LAA Billing Guidance — Updated March 2026

Crown Court Billing Guidance: The Practitioner’s Complete Reference

The LAA’s Crown Court Fee Guidance runs to 131 pages. This is the version your billing team can actually use — structured, searchable, and written for people who bill cases for a living, not for people who draft regulations.

The Legal Aid Agency publishes its Crown Court Fee Guidance to tell solicitors and barristers exactly how it will process and pay claims. Version 1.22, published in March 2026, is the current edition. It covers the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS), the Litigators’ Graduated Fee Scheme (LGFS), special preparation, Very High Cost Cases, and disbursements.

The problem is not that the guidance is wrong. The problem is that it is written as a regulatory companion document, not as a working reference. Most billing teams extract what they need through trial, error, and expensive rejected claims. This guide fixes that.

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What crown court billing guidance actually covers

The Crown Court Fee Guidance (CCFG) is the LAA’s official document for interpreting the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013. It is not a stand-alone rulebook — it works alongside the Remuneration Regulations, and where there is any conflict, the Regulations take precedence.

In practice, the guidance is what your billing clerk reaches for first. It translates the legal language of the Regulations into operational instruction: which cases qualify for which fees, how those fees are calculated, what evidence is required, and what happens when claims are disputed.

The guidance exists to complement the Regulations — not to replace them. When you are preparing a redetermination, always cite the Regulations directly. When you are building your billing process, the guidance is your working reference.

The CCFG covers both the LGFS and the AGFS within a single document. It is structured to mirror the format of the Remuneration Regulations, with paragraph references that correspond directly to the relevant regulatory provisions. Every section reference in this article uses the same format as the CCFG itself.

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The legal framework — Remuneration Regulations 2013

All crown court billing operates under the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/435), as amended. The Regulations govern fee scheme policy and rates for both the AGFS and LGFS. The CCFG is published specifically to help providers interpret and apply those Regulations correctly.

Before the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), the applicable instrument was the Criminal Defence Service (Funding) Order 2007. If you are dealing with cases where the representation order was issued before 1 April 2013, those older rules still apply. Earlier versions of the guidance are available on GOV.UK for that purpose.

The Regulations have been amended multiple times since 2013. The most significant recent changes followed the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR), which resulted in fee uplifts phased in from late 2022. Cases with a representation order dated from 17 September 2020 onwards, with a main hearing on or after 31 October 2022, are eligible for those CLAIR uplifts — and the guidance reflects this with specific paragraph-level instructions for affected claims.

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LGFS guidance: what litigators need to know

The LGFS governs payment to solicitors who manage crown court cases under legal aid. The guidance sets out the fee calculation framework in detail. Understanding it is the difference between maximising your graduated fee and leaving money on the table — or worse, submitting a claim that gets reduced or rejected.

The five factors that determine your LGFS fee

The guidance is explicit that the LGFS operates on graduated, not hourly, billing for most cases. You are not compensated for time spent — you are compensated for the proxy factors above. This is why accurate case classification and PPE counting matter so much: they are the inputs that determine the output.

LGFS fixed fees

Under the LGFS, certain case types are remunerated as fixed fees rather than graduated fees. These apply where the main proceedings were conducted in the magistrates’ court but the case was sent for sentence or appealed at the crown court. For these cases, the guidance specifies a flat rate regardless of PPE or trial length. Fixed fee cases include committals for sentence, appeals against conviction, and breaches of crown court orders.

Guilty plea, cracked trial, or trial — getting the classification right

The guidance draws firm distinctions between the three case scenarios. A guilty plea applies where the defendant pleads guilty to all counts at the first hearing at which a plea is entered. A cracked trial applies where, after a not-guilty plea has been entered and the case has been listed for trial, it resolves without a contested hearing — through a late guilty plea, prosecution offering no evidence, or similar. A trial applies where the case proceeds to a contested hearing before a jury.

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AGFS guidance: what advocates need to know

The AGFS was substantially reformed in April 2018 and the guidance has been updated to reflect that reform in full. The revised scheme replaced the previous PPE-heavy structure with one based more directly on the nature of the offence and the type of hearing. If you are still billing under the pre-2018 assumptions, your claims are wrong.

