In this section: Your bills
Certificate, DBS and Companies House fees
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A birth, marriage or death certificate is £12.50 since 28 May 2024, unchanged on a year ago. DBS check fees fall on 5 October 2026 because the service has been making a surplus. Companies House fees rose in February 2026, with incorporation doubling to £100, to fund its new economic crime powers.
Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source: General Register Office (Home Office), or the local register office that issues it.
Key figures
- £12.50A birth, marriage or death certificate unchanged on a year earlier: no change vs 29 September 2025
- £21.50A basic DBS check unchanged on a year earlier: no change vs 29 September 2025
- £49.50An enhanced DBS check unchanged on a year earlier: no change vs 29 September 2025
- £100Registering a company online up on a year earlier: +£50 (+100.0%) vs 29 September 2025
- 37%Share of the cost of certificates covered by fees 100% would mean fees exactly cover cost
Sources: General Register Office (Home Office), or the local register office that issues it, Disclosure and Barring Service, Companies House (also funds Insolvency Service ECCTA enforcement).
What is the short version?
- Certificates are subsidised. Certificate fees brought in £29.4m in 2025–26 against £78.6m of cost.
- Faster costs more. The priority certificate service is £38.50.
- Every company pays each year. The online confirmation statement is £50, up from £34.
- The DBS Update Service subscription is £16 a year, and free for volunteers.
How much are the fees now?
In force since 28 May 2024. Source: General Register Office (Home Office), or the local register office that issues it. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.
In force since 28 May 2024. Source: General Register Office (Home Office). Checked by hand 22 September 2026.
In force since 2 December 2024. Source: Disclosure and Barring Service. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.
In force since 2 December 2024. Source: Disclosure and Barring Service. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.
| Fee | Now | A year ago | Year on year | Since | Meant to cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Birth, marriage or death certificate - standard (GRO, England & Wales)Details for Birth, marriage or death certificate - standard (GRO, England Wales) | £12.50 | £12.50 | no change | 28 May 2024 | Below cost |
| |||||
Birth, marriage or death certificate - priority service (GRO)Details for Birth, marriage or death certificate - priority service (GRO) | £38.50 | £38.50 | no change | 28 May 2024 | Below cost |
| |||||
DBS basic checkDetails for DBS basic check | £21.50 | £21.50 | no change | 2 December 2024 | Set to recover cost |
| |||||
DBS standard checkDetails for DBS standard check | £21.50 | £21.50 | no change | 2 December 2024 | Set to recover cost |
| |||||
DBS enhanced check (with or without barred lists)Details for DBS enhanced check (with or without barred lists) | £49.50 | £49.50 | no change | 2 December 2024 | Set to recover cost |
| |||||
DBS Update Service subscription (per year)Details for DBS Update Service subscription (per year) | £16 | £16 | no change | 2 December 2024 | Set to recover cost |
| |||||
Companies House incorporation - online/digitalDetails for Companies House incorporation - online/digital | £100 | £50 | +£50 (+100.0%) | 1 February 2026 | Set above cost, by policy |
| |||||
Companies House annual confirmation statement - onlineDetails for Companies House annual confirmation statement - online | £50 | £34 | +£16 (+47.1%) | 1 February 2026 | Set above cost, by policy |
| |||||
Checked 22 September 2026. Source: General Register Office (Home Office), or the local register office that issues it. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.
How have the fees moved?
The numbers behind this chart
| From | DBS basic check | DBS standard check | DBS enhanced check (with or without barred lists) | Companies House incorporation - online/digital |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2019-10-01Details for 2019-10-01 | £23 | £23 | £40 | — |
| ||||
2022-04-06Details for 2022-04-06 | £18 | £18 | £38 | — |
| ||||
2024-05-01Details for 2024-05-01 | £18 | £18 | £38 | £50 |
| ||||
2024-12-02Details for 2024-12-02 | £21.5 | £21.5 | £49.5 | £50 |
| ||||
2026-02-01Details for 2026-02-01 | £21.5 | £21.5 | £49.5 | £100 |
| ||||
2026-09-29Details for 2026-09-29 | £21.5 | £21.5 | £49.5 | £100 |
| ||||
Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source: Disclosure and Barring Service, Disclosure and Barring Service, Disclosure and Barring Service, Companies House (also funds Insolvency Service ECCTA enforcement).
