Relevant weekly income and the financial circumstances form
Checked 17 July 2026 · How we check our figures
What it is
Relevant weekly income is the number an income-based fine is built on: the court picks the band for the offence, the band names a percentage, and the percentage is applied to this figure, as the fine bands guide sets out. The figure comes from the financial circumstances form that travels with the court papers; usually just called the means form. What the form does not say is what silence costs: with no information the court proceeds on an assumed 440 pounds a week, while a low income, earned or from benefits, is deemed to be 120, and the distance between those two numbers is the whole point of filling it in (Sentencing Council, Approach to the assessment of fines, checked 2026-07-17).
Reading the notice
The income boxes ask for your figure, and some state money does not belong in it: tax credits, housing benefit and child benefit are left out of relevant weekly income (Sentencing Council, Approach to the assessment of fines, checked 2026-07-17).
Variable earnings are averaged: the guidance works from four to six weeks of income, with the broader picture taken where an average would mislead (Sentencing Council guidance).
The determination the court reaches is recorded, and the record travels: the same figure meets any later variation or enforcement, which is why the form is worth more care than its length suggests (Sentencing Council, Approach to the assessment of fines).
The decision in front of you
Fill it in with the real figure: the fine becomes the band's percentage of your actual week, the aim being equal impact rather than equal amounts, and normally an amount payable within 12 months (Sentencing Council); the form returns with the plea, on the Single Justice Procedure Notice's clocks where that is the route.
Declare a low income, earned or from benefits: relevant weekly income is then deemed to be 120 pounds, and the arithmetic is stark, Band C at the deemed figure is 180 pounds before any reduction, against 660 pounds at the assumed 440 (Sentencing Council, Approach to the assessment of fines, checked 2026-07-17; band percentages in the fine bands guide).
Leave the form blank and the court is entitled to decide your circumstances as it thinks fit, s. 126(2) Sentencing Code, which with nothing to go on means the assumed 440 pounds a week; the door back is s. 127, a fine can be remitted in whole or part once real figures arrive, though the offence's seriousness and band stay where they were (Sentencing Council, checked 2026-07-17).
What happens next
A fine is payable in full on the day it is imposed, with periodic payments the common reality and 12 months the usual outer mark (Sentencing Council); from there the Collection Order and the fines officer take over, covered in the unpaid court fine guide.
Real figures arriving late still work: s. 127 Sentencing Code lets the court remit the fine in whole or in part in light of them, which is the repair route after an assumed-income sentence.
The recorded determination follows the case: variation applications and enforcement steps are argued against that figure, not against a fresh blank page.
The numbers
Deemed relevant weekly income on a low income, earned or benefits: 120 pounds (Sentencing Council, Approach to the assessment of fines, checked 2026-07-17).
Assumed relevant weekly income where no information is provided: 440 pounds (Sentencing Council, Approach to the assessment of fines, checked 2026-07-17).
Worked contrast: Band C is 150 per cent of relevant weekly income, so 180 pounds at the deemed figure against 660 at the assumed one, before any guilty-plea reduction (Sentencing Council; band mechanics in the fine bands guide).
The deadlines
The form travels with the plea, on the Single Justice Procedure Notice's own clocks, covered in the single justice guide.
The 12-month payability mark is guidance shaping the payment terms, not a limitation on the fine itself (Sentencing Council).
The s. 127 remission route carries no fixed deadline of its own; what it cannot reopen is the seriousness assessment already made.
What people get wrong
Leaving the form blank because the offence is admitted anyway: the plea settles guilt, the form settles the amount, and silence prices the week at the assumed 440 pounds rather than your real one.
Hiding a low or benefits income out of embarrassment: the deemed 120 pounds is lower than any figure the court will assume, and the deeming exists precisely so that need is not priced upwards (Sentencing Council).
Rounding the figures hopefully: the determination is recorded, and it is the number the fines officer later holds the payment plan against.
Authority
ss. 125 to 127 Sentencing Code (Sentencing Act 2020); Sentencing Council, Approach to the assessment of fines (explanatory material); Sentencing Council fine bands