Non-domestic rating: challenges and changes statistical commentary
Published 6 August 2026
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-2023-and-2026-rating-lists-june-2026/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-statistical-commentary
About this release:
This is the first release to include statistics on challenges made by ratepayers (or their representatives) against the England and Wales 2026 non-domestic rating (NDR) lists, which came into effect on 1 April 2026. This release will also continue to include statistics relating to challenges made against the 2023 non-domestic rating lists whilst numbers remain at a significant level. As volumes have reached a sufficiently low level, we have taken the decision to stop producing excel tables on the 2017 rating list. Figures on outstanding cases will still be available through the statistical commentary.
As the Check, Challenge, Appeal process is now well established in both England and Wales, we no longer include statistics on customer registrations and property claims within this publication.
These statistics do not include the number of appeals registered under the Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) system because these are the responsibility of the independent Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS) in England and Valuation Tribunal for Wales (VTW) in Wales. However, both the VTS and VTW publish their latest statistics on their respective websites, in their annual reports.
Responsible statistician
Anna McReady
Statistical enquiries
Date of next publication
November 2026
1. CCA cases in England
1.1. CCA England cases raised against the 2026 rating list
Figure 1: Checks and Challenges in England against the 2026 rating list from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2026 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW26_1_1
Figure 1 shows that 13,710 Checks were registered in England since the start of the 2026 rating list (1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026). Of these, 5,950 were resolved, and 7,760 remained outstanding.
Some of the resolved Checks will progress to Challenges and as such, 1,340 Challenges were registered since the start of the 2026 rating list (1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026). Of these, 50 were resolved, 250 were marked incomplete (does not contain all the detail required in legislation) and 1,040 remained outstanding.
Figure 2: Resolved CCA cases by case type and outcome against the England 2026 NDR list, 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2026 local rating list, England, Table EW26_4_1
Figure 2 compares the proportion of resolved Check and Challenge cases which resulted in a rateable value (RV) increase, decrease, or no change.
For Checks, 86% result in no change to RV, 13% result in a decrease and 1% result in an increase to RV.
For Challenges, 51% result in no change to RV, 49% result in a decrease and 0% result in an increase to RV.
There are no resolved appeals yet for the 2026 list as at 30 June 2026.
1.2. CCA England cases raised against the 2023 rating list
Figure 3: Checks and Challenges in England against the 2023 rating list from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW23_1_1
Figure 3 shows that 340,670 Checks were registered in England since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026). Of these, 328,640 were resolved, and 12,040 remained outstanding.
Some of the resolved Checks will progress to Challenges and as such, 77,660 Challenges were registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026). Of these, 30,280 were resolved, 12,180 were marked incomplete (does not contain all the detail required in legislation) and 35,210 remained outstanding.
Figure 4: Checks against the England 2023 rating list by case status and month, 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England, Table EW23_3_2
In the latest quarter (April to June 2026), 1,600 Checks were registered, down from 127,880 the quarter before and 75,590 Checks were resolved, up from 56,870 the quarter before. There was a small spike in Checks registered in September 2023 relating to properties within the office sector. There is another small spike in Checks registered and resolved in October 2025 relating to properties within the retail sector. The large spike in Checks registered and resolved from January to March 2026 is a result of an increase in the number of customers submitting Checks prior to the 2023 list closure on 31 March.
Figure 5: Challenges against the England 2023 rating list by case status and month, 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England, Table EW23_3_2
In the latest quarter (April to June 2026), 18,490 Challenges were registered, up from 9,610 the quarter before and 7,890 Challenges were resolved, up from 5,300 the quarter before. The spike from April 2026 follows the Check spike in March 2026 caused by the closure of the 2023 list. Challenges take longer to clear as it is necessary to exchange and discuss evidence with ratepayers. There is a statutory deadline of 18 months to clear Challenge cases.
Figure 6: Resolved CCA cases by case type and outcome against the England 2023 NDR list, 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England, Table EW23_4_1
Figure 6 compares the proportion of resolved Check and Challenge cases which resulted in a rateable value (RV) increase, decrease, or no change.
For Checks, 75% result in no change to RV, 23% result in a decrease and 3% result in an increase to RV.
For Challenges, 42% result in no change to RV, 58% result in a decrease and just under 0.5% result in an increase to RV.
For Appeals, 48% result in no change to RV, 52% result in a decrease and a negligible number result in an increase to RV.