The AGFS fee components

Under the AGFS, crown court proceedings are claimed by and paid to the Trial Advocate — the advocate who appears at the trial itself. Where an advocate appeared at hearings before the trial advocate was instructed, there are specific rules in the guidance about how fees are split or absorbed. The guidance is clear that pre-trial hearings are generally included within the basic fee and do not attract separate payment, with specific exceptions such as confiscation hearings.

Offence banding under the 2018 reform

The reformed AGFS uses an offence banding system set out in the AGFS Banding Document (Version 1.2, December 2018). Every offence is allocated to a band, and the band determines the basic fee. The guidance cross-references the banding document at every relevant point. When classifying a case for AGFS billing, the banding document and the guidance must be read together — neither is sufficient on its own.

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PPE — counting it correctly under the guidance

Pages of prosecution evidence is the most litigated element of crown court billing. The guidance dedicates significant space to defining exactly what counts and what does not — because the LAA’s definition of PPE is narrower than most practitioners assume.

What the guidance says qualifies as PPE

The most reliable method for evidencing PPE under the current guidance is the LAA report — a digitally generated report from the Digital Case System (DCS). The full report must be uploaded with the claim. However, the guidance is explicit that not all pages on the LAA report constitute PPE. Billing teams must filter the report section by section, removing placeholder pages, duplicates, and non-qualifying material before arriving at the claimable PPE figure.

CCTV footage and body-worn video do not automatically qualify as PPE. Multimedia evidence only counts if it has been converted to a paginated format or is specifically addressed in the Remuneration Regulations. Assuming otherwise is one of the most common and costly billing errors.

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Special preparation claims

Special preparation is the mechanism by which practitioners can claim additional fees where a case involves work that goes substantially beyond what the graduated fee is designed to compensate. The guidance sets out the criteria and the process — and the bar is intentionally high.

Special preparation is available under both the LGFS and the AGFS, but the thresholds differ. Under the LGFS, special preparation typically requires PPE in excess of 10,000 pages (for cases with a representation order predating 1 April 2018) or other exceptional circumstances. Under the AGFS, special preparation claims must demonstrate that the fixed fee is manifestly disproportionate to the work done.

Prior authority is required for special preparation claims in many circumstances. The guidance specifies that litigators can submit a prior authority application covering multiple attendances or translations, provided they all relate to the same expert or firm and the total exceeds £100. For travel and accommodation costs, prior approval from the LAA is required before those costs are incurred — not afterwards.

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Fixed fees, cracked trials and guilty pleas

The guidance draws clear distinctions between the three billing scenarios. Getting this classification wrong is one of the most common causes of LAA reductions.

The guidance is specific about what constitutes a trial day. A trial includes all hearings that form part of the main case from when the jury is sworn — or from the date of a preparatory hearing if legal argument forms part of the trial process — through to the verdict. Mentions, bail applications, and other procedural hearings between a preparatory hearing and the start of the jury trial do not count as trial days.

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VHCC — when the standard guidance does not apply

Very High Cost Cases operate under individual case contracts, not the LGFS or AGFS fee structures. The guidance confirms that where a VHCC contract is in place, the contract will specify whether the VHCC rates or the graduated fee is applicable for each element of the case.

The obligation to notify the LAA of a potential VHCC is strict. Litigators must notify the LAA’s High Cost Case Team as soon as it appears that a case is likely to meet the VHCC criteria — and in any event within five working days of specific trigger events set out in the guidance. Late notification can affect the terms of the VHCC contract and, in serious cases, the right to recover enhanced fees.

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Submitting through CCD — what the guidance requires

The Claim for Crown Court Defence (CCD) system is mandatory for all AGFS and LGFS billing. The guidance confirms that all claims must be submitted through CCD — paper submissions are no longer accepted in standard circumstances.

