Submit a Bulk Claim (SaBC)

Submit a Bulk Claim enables providers to upload Legal Help, Crime Lower and Mediation monthly submissions.

GovernmentLaunch confirmsof increasesSubmit toa someBulk CivilClaim and(SaBC) Crime– 4 February 2026

The Submit a Bulk Claim (SaBC) service will go live on 4 February. All legal aid feesproviders takingwill effectreceive direct communication regarding the go-live date via the LAA Bulletin on 22Friday December.16 January.

Civil 

OnThis 1is December, thea statutorysignificant instrumentmoment, upliftingas allunlike claimableother ratessystems forthat immigrationwe andhave housingrestored controlled work was laid.following This willthe comecyber-attack, intothis effectwill for mattersbe opened ona orbrand afternew 22service, Decemberall 2025. Thebe upratedit fees,with linked tosome thesimilarities singleto feehow codes,our canCWA besystem foundpreviously herefunctioned.

Providers Newwill Feeneed Codes (MSto Exceluse Spreadsheet,SaBC 173to KB).upload their January submission, by 17 February.

WhereThis applicableearly and only fordeadline upliftedis fees,to weallow arethe alsoprocessing uplifting the immigration profittime costrequired andto totalensure costpayments limits that are setmade outon intime at the 2024start Standardof CivilMarch. ContractNo Immigrationfurther Specificationchanges (subject to athe contractdeadline consultation).of   the 20th are expected in 2026.

Crime 

Regulations wereThe alsomonthly laidcontingency onprocess 1ends December whichon will introduce20 theJanuary, followingand feeall increases forfuture criminalsubmissions legalmust aidbe casesvia beginningSaBC.

In onpreparation, orthere afterwill 22be Decembera 2025: 

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Fullengaging listwith ofproviders; feehowever, codes

Newwe feewould codesencourage providers to liaise with mappingtheir (MSown ExcelSV Spreadsheet,to 174confirm KB)they are prepared for go-live.

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Please

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• Review you inthe advanceguidance ofmaterials available below
• Watch the go-liverecorded date.system Untilwalkthrough thenon youthe shouldLAA continueTraining towebsite
• Seek utilisesupport thefrom contingencyus processearly forif youryou Novemberrequire submission.

any assistance

TheThis newwill Submithelp aensure Bulkproviders Claimare systemable willto notsubmit betheir goingclaims liveon intime Decemberby as17 previously anticipated.February Yourthrough NovemberSaBC.

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Due

If toyou manualhave processingany time,queries, the deadlineplease for Novembereither submissionscontact willyour beContract the 17 December. 

WeManager apologiseor foremail SubmitABulkClaimQueries@justice.gov.uk. Please do refer to the shortpublished turnaroundguidance time;in however,the itfirst isinstance necessaryas this will likely address your query.

Government confirms increases to ensuresome thatCivil paymentsand canCrime belegal madeaid asfees expectedtaking effect on 522 January.    

December.

Civil 

TheOn contingency1 processDecember, the isstatutory ininstrument operationuplifting all claimable rates for immigration and youhousing-controlled work was laid. shouldThis came useinto effect for matters opened on or after 22 December 2025. The uprated  fees, linked to the contingencysingle submissionfee form,codes, can be found here ContingencyNew MonthlyFee Contract SubmissionCodes (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 38.4176 KB), to.

Where sendapplicable yourand only for Novemberuplifted submissionfees, claimwe valueshave touplifted the immigration profit cost and total cost limits that are set out in the LAA.2024 PleaseStandard emailCivil itContract to cwasubmissions@justice.gov.uk Immigration Specification.

Crime 

SubmissionsRegulations were receivedalso afterlaid the 17on December1 willDecember which bewill introduce paidthe asfollowing soonfee asincreases for possible.   criminal legal aid cases beginning on or after 22 December 2025: 

If

• Harmonised yourpolice monthlystation claimfees valueto is£320 £0,with please submit athe nilpolice returnstation usingescape thefee form. 

