How to challenge your business rates through Check, Challenge, Appeal

In England and Wales, business rates challenges go through the VOA’s Check, Challenge, Appeal system. Scotland and Northern Ireland use different bodies and deadlines, so they should not be treated as VOA cases.

Why has your rateable value gone up?

Your rateable value has usually gone up because the Valuation Office has revalued your property against rental-market evidence for a new 3-year rating list, not because a 5-year cycle automatically applies. GOV.UK says, “At revaluation, the Valuation Office (VO) updates the rateable value of business properties to reflect changes in the property market,” and also says, “The rating list is a record of the rateable values of business properties for a 3-year period.” That corrects the common rating-agent claim that “Revaluations happen on a five-year cycle.” A rising rateable value is not itself capped; GOV.UK says transitional relief “limits how much your bill can change each year as a result of business rates revaluation,” so the protection applies to the bill, not the valuation. In Northern Ireland, the current non-domestic valuation list is separate: it “became operative on 1 April 2023 and is based on rental values as at 1 October 2021.”

How do you challenge your business rates?

You challenge business rates in England and Wales by using your online business rates valuation account, raising a Check first, waiting for the VOA decision, and only then starting a Challenge. GOV.UK is explicit: “You must raise a check case and receive a decision before you can start a challenge.” A VOA check and challenge is therefore not a letter-writing shortcut or a paper appeal; it is a staged online process in which the Check fixes factual details and the Challenge argues that the rateable value is wrong. Rating surveyors often run appeal business rates reviews on a contingency basis — one published example says, “Our fee is 20% of any savings or credit” — but the legal route is still the same account-based CCA process. Scotland is different: “From 1 April 2023 appeals are a 2-stage process,” and “There’s no fee for making a proposal or an appeal.” Northern Ireland is different again: LPS says you can make an online application “to have your valuation reviewed if you feel that your NAV is not correct.”

How do you appeal a VOA Challenge decision?

You appeal a VOA Challenge decision in England and Wales to the Valuation Tribunal, and the ordinary deadline is four months from the Valuation Office’s decision. The Valuation Tribunal says, “You must do so within four months of the Valuation Office's decision,” and the statutory appeal fee for a standard proposer is £300: the regulations state, “(b)for any other proposer, £300.” A lawyer is not compulsory; the House of Commons Library says, “Businesses do not need lawyers to undertake an appeal, but they may hire a rating valuation expert.” That makes the appeal stage more formal than Check or Challenge, but still accessible to occupiers who can assemble rental evidence, comparable assessments and the VOA’s decision record. Scotland does not have a VOA Challenge decision: after a proposal decision, an appeal may be sent to the First-tier Tribunal within 28 days. Northern Ireland has no VOA either, and businesses appealing an LPS valuation decision have 28 days to appeal to the Commissioner.

What is the T012 challenge form, and where do you get it?

“T012” is not a real UK business rates challenge form: England and Wales business rates challenges use no paper form at all, because GOV.UK says, “If you disagree with your property's rateable value set by the Valuation Office, you can challenge it using your business rates valuation account.” No UK government register names a T012 form for VOA business rates, HMRC, council tax or rating appeals, and the page commonly surfaced for “T012 challenge form business rates pdf” is not authority for a UK form: its own text says, “The VO7455 form is a document commonly used in property tax assessments within the United States.” Do not download or submit a T012 challenge form for business rates; use the online business rates valuation account. Council tax is a different subject: GOV.UK says, “Fill in and send this form to the Valuation Office to challenge your Council Tax band,” and then, “Attach the completed form to an email.” Northern Ireland uses its own LPS forms, including CR3 for domestic valuation review and CR20 at appeal stage.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• GOV.UK, business rates revaluation — “At revaluation, the Valuation Office (VO) updates the rateable value of business properties to reflect changes in the property market.” Source
• GOV.UK, challenge the valuation — “The rating list is a record of the rateable values of business properties for a 3-year period.” Source
• Save Business Rates, business rates revaluation 2026 — “Revaluations happen on a five-year cycle.” Source
• GOV.UK, transitional relief — “Transitional relief limits how much your bill can change each year as a result of business rates revaluation.” Source
• Department of Finance Northern Ireland, non-domestic valuation — “The current valuation list for non domestic properties became operative on 1 April 2023 and is based on rental values as at 1 October 2021.” Source
• GOV.UK, challenge the valuation — “You must raise a check case and receive a decision before you can start a challenge.” Source
• mygov.scot, non-domestic rates appeals — “From 1 April 2023 appeals are a 2-stage process.” Source
• mygov.scot, non-domestic rates appeals — “There’s no fee for making a proposal or an appeal.” Source
• Department of Finance Northern Ireland, non-domestic valuation — “You can also use this link to make an online application to have your valuation reviewed if you feel that your NAV is not correct.” Source
• Hexagon Management — “Our fee is 20% of any savings or credit” Source
• Valuation Tribunal, rating list appeal — “You must do so within four months of the Valuation Office's decision.” Source
• Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2009, regulation 13D — “(b)for any other proposer, £300.” Source
• Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act procedure regulations — “Where a notice of decision has been issued in respect of a proposal, an appeal may be made by sending a notice of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal within the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which the notice of the decision is presumed to have been received.” Source
• nibusinessinfo.co.uk, business rates: appealing your valuation — “You have 28 days to appeal this decision.” Source
• House of Commons Library, business rates briefing — “Businesses do not need lawyers to undertake an appeal, but they may hire a rating valuation expert.” Source
• DocHub, VO7455 form — “The VO7455 form is a document commonly used in property tax assessments within the United States.” Source
• GOV.UK, council tax band challenge form — “Fill in and send this form to the Valuation Office to challenge your Council Tax band.” Source
• GOV.UK, council tax band challenge form — “Attach the completed form to an email.” Source
• GOV.UK, challenge the valuation — “If you disagree with your property's rateable value set by the Valuation Office, you can challenge it using your business rates valuation account.” Source
• nidirect, apply for a domestic valuation review — “You can apply for a domestic valuation review by post or email by filling in the Review of Property Valuation (CR3) form.” Source
• Land & Property Services CR20 notice of appeal form — “Please note that this appeal will not be accepted unless it is received within 28 days of the date of issue of the District Valuer's Certificate in respect of this property.” Source