• 1 Obtain CCD accessContact the LAA at crowncourtdefence@justice.gov.uk to set up your firm’s initial login. Each user is assigned a role — Advocate or Litigator — which determines what they can create, edit, submit and manage within the system.
• 2 Enter case details correctlyFor cases on the Common Platform, use the URN. For cases not on the Common Platform, use the case number beginning with T, S, or A. The guidance specifies exactly which identifier applies.
• 3 Upload the indictment and PPE evidenceFor any claim other than a fixed fee or interim disbursement, the indictment and evidence PPE service must be uploaded. The LAA report from the DCS is the standard PPE evidence document. Accepted file formats are PDF, DOC, RTF, JPEG, TIFF and BMP, with a 20MB maximum file size per upload.
• 4 Submit within the three-month windowClaims must be submitted within three months of the conclusion of the case. For confiscation proceedings scheduled within 28 days of case conclusion, the Trial Advocate may submit the main case claim early. Out-of-time claims require a formal extension request and are assessed at the LAA’s discretion.
• 5 Retain all supporting documentationNo signature is required for online CCD submissions, but the terms and conditions of the billing application carry the same weight. The LAA can audit claims for up to five years. Every submitted claim and its supporting evidence must be retained and retrievable.

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Redetermination — using the guidance to challenge LAA decisions

Where the LAA reduces or rejects a claim, practitioners have the right to apply for redetermination through CCD. The guidance is the primary reference document for building a redetermination — and using it correctly significantly increases the likelihood of a successful outcome.

A redetermination application must be made within 21 days of the determination. That window is strict. If you miss it, you are reliant on the LAA exercising its discretion to accept a late application — which it is not obliged to do.

An effective redetermination sets out the grounds of dispute with reference to the specific paragraph of the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013, cross-referenced against the corresponding section of the Crown Court Fee Guidance. It provides the supporting documentation that the original claim should have included, and where relevant, cites Costs Judge decisions that support the position being taken.

Approach redetermination as a clarification exercise, not a confrontation. The LAA is working from what was submitted. If your claim was underdocumented, the redetermination is your opportunity to provide what was missing — not to argue that the LAA was wrong to ask for it.

If redetermination is unsuccessful, further appeal to a Costs Judge is available. As of April 2025, the issue fee for a Costs Judge appeal is £123, payable by card or Payment by Account number. Appeals must be submitted through the HMCTS CE-File system. The LAA Legal Team is the named Respondent in all such appeals.

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The March 2026 update — what changed in Version 1.22

Version 1.22 of the Crown Court Fee Guidance was published in March 2026. This is the current operative version and supersedes Version 1.21 (October 2025). Practitioners should ensure they are working from the current version — earlier editions remain available on GOV.UK for cases with older representation orders, but should not be used as the primary reference for current billing.

The LAA also publishes online fee scheme calculators alongside the guidance, accessible through GOV.UK. These calculators are a useful cross-check for graduated fee calculations but are not a substitute for the guidance itself. The guidance governs — the calculator illustrates.

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Frequently asked questions on crown court billing guidance

Where do I find the current Crown Court Fee Guidance?

The current version (1.22, March 2026) is published on GOV.UK under Crown Court fee guidance. The LAA updates it periodically — always verify you are using the latest version before building a billing process or redetermination around it.

Does the guidance apply to cases with older representation orders?

No. The current CCFG applies to cases governed by the Remuneration Regulations 2013 — that is, cases with a representation order dated 1 April 2013 or later. For older cases, earlier versions of the guidance apply. These are available on GOV.UK and are clearly version-dated.

Can the guidance override the Remuneration Regulations?

No. The guidance is a companion document to the Regulations. Where the guidance and the Regulations appear to conflict, the Regulations govern. In a Costs Judge appeal, the Regulations are the primary authority — the guidance is secondary, though still persuasive.

Is the LAA’s online fee calculator binding?

No. The calculators are published as assistance tools. They can produce incorrect results if the case details entered are wrong, and they do not account for all the nuances addressed in the guidance. The calculated figure is a starting point, not a guaranteed payment.

What is the LAA’s processing target for claims?

The LAA’s target is to process advocate bills within 20 working days of submission. You can check current processing performance on the crime processing dates page on GOV.UK. LGFS claims are processed by teams at the Nottingham and Liverpool offices.

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