Trading Standards fees and charges 2023/24

Trading Standards Officer fees

Trading Standards OfficerChargeVATTotal charge

Hourly rate

£90£18 (20%)£108

Business advice services

Primary Authority Partnership

We offer businesses a legally recognised partnership through Primary Authority to provide professional and assured regulatory advice which enables the business to trade with confidence.

Businesses new to the partnership

A minimum of 10 hours is needed for initial set-up as a Primary Authority Partnership, including registration on the Regulatory Delivery website and an action planning meeting.

Larger businesses may require more hours to develop the action plan and for us to provide advice. Additional hours will be agreed after the setup.

Existing partnership businesses

An annual renewal fee will be agreed for each business with a minimum charge of 3 hours.

Primary Authority PartnershipChargeVATTotal charge
Business advice hourly rate£90£0 (0%)£90

Other businesses

Advice can also be provided outside of Primary Authority on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Non-Primary Authority PartnershipChargeVATTotal charge

A free 30 minute telephone consultation for business to discuss their needs

Learn about our business advice service.

£0£0 (0%)£0
Business advice service hourly rate

Minimum charge is 30 minutes, then charged in 10 minute intervals.
£90£18 (20%)£108

Weights and measures

Read the Weights and Measures Act 1985.

Weights and measuresChargeVATTotal charge
Testing and verification hourly rate

(Except where fees are detailed below)
£90£18 (20%)£108

Preparation time for weights and measures work including familiarisation with the equipment's notice and preparing testing equipment.

£90£18 (20%)£108
Cost of certificate detailing errors found during testing£55£0 (0%)£55
Public weighbridge operator training (per person)

Including operator pack and up to 1 hour training on site
£100£20 (20%)£120
Additional hourly rate for weighbridge operator training (after inclusive hour) charged in 30 minute intervals£90£18 (20%)£108

Weights and measures requests for testing

Under section 74(4) of The Weights and Measures Act 1985 we can:

  • in disputes between buyer and seller, carry out a test on the equipment or goods
  • issue reports on weighing or measuring of goods
  • test the accuracy of weighing or measuring equipment.
Section 74(4) requestChargeVATTotal charge
Hourly rate£90£0 (0%)£90

Weighing equipment

No VAT will be charged for initial verifications, re-verification work will be charged at 20% VAT.

Instruments that have remote displays or printers may require an additional officer to test, or a second series of tests by the same officer. In these cases the total charge will increase by 50%.

Weighing instrumentsChargeVATTotal charge
Not Exceeding 1 tonne£90£18 (20%)£108
Exceeding 1 tonne but not 10 tonnes£135£27 (20%)£162
Exceeding 10 tonnes£200£42.40 (20%)£242.40

We can provide a van and weights for platform machines up to 1 tonne capacity. This will not be needed if you can provide acceptable weights and equipment for the test.

You must provide a weighbridge testing unit for all weighing instruments over 1 tonne capacity.

Van and weightsChargeVATTotal charge
To supply van and test weights, per visit£205£41 (20%)£246

Measuring instruments for liquid, fuel and lubricants

No VAT will be charged for initial verifications, re-verifications will be charged at 20% VAT.

Two officers are needed to test measuring equipment unless the fitter is present and available to assist with testing.

Liquid, fuel and lubricantsChargeVATTotal charge

Liquid, fuel and lubricants dispenser hourly rate (per officer)

Minimum charge is 1 hour at this rate, then charged in 30 minute intervals.

Charges are calculated from the officer's time of arrival to departure from site.

£90£18 (20%)£108
Road tanker liquid fuel measuring equipment (above 100 litres)

This is in addition to the hourly rate.

Charged once per occasion regardless of how many tankers are tested.
£270£54 (20%)£324

Petroleum spirit storage

Fees for keeping quantities of petroleum spirit are set by The Health and Safety and Nuclear (Fees) Regulations 2021.

For a solid substance which requires a licence, the fee to be paid is calculated as if 1 kilogram were equal to 1 litre.

The fee covers the cost of a licence plus 1 site visit.

Fees may cover a period of less than a full year, but the fee is unchanged.

