Reform of court costs: what has changed and why it matters

Positive aspects of these legislative changes

• Removal of financial barriers to access to justice
• Unification of the provisions of the three procedural codes
• Streamlining of the rules for calculating court fees
• Introduction of maximum court fees for individuals and individual entrepreneurs
• Consideration of the social status and income of individuals when deferring/exempting them from paying court fees

Court costs without the participation of the parties

All three procedural codes (the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, the Code of Civil Procedure of Ukraine, and the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine) now explicitly state that the issue of court costs may be resolved without notifying the parties, which results in:

• a reduction in the length of proceedings;
• a reduction in formalism;
• however, this upsets the balance of rights between the parties, since without a corresponding motion, a person may be deprived of the opportunity to justify objections to the costs.

Change in rates for individuals and individual entrepreneurs

According to the changes, the maximum amounts of court fees for individuals and individual entrepreneurs for filing an appeal are set at no more than 8 (in 2025 — UAH 24,224) times the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons, and in social cases (protection of labor, family, housing rights, etc.) — no more than 3 subsistence minimums (in 2025 — UAH 9,084).

For filing a cassation appeal, the corresponding limits will be 10 (in 2025 — UAH 30,280) and 5 subsistence minimums (in 2025 — UAH 15,140).

Separate procedure for calculating court fees for filing applications with commercial courts in bankruptcy cases

In particular, court fees have been established for filing applications for imposing joint and several liability on the debtor’s management bodies; applications by the liquidator or creditor for subsidiary liability for causing bankruptcy.

Deferral, reduction, and exemption from payment of fees (new version of Article 8)

This part of the changes is the most socially sensitive. In particular, it gives the court discretion to:

• defer or spread out the payment of court fees;
• reduce the amount of court fees;
• exempt from payment of fees on the basis of an application with relevant evidence.

At the same time, it is established that the court may take into account information about the amount of income for the previous calendar year, the presence of dependent family members who are unable to work, the ownership of immovable, movable property and/or other valuable property, as well as other circumstances that are relevant to the assessment of a person’s financial situation.

Who is eligible for benefits?

• Persons for whom the amount of the fee exceeds 5% of their annual income
• Military personnel, single parents, low-income/large families
• Participants in cases concerning the protection of social, labor, and housing rights
• Applicants (plaintiffs) in bankruptcy cases at the request of the arbitration manager (property manager, reorganization manager, restructuring manager) or debtor

Thus, in order to avoid the risk of abuse of the right to benefits through the submission of incomplete or distorted information, judicial practice will require a uniform approach to evidence of financial status, which is currently an extremely heterogeneous field for judicial discretion.

What does this mean for citizens and businesses?

New procedural mechanisms have appeared in bankruptcy cases, which may entail additional costs.

This requires everyone who applies to the court with a relevant application (lawsuit) to plan the case more carefully and take into account not only legal but also financial risks, in particular the updated scale of court fees.

If you are claiming an exemption, make sure you have your certificates, declarations, family composition documents, etc. ready in advance.

And one more important change: court costs may be allocated by the court without the participation of the parties. This means that if you do not submit your application or explanation on time, the decision may be made without you. Procedural discipline has become not just desirable, but critically necessary.

For reference: the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Improvement of the Procedure for the Distribution of Court Costs and Court Fees” was officially published in Ukrainian on page 6 of the newspaper “Golos Ukrainy” on July 15, 2025, No. 137(389).

Author:

Tetiana Opanasiuk, attorney at Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice at GOLAW