County Court appeal
The statutory route for challenging liability, a statutory excuse or the amount of the penalty. It is a re-hearing and can result in cancellation, reduction or dismissal.
Have you received an Objection Outcome Notice or a new Civil Penalty Notice? This page covers the next, post-objection stage. If you have only received a visit or Referral Notice, read our immediate civil penalty defence guide. If you have received the first Civil Penalty Notice and have not yet objected, use our civil penalty objection service. Our civil penalty hub explains the whole process.
Act on the date stated in the notice
If the Home Office has maintained, reduced or increased the penalty after considering an objection, the employer may appeal to the court. The Home Office code states that the appeal must be brought within 28 days of the date specified on the Objection Outcome Notice or any new Civil Penalty Notice. If the Home Office did not respond to the objection within its 28-day period, the deadline is calculated differently. Do not assume that correspondence or negotiations stop time.
NA Law’s County Court appeal service is for employers whose principal place of business is in England and Wales. If the business is based elsewhere, obtain advice on the correct court route in that jurisdiction. The notice, its date and the correct jurisdiction should be checked at once.
Start with a consultation
We begin with a consultation about the objection outcome, the available appeal grounds, the evidence and the cost risk. The consultation is the first stage and does not commit the business to issuing proceedings.
Please have these documents ready:
- the original Civil Penalty Notice and Statement of Case;
- the objection and every document submitted with it;
- the Objection Outcome Notice or new Civil Penalty Notice, including the date on the notice and the date received;
- the right to work evidence for each worker concerned; and
- any linked sponsor licence or licensing correspondence.
If further work is appropriate, any written advice, appeal preparation, pre-action correspondence or judicial review work will be scoped and quoted separately. See our fees and charging information.
What a section 17 appeal can decide
Section 17 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 provides three statutory grounds of appeal:
- the employer is not liable to the penalty;
- the employer has a statutory excuse because the prescribed right to work requirements were met; or
- the amount of the penalty is too high.
The appeal is a re-hearing of the Home Office decision. The court may consider relevant matters, including matters of which the Home Office was unaware. It may cancel or reduce the penalty, or dismiss the appeal. This means the appeal must be prepared as litigation, with a clear statutory case and an organised evidence file.
Check whether the notice identifies the legal basis
On 27 July 2026, the Supreme Court allowed the employer’s appeal in Akbars Restaurant (Middlesborough) Limited v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] UKSC 26.
The Court held that a Civil Penalty Notice must identify which of the mutually exclusive grounds in section 15(1) the Home Office relies on. It also held that the Home Office cannot defend a section 17 appeal by switching to a different statutory basis that was not specified in the notice.
This does not mean that every penalty is invalid. It means the Civil Penalty Notice and Statement of Case should be checked carefully against the statutory basis, the Home Office evidence and the case advanced on objection. Read the Supreme Court judgment.
What needs to be tested before proceedings
- The statutory basis: does the notice state the particular section 15(1) ground relied on?
- Employment and identity: has the Home Office identified the correct employer, worker and employment relationship?
- Right to work: what was the worker’s actual immigration position and permission on the relevant date?
- Statutory excuse: were the prescribed checks completed at the correct time and retained in an acceptable form?
- Penalty calculation: has the Home Office applied the correct first or repeat breach level and all relevant mitigation?
- Consistency: do the objection, records and proposed appeal evidence tell one coherent account?
- Commercial risk: what are the likely legal costs, Home Office costs exposure and linked sponsor licence or licensing consequences?
Cost and litigation risk
A court appeal is not simply another letter to the Home Office. If the appeal fails, the court may order the employer to pay the Home Office’s reasonable costs or expenses of defending it. The value of the penalty, strength of the evidence, legal costs and wider business consequences all need to be weighed before proceedings are issued.
A civil penalty can also affect a sponsor licence, future sponsorship, certain sector licences and the employer’s reputation. Where those risks are present, the appeal strategy and the compliance response should be aligned rather than handled as separate problems.
County Court appeal and judicial review are not interchangeable
Pre-action correspondence
Correspondence may be appropriate where a specific legal or procedural problem should be raised before proceedings. It does not stop a court or judicial review deadline.
Judicial review
An exceptional public-law route concerned with lawfulness, fairness or rationality. It may be relevant only where there is a distinct issue and the statutory appeal is not an adequate remedy.
A judicial review claim must be filed promptly and generally no later than three months after the grounds first arose, subject to any shorter applicable limit. The parties cannot extend that period by agreement.
How NA Law Solicitors can help
We can advise on the stage reached, the applicable deadline, the statutory grounds and the commercial implications. If you instruct us for further work, the scope may include analysing the notice and evidence, preparing appeal documents and written submissions, coordinating any specialist advocacy required, and addressing linked sponsor licence or compliance risks.
We will not promise an outcome. The purpose is to identify the proportionate route, prepare the case coherently and make sure the business understands the risks before committing to litigation.
Fees and scope
We confirm the scope and fee in writing. Any court fee, counsel’s fee, expert cost or other third-party expense will be identified separately where applicable.
Send us your enquiry
Tell us the date on your Objection Outcome Notice or new Civil Penalty Notice and briefly explain what the Home Office decided.
Please mention the original Civil Penalty Notice, your objection and the outcome notice in the summary. We can request copies securely if needed.
Frequently asked questions
When is the deadline for a civil penalty court appeal?
The Home Office code states that an appeal following an objection must be brought within 28 days of the date specified on the Objection Outcome Notice or any new Civil Penalty Notice. If the Home Office has not responded within its 28-day period, a separate calculation applies. Check the notice and obtain advice immediately.
Which court hears an illegal working civil penalty appeal?
NA Law’s County Court appeal service is for employers whose principal place of business is in England and Wales. If the business is based elsewhere, obtain advice on the correct court route in that jurisdiction.
What can the court decide?
Under section 17 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, the court may cancel or reduce the penalty, or dismiss the appeal. The appeal is a re-hearing of the Home Office decision.
Can a defective Civil Penalty Notice be challenged?
The Supreme Court held that a Civil Penalty Notice must identify which statutory basis of liability under section 15(1) the Home Office relies on. The Home Office cannot defend the appeal by switching to a different, unspecified basis. The notice and Statement of Case should therefore be examined carefully.
Can the court consider new evidence?
A section 17 appeal is a re-hearing. The legislation permits the court to consider relevant matters, including matters of which the Home Office was unaware. Evidence still needs to be admissible, coherent and directed to the statutory issues.
Is judicial review the same as a County Court appeal?
No. The County Court appeal is the statutory route for liability, statutory excuse and penalty amount. Judicial review concerns the lawfulness of public decision-making and may be relevant only where there is a distinct public-law issue and the statutory appeal is not an adequate remedy.
Do not lose the appeal window
Send the date and a short summary now if the Home Office has maintained, reduced or increased the penalty after objection.
NA Law Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. SRA No. 645049. This page is general information and is not legal advice. Published information is accurate to the best of our knowledge on 11 August 2026, but the individual notice and current law must be checked.