You can renew your petroleum storage licence for between 1 and 10 years.

Annual fees to keep petroleum spirit of a quantity:ChargeVATTotal charge
not exceeding 2,500 litres£46£0 (0%)£46
exceeding 2,500 but not exceeding 50,000 litres£62£0 (0%)£62
exceeding 50,000£131£0 (0%)£131

Environmental survey request, in relation to petroleum installations

Read the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Each survey includes one hour of a Trading Standards Officer's time and a written response.

Survey requestsChargeVATTotal charge
Standard service

(Report completed within 20 working days of payment) 
£90£0 (0%)£90
Express service

(Report completed within 5 working days of payment)
£135£0 (0%)£135
Any additional work, agreed in advance, will be charged at this hourly rate in 30 minute intervals£90£0 (0%)£90

Explosives

Read the Fireworks Regulations 2004.

The Firework Regulation 2004 (Regulation 9)ChargeVATTotal charge
Licence to sell fireworks all year round£500£0 (0%)£500

Storing fireworks

Fees for keeping quantities of explosives are set by The Health and Safety and Nuclear (Fees) Regulations 2021.

Licence costs for storing up to 250kg NEC of fireworks
Licence lengthChargeVATTotal charge
1 year£113£0 (0%)£113
2 years£147£0 (0%)£147
3 years£181£0 (0%)£181
4 years£215£0 (0%)£215
5 years£248£0 (0%)£248
Renewal costs for a licence to store up to 250kg NEC of fireworks
Licence lengthChargeVATTotal charge
1 year£56£0 (0%)£56
2 years£90£0 (0%)£90
3 years£125£0 (0%)£125
4 years£158£0 (0%)£158
5 years£193£0 (0%)£193
Fee for variation, transfer, or replacement of licence£38£0 (0%)£38
Licence costs for storing up to 2000kg NEC of fireworks
Licence lengthChargeVATTotal charge
1 year£193£0 (0%)£193
2 years£253£0 (0%)£253
3 years£317£0 (0%)£317
4 years£390£0 (0%)£390
5 years£441£0 (0%)£441
Renewal costs for a licence to store up to 2000kg NEC of fireworks
Licence lengthChargeVATTotal charge
1 year£90£0 (0%)£90
2 years£153£0 (0%)£153
3 years£215£0 (0%)£215
4 years£277£0 (0%)£277
5 years£340£0 (0%)£340
Fee for variation, transfer, or replacement of licence£38£0 (0%)£38

Animal feed approvals

Fees are set by The Animal Feed (Hygiene, Sampling, etc. and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2015 in accordance with EU Regulation 183/2005.

Extra fees may be charged for any laboratory analysis needed as part of the application.

Where applications are made for more than one business activity, the highest single fee will be charged.

These fees are payable when you apply for approval or amend an existing approval.

Approval of feed hygiene premisesChargeVAT Total charge
Placing on the market feed additives or pre-mixture containing additives covered by EU Regulation 183/2005. (See below this table for list of additives covered by the EU Regulation 183/2005). £226 £0 (0%) £226

Placing on the market and manufacturing feed additives or pre-mixture containing additives covered by EU Regulation 183/2005. (See below this table for list of additives covered by the EU Regulation 183/2005).

£451 £0 (0%) £451
Manufacturing and placing on the market, for feed use, products made with vegetable oil and blended fats. £451 £0 (0%) £451

Additives relevant to EU Regulation 183/2005

  • algae and lower fungi
  • carotenoids
  • co-products of the manufacture of amino acids by fermentation, or pre-mixture of such additives
  • nutritional additives
  • proteins obtained from microorganisms belonging to groups of bacteria
  • xanthophylls
  • yeast
  • zootechnical additives such as; digestibility enhancers, gut flora stabilisers and substances which favourably affect the environment

Officers travelling outside Kent County Council borders

Officer travelling time within Kent County Council borders will not be charged.

When officers need to travel outside of Kent County Council borders, extra charges of £108 per hour (including VAT) plus a £0.45 mileage charge will apply.

If needed, extra charges for public transport and accommodation will be charged, this would be agreed with you in advance.

We may review or change our fees at any time.