  Ifthreshold you don’t wishrevised tofrom make£960 to use£650 of(excl. VAT).

• 10% uplifts to fees for the contingencymagistrates’ process,court please don’t provide(including anythe return.Youth InCourt)
• Prison thislaw instance,fees lateincreased claimsby will24%
• 10% beuplift acceptedto whensolicitor fullfees submissionsfor some appeals arework

Frequently made. asked questions on the uplifted fees -  Fee Uplift FAQs (PDF, 250 KB, 4 pages)

YouThe  Fee doUplift notGuidance (PDF, need139 KB, 9 pages) is guidance on how to includeclaim anythe adjustmenthigher forHousing Escapeand CasesDebt thatand haveImmigration been submitted forand assessmentAsylum infees yourfor monthlymatters submission.opened Escapeon casesor canafter be submitted and22 willDecember.

Monthly beClaim Submissions

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Providers claimscan forfind futurefurther submission.guidance Weon willthe sharesubmission furtherof detailclaims when you’re ablefor tomatters dofor so.which Pleaseyou continuemade touse reachof outthe to SubmitABulkClaimQueries@justice.gov.uk ifmonthly you require supportcontingency with SaBC preparation. process, below.

When to submit your claim

YouSaBC shouldwill makebe youravailable submissionfor betweenuse theby 1stproviders andfrom 20th4 ofFebruary the2026. monthThe followingdeadline  thefor submissionmaking period.January submissions in SaBC is 17 February 2026.

Try to make sure your submission is at the beginning of the month as this allows maximum time to offer support and resolve any questions.

Please note, that providers will be updated when SaBC has been made available for use.

How to claim

OnceAll the contingency comes to an end, all claims for controlled work, mediation and crime lower work must now be submitted via Submit a Bulk Claim (SaBC).

SaBC is a digital billing service that allows and validates monthly submissions online and calculates fees.

To access Submit a Bulk Claim, you will need to have a verified account with Sign in to legal aid services (SILAS) and Submit a Bulk Claim will need to have been added to your profile. Once this has been done, and you are logged into SILAS, you will be able to click on a link to access the Submit a Bulk Claim landing page. See the the Legal Aid Agency training website for for guidance on how to create an account with and use SILAS.

How SaBC works

Providers will be able to access the service via SILAS and can upload their bulkload or case management system exported data file directly into SaBC. The service will check the file and calculate the price of each claim within it. If any information is missing or if fundamental errors have been made within the submission, it will be rejected prior to calculating costs.

You can find further information on how to use SaBC in the GuideSubmit toa SaBCBulk Claim User Guide which willcan be releasedfound shortly.in the Guidance section below.

Changes for providers

Unlike in CWA, providers are unable to enter the details of each claim directly into SaBC – instead the submission must be uploaded via a bulkload spreadsheet export or via a file exported from their case management system (updated CSV, XML, and TXT exports).

Using the bulkload spreadsheet and compatibility

If your case management system export isn’t compatible with SaBC,SaBC or if you don’t have one, you can still bulkload your submission data using thethe bulk Updated bulk upload spreadsheet (MS Excel(links Spreadsheet, 10 MB).below).

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Use of Macros

We have been made aware of some providers experiencing issues with macros on the new bulkload spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is published on the official GOV.UK website, which is the trusted source of documentation for the Legal Aid Agency. Agency.  You should have confidence in downloading files from here. here.  All materials undergo standard assurance and integrity checks before publication.  publication.  

The spreadsheet makes use of macros for data validation and generation of a file for upload into our systems. systems.  Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide a non-macro version without removing this functionality. functionality.  The file can be opened with macros disabled, but users would need to complete data validation and file generation manually.  manually.    

We understand that you may have a policy in place to restrict the use of macros.  Where possible, you may wish to review these settings to allow macros from trusted and verified sources, such as the GOV.UK website.    

