Northern Ireland has confirmed higher statutory fees for removing, storing and disposing of vehicles seized under court orders. The Department of Justice has made S.R. 2025 No. 166, with the updated amounts taking effect on Monday 10 November 2025.

The move amends Schedule 3 of the Enforcement of Fines and Other Penalties Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018, which sets what recovery operators can charge when a vehicle is taken under a vehicle seizure order. Those 2018 figures have been the reference point ever since.

Ministers signalled this change last year, consulting on a broad 28% uplift to bring Northern Ireland closer to the rates already adjusted in Scotland in 2019 and in England and Wales in early 2023. Officials also pointed out that fees in Northern Ireland had not increased since 2008.

What it means in pounds and pence: using the 2018 schedule as the baseline, removing a standard car from the road rises from £150 to roughly £192; daily storage for a car moves from £20 to about £26; disposal of a car shifts from £75 to around £96. At the heavy end, removal of a laden HGV over 18 tonnes increases from £4,500 to about £5,760. Exact sums sit in the rule’s tables and vary by weight, condition and whether the vehicle is laden.

This sits within the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 framework. A vehicle can only be seized after a court issues a vehicle seizure order, with the Police Service of Northern Ireland or an authorised contractor allowed to remove and store it. The court must consider the debtor’s ability to earn a living, and there are exemptions for vehicles used by disabled people and the emergency services.

For Northern firms trading regularly across the Irish Sea-hauliers running Heysham–Belfast or Liverpool–Belfast routes, couriers with vans working in Greater Belfast-the practical point is simple: if a vehicle is caught up in an enforcement case in Northern Ireland, the updated Northern Ireland fee scale applies. Finance teams should reflect the new figures in risk planning and make sure any old fines or penalties owed in Northern Ireland are cleared promptly.

The Department has set a clear start date. The new amounts apply to vehicles seized on or after 10 November 2025; vehicles taken before that date remain on the previous schedule. Businesses operating in Northern Ireland have just a few weeks to brief drivers, update recovery protocols and refresh internal guidance.

Two related rules were published alongside this change, updating police seizure fees for uninsured driving and for off‑road nuisance. Together, S.R. 2025 Nos. 167 and 168 refresh the wider vehicle removal regime across Northern Ireland. It’s a tidy-up that brings charges closer to Great Britain, with clearer costs for operators and drivers alike.