School fines for term-time holidays
Summarised from official government guidance · last checked 12 September 2026
Taking your child out of school in term time without the school's permission can bring a penalty notice. In England that is £80 per parent, per child, rising to £160 if you do not pay within 21 days. In Wales it is £60, rising to £120 after 28 days. Scotland and Northern Ireland handle absence through their education authorities rather than fixed fines.
England
£80 → £160
£80 per parent, per child, if paid within 21 days. £160 if paid within 28 days. After that, court.
Wales
£60 → £120
£60 within 28 days of the notice. £120 if paid between 28 and 42 days. After that, possible prosecution.
When a fine is triggered in England
Since August 2024 every school in England works to one national threshold: a penalty notice must be considered once a child reaches 10 sessions of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. A session is half a school day, so that is usually 5 days off. The sessions can be spread out, and the 10-week window can cross terms and even school years.
The local council decides when to issue the fine, so the process varies from area to area. Official guidance describes fines as a last resort, with schools expected to offer support to improve attendance first.
Each parent can receive at most 2 fines for the same child in a 3-year period, and the second is charged straight at £160. A third case in that window skips the fine and can go to court, where the penalty for the original absence can reach £2,500, a community order or up to 3 months in jail.
Can the school say yes to a holiday?
Head teachers can authorise leave in exceptional circumstances, and each application is decided by the school. The Department for Education's guidance is blunt about holidays: a holiday is generally not considered an exceptional circumstance. If you are weighing up cheaper flights against a fine, check your council's exact dates first on its school holidays page, because a day or two either side of the official break is exactly where families get caught.
Wales
Welsh councils issue fixed penalty notices of £60, rising to £120 if paid between 28 and 42 days, under Welsh Government guidance. Schools will not normally authorise a term-time holiday, though head teachers keep discretion over individual requests. The system is separate from England's, so the £80 and £160 figures do not apply in Wales.
Scotland
Scotland has no penalty notice system for school absence. Schools record term-time holidays as unauthorised absence, and where attendance breaks down the education authority can make an attendance order against the parent, with prosecution possible for continued breach. Scottish term dates also differ sharply from English ones, with returns in mid August, so check your council's page before booking anything.
Northern Ireland
Schools refer persistent absence to the Education Welfare Service, which starts with a home visit and support rather than a fine. Prosecution is a last resort where parents do not engage, and the courts can fine parents of children who are not attending regularly.
Other legal routes councils can use
- Parenting order: compulsory parenting classes plus conditions set by the court.
- Education supervision order: a court-appointed supervisor to support the child's attendance.
- School attendance order: issued when a council believes a child is not getting an education; parents have 15 days to prove the child is registered at a school or being educated at home.
This page summarises published government guidance as general information. For a decision about your own circumstances, talk to your school or council, whose contact details are on each of our council pages alongside the dates themselves, for example Hampshire, Birmingham and Glasgow.
Common questions
How much is the fine for taking your child out of school?
In England the penalty notice is £80 per parent, per child, if paid within 21 days, rising to £160 if paid within 28 days. In Wales it is £60 within 28 days, rising to £120 between 28 and 42 days. Scotland and Northern Ireland do not use penalty notices for absence.
How many days off school trigger a fine in England?
Schools must consider a penalty notice at 10 sessions of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. A session is half a day, so 10 sessions is usually 5 school days. The sessions do not have to be consecutive and the 10-week window can span terms or school years.
Is the fine per family or per parent?
Per parent, per child. Two parents taking two children out of school in England could face four separate £80 penalty notices, £320 in total at the lower rate.
Can a school ever authorise a term-time holiday?
Head teachers can grant leave in exceptional circumstances, and the school decides each application. Government guidance for England says a holiday is generally not an exceptional circumstance. Welsh schools apply their own discretion under Welsh Government rules.
What happens if you do not pay the fine?
In England, not paying within 28 days can lead to prosecution for the original absence. A court can impose a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or, in the most serious cases, a jail sentence of up to 3 months, and can add a parenting order.
Can you be fined twice for the same child?
Yes, and the second fine within 3 years is charged at £160 with no reduced rate. Since the 2024 to 2025 school year each parent can receive at most 2 fines for the same child in any 3-year period. A third case in that window goes to court instead of a fine.