The UK Tribunal System Explained
How the UK tribunal system fits together: the First-tier Tribunal's seven chambers, the Upper Tribunal, employment tribunals, appeal routes and fees.
Quick answer
The UK tribunal system has two main tiers. The First-tier Tribunal's seven chambers — General Regulatory; Health, Education and Social Care; Immigration and Asylum; Property; Social Entitlement; Tax; and War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation — decide disputes across tax, immigration, benefits, property and more. The Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals, Tax and Chancery, Immigration and Asylum, and Lands Chambers) primarily decides appeals from the First-tier Tribunal, on legal mistakes only and with permission required, plus some judicial review cases. Employment tribunals sit outside this structure as Great Britain's workplace-justice bodies, with appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Fees vary by tribunal: benefit appeals and employment tribunal claims are free, while immigration appeals cost £82 on the papers or £144 with a hearing, subject to exemptions and Help with Fees.
Overview
Tribunals are specialist judicial bodies that decide disputes between citizens and the state (benefits, tax, immigration) and some citizen-to-citizen disputes (employment, property). Most jurisdictions sit within a two-tier structure: the First-tier Tribunal, whose seven chambers deal with disputes in areas as diverse as tax, immigration and asylum, and health, education and social care, and the Upper Tribunal, which primarily reviews and decides appeals arising from the First-tier Tribunal and also decides some judicial review cases. Employment tribunals stand outside that structure — they are the judicial bodies responsible for workplace justice in Great Britain, with their own appeal body, the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Tribunals are generally cheaper and less formal than courts: it is free to appeal a benefit decision and free to make an employment tribunal claim, while the Immigration and Asylum Chamber charges £82 for a paper decision or £144 for a hearing. Appeals up the system are on the basis of a legal mistake and need permission.
Step-by-Step Process
Work Out Which Tribunal Hears Your Case
Match the dispute to the jurisdiction: benefit and child maintenance decisions go to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber); tax appeals to the Tax Chamber; visa and asylum refusals to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber; special educational needs, care standards and mental health cases to the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber; rent, leasehold and park-home disputes to the Property Chamber; regulatory appeals (information rights, charities, transport and more) to the General Regulatory Chamber; and workplace disputes to the employment tribunal.
- HMCTS also runs standalone bodies such as the Special Immigration Appeals Commission and the Gender Recognition Panel
- The decision letter you are challenging usually names the right tribunal and the deadline
- Scotland and Northern Ireland have devolved tribunals for some subjects
Know the First-tier Tribunal's Seven Chambers
The First-tier Tribunal is organised into seven chambers: the General Regulatory Chamber; the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber; the Immigration and Asylum Chamber; the Property Chamber; the Social Entitlement Chamber; the Tax Chamber; and the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber. As the judiciary puts it, the seven chambers deal with disputes in a number of diverse areas of the law including tax, immigration and asylum, and health, education and social care.
- Chambers group similar jurisdictions so specialist judges and members hear your case
- Many chambers sit with non-legal specialist members (doctors, accountants, surveyors) alongside judges
- Procedure rules differ chamber by chamber — always read the specific chamber's rules and forms
Know the Upper Tribunal's Four Chambers
The Upper Tribunal — a superior court of record — has four chambers: the Administrative Appeals Chamber, the Tax and Chancery Chamber, the Immigration and Asylum Chamber and the Lands Chamber. It primarily, but not exclusively, reviews and decides appeals arising from the First-tier Tribunal, and it also decides some judicial review cases transferred from or allocated instead of the High Court.
- The Lands Chamber also hears property valuation cases at first instance and appeals from the Property Chamber
- The Administrative Appeals Chamber covers social security, child support, war pensions, mental health and DBS cases among others
- Upper Tribunal decisions bind the First-tier Tribunal
Employment Tribunals: a Separate Pillar
Employment tribunals are not part of the First-tier/Upper Tribunal structure — they are the judicial bodies responsible for workplace justice in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), hearing unfair dismissal, discrimination, wages and redundancy claims. Before claiming you must notify Acas and will usually need an early conciliation certificate for each respondent; the claim itself (form ET1, online or by post) is free. Appeals from employment tribunals go to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which HMCTS lists alongside the Employment Tribunal as a distinct body.
- Acas early conciliation pauses the employment tribunal time limit while it runs
- The usual employment claim deadline is 3 months from the problem or dismissal
- Northern Ireland uses industrial tribunals instead
Start Your Case: Deadlines and First Steps by Tribunal
Deadlines and gateways differ sharply. Benefits: before you can appeal you usually need mandatory reconsideration of the decision, then you appeal to the tribunal within one month of getting your mandatory reconsideration decision. Tax: you usually have 30 days to appeal from the date on your decision letter, and direct tax decisions must be appealed to HMRC before the tribunal, while indirect tax decisions usually go straight to the tribunal. Immigration: strict short deadlines apply from the decision notice. Employment: notify Acas within the 3-month limit. Missing a tribunal deadline requires explaining the delay, and late appeals are not guaranteed to be accepted.
