How much does a Consent Order cost in 2026?

What is the current consent order court fee? (As of September 2026)

Everyone pays this £62 court fee (unless you are on a low income or receive certain benefits), fixed by HMCTS, when your consent order is submitted for approval.

The court fee applies regardless of whether you use a solicitor, a fixed-fee online service, or anything in between and is on top of any legal or drafting fees.

A consent order is legally enforceable by the Family Courts if one party does not comply with the agreed and approved terms of the court order.

Clean Break Consent Order

A clean break consent order costs between £159 and £1,500 in legal fees, plus the £62 court fee. At the lower end, this is the most affordable type of consent order and is suitable for couples with no property, no pensions to share, and modest assets already agreed between them.

It formally ends all financial ties between you and your ex, preventing either party from making future financial claims against the other.

Standard Consent Order

A standard consent order costs between £269 and £3,000 in legal fees, plus the £60 court fee. It covers the division of property, savings, and other assets where both parties have already reached an agreement.

This is the most common type of consent order. Costs sit at the lower end when terms are already agreed and assets are straightforward; they rise when amendments are needed, assets are more complex, or solicitor negotiation is involved.

A standard consent order typically includes assets such as the family home, savings, debts, and spousal maintenance.

Pension Sharing Order

A pension sharing order costs between £699 and £7,000 in legal fees, plus the £60 court fee.

It is required when part of one party’s pension is to be transferred to the other, and involves drafting a pension-sharing annex alongside the main order, liaising with the pension provider to confirm they will accept the terms before submission, and serving the approved order on the provider once it is sealed by the court.

The wide cost range reflects the difference between a fixed-fee online service handling a single straightforward pension and a solicitor managing complex, high-value pension arrangements across multiple schemes. It also depends on how many pensions are being shared.

Fixed Fee Solicitor Financial Consent Order

How much do solicitors charge for a consent order?

High-street solicitors in England and Wales typically charge between £200 and £350 per hour outside London and between £350 and £600 per hour in central London.

A consent order matter involving correspondence, drafting, advising on amendments, and court submission can take ten to fifteen hours of solicitor time, meaning costs of £2,000 to £6,000 are common even for relatively straightforward cases.

When both parties have instructed separate solicitors to negotiate a financial settlement, costs can exceed £10,000.

The legal effect of the order is identical regardless of who drafts it. A consent order approved by the court carries the same enforceability whether it was prepared by a fixed-fee online consent order service or a traditional high-street law firm.

How quickly can I get a consent order?

As with costs, timescales for a consent order vary widely depending on how you obtain it.

The quickest way to obtain a consent order is to use an online consent order service, which can be drafted within 7-21 working days and submitted to the court within 24 hours of being signed.

Traditional solicitors can take months to prepare your consent order, which for couples needing it quickly, will not be satisfactory.

Why Use Consent Orders Online For an Affordable Consent Order?

The legal protection a consent order provides is the same regardless of who drafts it. What changes is the cost and the experience of getting there.

Our fixed-fee consent order service is built for couples who have agreed on their settlement and want it properly drafted, submitted, and court-approved without solicitor rates. There’s no hourly billing, no unexpected costs, and no office appointments.

What’s included in our fixed fee consent order service:

• Consent order drafted by an experienced family law solicitor
• Preparation of Form D81 statement of information
• Pension sharing annex where required
• Court submission support
• Amendments handled if the court raises queries