated 13 July 2026). General information for England and Wales, not legal advice. Your court's directions take priority over this guide.