Police Station Legal Aid Rates 2025/26
The definitive guide to current police station legal aid rates, the harmonised fee structure, and escape fee calculations under the 2025 amendments.
Updated: December 7, 2025
New Harmonised Fee
£320.00
Fixed fee per attendance
Escape Threshold
£650.00
Profit costs to claim hourly rates
Effective Date
22 Dec 2025
Standard Crime Contract
Understanding the 2025 Amendments
From 22 December 2025, the Legal Aid Agency introduced a harmonised fixed fee of £320.00 for all police station attendances. This replaces the previous split between higher and lower fee tiers, creating a single flat rate regardless of offence type or complexity.
The harmonisation aims to simplify billing, reduce disputes, and provide a fairer rate for routine attendances. However, the escape fee mechanism remains in place for cases that exceed the threshold in actual profit costs.
Impact Analysis
For Representatives
- ✓Single fee simplifies invoicing — one rate for every attendance
- ✓Higher rate for cases previously in the lower tier
- —Lower rate for cases previously in the higher tier
- ✓Escape mechanism still available for complex cases
For Solicitor Firms
- ✓Predictable costs per police station attendance
- ✓Simplified billing and reconciliation with LAA
- ✓Clearer framework for instructing freelance reps
- ✓Double fee provisions clarified for split attendances
The New Escape Fee Mechanism
If your profit costs exceed the escape threshold of £650.00, you can claim hourly rates instead of the fixed fee. Follow these two steps:
Calculate Profit Costs
Total up all your time spent on the case at the applicable hourly rates (preparation, attendance, travel, waiting). Include all fee-earner time but exclude disbursements. If the total exceeds £650.00, you have "escaped" the fixed fee.
Compare to Threshold
If your profit costs exceed the £650.00 threshold, submit a claim for the actual hourly rate costs instead of the £320.00 fixed fee. You must retain detailed time-recording evidence to support the escape claim.
Claiming Multiple Fees
Claim Two Fees If:
- ✓The client is released and then re-arrested on a separate matter
- ✓There are two separate detention periods with a break between them
- ✓You are instructed for two genuinely distinct matters in separate attendances
Single Fee Only If:
- —Multiple offences arise from the same incident or detention period
- —Additional interviews take place during the same continuous detention
- —A single attendance covers multiple connected matters