1.3. England cases raised against the 2017 rating list
The number of challenges outstanding for the 2017 list was 110 this quarter, down from 290 at the end of the previous quarter.
The number of appeals resolved this quarter for the 2017 list was 120 this quarter, down from 160 the previous quarter.
VTS is responsible for reporting outstanding appeals.
Outstanding appeals include those awaiting listing, re-listing, or decisions from the Valuation Tribunal which are outside of the VOA’s statutory responsibility, and also some highly complex cases relating to specialist properties where a longer time frame is necessary to settle the appeals.
2. CCA and non-CCA cases in Wales
2.1. CCA Wales cases raised against the 2026 list
Figure 7: Checks and Challenges in Wales against the 2026 rating list from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2026 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW26_1_1
Figure 7 shows that 630 Checks were registered since the start of the 2026 rating list (1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026). Of these, 220 were resolved, and 420 remained outstanding.
Some of the resolved Checks will progress to Challenge and as such, 100 Challenges were registered since the start of the 2026 rating list (1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026). Of these, less than 5 were resolved, 20 were marked incomplete, and 80 remained outstanding.
Figure 8: Resolved Checks by outcome against the Wales 2026 NDR list, 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2026 local rating list, Wales, Table EW26_4_1
Figure 8 compares the proportion of resolved Check and Challenge cases which resulted in a rateable value (RV) increase, decrease, or no change.
For Checks, 91% result in no change to RV, 9% result in a decrease and none result in an increase to RV.
There are currently too few challenges and appeals to include in the chart.
2.2. CCA Wales cases raised against the 2023 list
Figure 9: Checks and Challenges in Wales against the 2023 rating list from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW23_1_1
Figure 9 shows that 12,600 Checks were registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026). Of these, 12,340 were resolved, and 260 remained outstanding.
Some of the resolved Checks will progress to Challenge and as such, 2,840 Challenges were registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026). Of these, 1,200 were resolved, 470 were marked incomplete, and 1,170 remained outstanding.
Figure 10: Checks against the Wales 2023 rating list by case status and month, 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks against the 2023 local rating list, Wales, Table EW23_3_4
In the latest quarter (April to June 2026) 80 Checks were registered, down from 5,190 the quarter before and 3,370 checks were resolved, up from 2,080 the quarter before.
The spike in Checks registered and resolved from January to March 2026 is a result of an increase in the number of customers submitting Checks prior to the 2023 list closure on 31 March.
Figure 11: Challenges against the Wales 2023 rating list by case status and month, 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026
Source: Challenges against the 2023 local rating list, Wales, Table EW23_3_4
In the latest quarter (April to June 2026) 720 Challenges were registered, up from 410 the quarter before and 250 Challenges were resolved, up from 190 the quarter before. The spikes in April and June 2026 follow the spike in checks in March 2026 due to the closure of the 2023 list.
Figure 12: Resolved CCA cases by case type and outcome against the Wales 2023 NDR list, 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2026
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, Wales, Table EW23_4_1
Figure 12 compares the proportion of resolved Check and Challenge cases which resulted in a rateable value (RV) increase, decrease, or no change.
For Checks, 71% result in no change to RV, 26% result in a decrease and 3% result in an increase to RV.
For Challenges, 38% result in no change to RV, 62% result in a decrease and <0.5% result in an increase to RV.
For Appeals, 65% result in no change to RV, 35% result in a decrease and none result in an increase to RV.
2.3 Outstanding IPPs (Interested Person Proposals)
The number of IPPs outstanding for the Wales 2017 list at 30 June 2026 was 10, down from 20 at the end of the previous quarter. These include those awaiting listing, re-listing, or decisions from the Valuation Tribunal which are outside of the VO’s statutory responsibility, and also some highly complex cases relating to specialist properties where a longer time frame is necessary to settle the appeals.
3. Further Information
More information about this release can be found in the Background Information document.
More detailed information on the 2017 and 2023 local rating list is available at gov.uk/find-business-rates.
Further information on the area codes used in this can be found on the ONS website.
More information on statistics at the VO can be found on the statistics homepage.
Timings of future releases are regularly placed on the HMRC research and statistics calendar.
We will keep the format of this document under review to continue improving the presentation of our statistics, and welcome feedback from users on the value of the information provided in this commentary – please forward any comments to the statisticsvo@hmrc.gov.uk.