Thank you for raising your concerns and for working with us as we establish these new processes.

ClaimsClaim relatingamendments

Amendments to theclaims contingencysubmitted periodon CWA 

MostMake softwarechanges vendorsto haveany alsoof confirmedyour thatpreviously theysubmitted canCWA enableclaims claimusing exports1 generatedof during3 amendment forms and guidance:

• Civil CWA Amendment form (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 101 KB)
• Crime CWA Amendment form (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 78.3 KB)
• Mediation CWA Amendment form (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 83.6 KB)
• Amendments guidance (MS Word Document, 58.9 KB)

Email amendment requests to: PA-ClaimAmend@justice.gov.uk

When completing the contingencyspreadsheet periodremember to:

• include the net revised cost, not gross
• check the compatibility of cost and code combinations within revised claims
• put your name and account number in the subject header

Whilst we are currently unable to process any amendments, a solution on how these will be re-runamended withis being developed so the newforms codescan included,be whichsubmitted supportspending oura intentionconfirmed approach.

Amendments to requireclaims allsubmitted allon contingencySaBC

The submissionsability to amend a claim submitted on SaBC, will not be madeavailable for launch. If you have requested payment for cases under the monthly contingency, and have identified    that there was an error affecting the amount you were entitled to claim, if possible, please correct these claims prior to submitting them on SaBC.

An approach to amendments for claims submitted on SaBC, will be communicated in due course. Please do continue to complete and send an amendment form where you identify an amendment is needed to a claim submitted on SaBC.  

• Civl SaBC Amendment form (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 102 KB)
• Crime SaBC Amendment form (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 78.9 KB)
• Mediation SaBC Amendment form (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 84.1 KB)

Submit a Bulk Claim.Claim However,and wenew recogniseFee thatCode therefield

Each mayclaim besubmitted additionalthrough workSubmit a Bulk Claim, will need to include a new, single fee code.

This change has been required to enable us to deliver the new service at speed.

You will need to include the new fee codes in any SaBC submission for them to be accepted by the new service.

New fee codes with mapping (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 177 KB)

To support you to updatemake claimthis exportschange, fromwe have worked with software vendors who have been updating their systems to accommodate and enable the contingencynew periodfee codes. Most vendors have confirmed that they are going to auto-generate the codes in the claim exports.  If you have any concerns as to whether your case management system has been updated accordingly, please contact your software vendor.

We acknowledge that this is a considerable change and we are continuingworking toas explorehard optionsas possible to minimise this.the Weimpact for providers, including working with a group of providers to design the service. However, due to the need to deliver a working service as early as possible, the initial release will confirmonly support the submission and pricing of claims.

To aid providers understand how the new fee code ‘maps’ across to an existing matter type or other reporting code, and when some of these codes maybe used, we willhave askdeveloped youa series of recorded webinars and slide packs for providers to approachrefer to.

Providers can access these imminently.webinars and slide packs via the Legal Aid Learning website:

 Civil - legalaidlearning.justice.gov.uk/submit-a-bulk-claim-civil/

Crime - legalaidlearning.justice.gov.uk/submit-a-bulk-claim-crime

We have also published key information on the new system to help you prepare for implementation.

• Validation overview for providers (PDF, 143 KB, 3 pages)
• SaBC FAQs (PDF, 265 KB, 9 pages)

Calculating value of an outcome

Upon successful uploading and acceptance of the submission, SaBC will price each line and will provide the total value of the submission.

Providers will also be able to view the calculated price of each line of the submission and can click on each individually to view how that sum has been determined.

In future, providers will be able to export the details of the claims and the calculated price, from SaBC.

The value for each claim will be calculated will be in accordance with the relevant provisions in the respective Civil/Crime Remuneration Regulations and Standard Civil/Crime Contracts, with further information available in the reporting codes guidance below.