| Fee | Then | Now | Fee change | Prices change | Then, in today’s prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DBS basic check (since 2019)Details for DBS basic check (since 2019) | £23 | £21.50 | -6.5% | +32.4% | £30.45 |
| |||||
DBS standard check (since 2019)Details for DBS standard check (since 2019) | £23 | £21.50 | -6.5% | +32.4% | £30.45 |
| |||||
DBS enhanced check (with or without barred lists) (since 2019)Details for DBS enhanced check (with or without barred lists) (since 2019) | £40 | £49.50 | +23.8% | +32.4% | £52.96 |
| |||||
Companies House incorporation - online/digital (since 2024)Details for Companies House incorporation - online/digital (since 2024) | £50 | £100 | +100% | +8.1% | £54.03 |
| |||||
Companies House annual confirmation statement - online (since 2024)Details for Companies House annual confirmation statement - online (since 2024) | £34 | £50 | +47.1% | +8.1% | £36.74 |
| |||||
Prices from CPIH, as of 1 August 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics.
What are the fees meant to cover?
The Disclosure and Barring Service is funded from fees on a cost-recovery basis. It recovered 113% of its costs in 2025-26, which is why its fees are being cut to £20 for basic and standard checks and £41 for enhanced checks from 5 October 2026.
Certificate fees recovered only 37% of the cost of certificate services in 2025-26, according to the Home Office.
Companies House fees now also pay for identity verification and enforcement under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, including work by the Insolvency Service.
- Birth, marriage or death certificate - standard (GRO, England & Wales): EM to SI 2024/598: fees raised 'by 10% to a level of full cost recovery' for birth/death services; 'Fees for these services have not been increased since 2010 and are significantly under recovered.' Home Office ARA 2025-26 reports Certificate Services income £29.4m vs full cost £78.6m (37% recovery).
- Birth, marriage or death certificate - priority service (GRO): As for the standard certificate.
- DBS basic check: DBS (a Home Office non-departmental public body) 'is fully funded by the fees it charges for the above products and services. DBS reviews its fees on an annual basis, and the fee for each product or service is based on its cost to deliver as required by Managing Public Money (MPM).' Home Office ARA 2025-26: DBS income £271.5m vs full cost £240.0m, surplus £31.6m (113% recovery against a 100% target) - fees are being cut from 5 Oct 2026.
- Companies House incorporation - online/digital: EM to SI 2025/1137: fees raised 'to recover the cost of increased activities of Companies House and the Insolvency Service to implement the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023'. Companies House ARA 2025-26: 'An uplift to the incorporation fee and the annual fee was determined by Ministers to provide additional funding for activities under section 1063 (3A) of the Companies Act 2006' - so the fees fund enforcement and economic-crime work, not just processing the filing. 2025-26 fee-bearing activities: about £7m surplus. The ARA's fees table nonetheless shows incorporations under-recovering in 2025-26 (income £47.8m vs cost £82.3m) because enforcement costs are allocated to them
| Body | Year | Fee income | Cost | Surplus or deficit | Share of cost recovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DBSDetails for DBS | 2025–26 | £272m | £240m | £31.6m | 113% |
| |||||
General Register Office (certificates)Details for General Register Office (certificates) | 2025–26 | £29.4m | £78.6m | £-49.2m | 37% |
| |||||
Companies HouseDetails for Companies House | 2025–26 | £239m | £232m | £7.1m | 103% |
| |||||
- Registration of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Fees) Regulations 2016, as amended by SI 2024/598
- Registration ... (Fees) Regulations 2016, as amended by SI 2024/598
- Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 2002, regs 3-4 (as amended; the SI for the Dec 2024 change not checked; the Oct 2026 reduction SI was laid 9 Sep 2026)
- Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 2002 (as amended)
- Registrar of Companies (Fees) (Companies, Overseas Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships) Regulations 2012, as amended by SI 2024/155 (1 May 2024) and SI 2025/1137 (1 Feb 2026)
Who receives the money?
Certificates, DBS checks and Companies House fees
Paid to a named body the General Register Office or local register office, the Disclosure and Barring Service, and Companies House, each to recover its costs. Companies House fees now also fund economic crime work.
Fee regulations for each body
Legal position as of 22 September 2026. Source: legislation.gov.uk. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.
Are the fees fair?
The case for the current fees
- DBS fees are coming down as the service moves into surplus.
- Company registration in the UK is still cheap by international standards.
- Checks on company directors protect the public from fraud.
The case against
- Companies House fees have risen eightfold since 2024.
- Certificates for births and deaths are needed at stressful moments and cannot be avoided.
- Volunteers needing DBS checks pay unless their organisation covers it.
Common questions
- How much is a birth certificate?
- £12.50 from the General Register Office, or £38.50 for the priority service.
- How much is a DBS check?
- £21.50 for a basic check until 4 October 2026, falling to £20 on 5 October.
Sources for this page
Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under CC BY 4.0.