- Benefits appeals started more than a month after the mandatory reconsideration decision must explain the delay
- Keep the decision letter — the appeal form is built around it
- Most tribunals accept online submission with document uploads
Appealing Within the System: Permission and Error of Law
You cannot re-run the facts on appeal. You may be able to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) if you think there was a legal mistake with a decision made against you by a lower tribunal. You must get permission to appeal — ask the tribunal that decided your case first, and if permission is granted (or you renew to the Upper Tribunal after refusal) send your appeal application within 1 month of getting permission. Equivalent error-of-law appeal routes run from each First-tier chamber to the corresponding Upper Tribunal chamber, and from employment tribunals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
- Identify the legal mistake precisely: wrong legal test, no evidence for a finding, procedural unfairness or inadequate reasons
- Watch the two clocks: the deadline to ask the First-tier Tribunal for permission, then 1 month from permission to lodge
- Onward appeals from the Upper Tribunal to the appellate courts need permission and raise points of law only
Fees and Help With Fees, Tribunal by Tribunal
Most citizen-facing tribunals are free to use: it's free to appeal a benefit decision, and you do not have to pay a fee to make a claim to an employment tribunal. The main exception is immigration: appealing to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) costs £82 without a hearing (a judge decides on the papers) or £144 with a hearing, though no fee is payable in listed cases — for example deprivation of citizenship or revocation of protection status appeals, or where you receive asylum support or have legal aid — and Help with Fees or exceptional-circumstances remission can cover the rest. The gov.uk tax tribunal guidance sets out no filing fee for tax appeals. The Property Chamber handles rent, leasehold, park homes, rent repayment orders and banned-fees cases, and some of its application types carry their own fees — check the specific form.
- Fee exemptions and remissions are means-tested — check before paying
- Costs orders are rare in most tribunals compared with the courts, but check your chamber's rules
- Immigration fee status can change — the fees page was updated 13 July 2026
Costs
Important Warnings
Tribunal deadlines are short and strict — one month for benefits appeals after mandatory reconsideration, usually 30 days for tax
Appeals to the Upper Tribunal are about legal mistakes only — disagreement with the facts is not a ground
You must get permission to appeal before the Upper Tribunal will hear you, and then lodge within 1 month of getting permission
Devolution matters: employment tribunals cover Great Britain only, and Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own tribunals for several subjects
Useful Links
Frequently asked questions
- What are the seven chambers of the First-tier Tribunal?
- The General Regulatory Chamber; the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber; the Immigration and Asylum Chamber; the Property Chamber; the Social Entitlement Chamber; the Tax Chamber; and the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber. Together, as the judiciary describes it, they deal with disputes in diverse areas of law including tax, immigration and asylum, and health, education and social care.
- What does the Upper Tribunal do?
- The Upper Tribunal primarily, but not exclusively, reviews and decides appeals arising from the First-tier Tribunal, and it also decides some judicial review cases. It has four chambers: Administrative Appeals, Tax and Chancery, Immigration and Asylum, and Lands. You may be able to appeal to it if you think there was a legal mistake in the decision against you — permission is required first.
- Are employment tribunals part of the First-tier Tribunal?
- No. The employment tribunals are the judicial bodies responsible for workplace justice in Great Britain and sit outside the First-tier/Upper Tribunal structure, with their own appeal route to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. You must notify Acas before claiming and will usually need an early conciliation certificate for each respondent, but there is no fee to make a claim.
- Do tribunals charge fees?
- Mostly no for individuals: it's free to appeal a benefit decision and you do not have to pay a fee to make a claim to an employment tribunal, and gov.uk's tax tribunal guidance sets out no filing fee. Immigration is the significant exception — £82 for an appeal decided without a hearing or £144 with a hearing — though listed cases (such as deprivation of citizenship appeals, or appellants on asylum support or legal aid) pay nothing and Help with Fees is available.
- How do I appeal a tribunal decision?
- On a legal mistake only, with permission. Ask the tribunal that decided your case for permission to appeal; if it is granted (or granted by the Upper Tribunal after a refusal), send your application to the Upper Tribunal within 1 month of getting permission. Employment tribunal appeals go instead to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
- What is mandatory reconsideration?
- For benefits and child maintenance, before you can appeal you usually need to ask the deciding body to look at the decision again — that is mandatory reconsideration, normally requested within one month of the decision letter. Once you have the mandatory reconsideration decision, you appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal within one month, and appealing is free.
- Which tribunal deals with housing and property disputes?
- In England, the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). It handles rent increases for fair or market rates, leasehold disputes such as variable service charges and management disputes, leasehold enfranchisement (buying the freehold or extending a lease), park-home disputes, financial penalties issued by local authorities, rent repayment orders, and banned tenant fees paid to a landlord or letting agent.