Reporting New matter starts for controlled work and mediation

‘New matter starts’ is the LAA contracting term used for controlled work and mediation, e.g., the first meeting a provider has with a client.

How to report new matter starts depends on what method of submission you’re using.

LAA’s bulkload spreadsheet

Enter new matter starts into the controlled matter start form (CMSF) area of the spreadsheet.

CMS file

Contact your software supplier to find out if your CMS bulkload file contains your new matter starts.

GuidanceClaims Documentsrelating to the contingency period

The GuidanceSaBC must also be used to upload your historic submissions from April to December 2025.

Further information our approach to receiving these contingency submissions will follow w/c 19 January.  

Prepared submissions missing fee codes

Most software vendors have also confirmed that they can enable claim exports generated during the contingency period to be re-run with the new codes included, which supports the requirements for SaBCall Claims (PDF, 1.67contingency MB, 172submissions pages)to includesbe helpmade onin selectingSubmit a Bulk Claim. However, we recognise that there may be additional work for you to update claim exports from the appropriatecontingency.

To Feeassist Codeyou with such updates, we have created a tool which providers can upload these exports into, and otherthe codestool (e.g.will mattergenerate types)the whenapplicable reportingfee completedcode civilbased on the information in that export. This data can then be copied into a version of the bulkload spreadsheet and mediationa work.new export created.

TheNot Guidanceall forproviders Reportingwill Crimeneed Lowerto Workmake 2025use of this tool. To aid you in identifying whether it may be of assistance to you, we have created this short survey Check if you need to use the fee code assigning tool for contingency period claims (PDF, 2.33If MB,the 135survey pages)concludes includesthat helpyou onwould selectingbenefit from use of the appropriatetool, Feewe Codewill andcontact otheryou codesfrom (e.g.the stagededicated reached)SubmitABulkClaimQueries@justice.gov.uk foremail, completedproviding criminala work.copy of the tool and supporting guidance. The changestool madewill only be sent to those providers who have used the survey and been shown to potentially benefit from it.

Exceptional Case Funding (ECF)

We are alsoaware summarisedthat previously CWA would generate an ECF payment reference which providers would then report in CWA in the GuideECF field. Providers will not need to thereport Changessuch a reference in ReportingSaBC, Crimetherefore Lowerif Worka (PDF,provider 598has KB,any 40matters pages)which obtained Exceptional Case Funding during the contingency period, they will not need to report a reference as part of their claim uploaded into SaBC. A copy of the letter confirming the grant of Exceptional Case Funding should continue to be retained on file.

Guidance Documents

TheThe  SubmitSaBC a Bulk Claim User Guide (MS Word Document, 3.733.74 MB) sets out instructions on how to use the new system, SaBC, to bulk upload a monthly submission for Civil (Legal Help), Crime Lower or Mediation for legal aid providers.

The The  FeesGuidance Upliftfor GuidanceSaBC claims (PDF, 1391.77 KBMB, 9179 pages) isincludes ahelp guidance on howselecting to claim the higherappropriate HousingFee Code and Debtother andcodes Immigration(e.g. matter types) when reporting completed civil and Asylummediation feeswork.

The  Guidance for mattersreporting openedcrime lower (PDF, 2.33 MB, 135 pages) includes help on orselecting afterthe 22appropriate December.Fee Code and other codes (e.g. stage reached) for completed criminal work. The changes made are also summarised in the  Guidance to the changes in Crime Lower (PDF, 599 KB, 40 pages)

Contact

Email Email SubmitABulkClaimQueries@justice.gov.uk if if you have any questions regarding your submission.

We understand this is a significant change, at short notice, and are committed to working closely with you to support a smooth transition.

We are keen to understand more about your monthly submissions, how you usually submit and the impacts of this change on your usual operations, you can help us by sharing your feedback using this link  - New ‘Submit a Bulk Claim’ service - Provider feedback form.