If the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has not fixed your business rates valuation in Wales, the Valuation Tribunal for Wales (VTW) is the independent body that can — and since the 2023 rating list, you must lodge that appeal yourself rather than waiting for the VOA to send it. This guide sets out the full 2026 workflow: when the tribunal can hear you, the form you must complete, how hearings run, and the one deadline that decides everything.
- For 2023-list valuations you send the appeal form to the VTW yourself.
- Appeal within 4 months of the VOA’s challenge decision notice.
- The VTW charges no fee and cannot award costs against you.
- Three volunteer members usually hear the appeal, with a clerk on procedure.
- Keep paying your business rates until the decision arrives.
Why this matters
Wales adopted the Check, Challenge, Appeal process for the 2023 rating list, which took effect on 1 April 2023. Under the old system the VOA passed pre-2023 cases to the tribunal automatically; from 1 April 2023 every valuation issued on or after that date is yours to appeal. An error left unchallenged is charged for the life of the list. Appeal My Rates UK runs this route for business owners with Welsh properties, and the steps below are the same ones our surveyors work through on every instruction.
Before you start
The tribunal is the third stage, not a shortcut. Confirm each of these first:
- A completed VOA challenge. The VTW's own guidance is clear: contact the VOA first and give it the chance to resolve the matter. The tribunal will expect the check and challenge papers.
- The correct route for your list. Valuations made on or after 1 April 2023 require you to complete the appeal form yourself. Anything on a pre-2023 list is sent to the tribunal by the VOA automatically.
- A live deadline. For a decision you disagree with, appeal within 4 months of the VOA's challenge decision notice. If the VOA has not decided within 18 months of your challenge, you can appeal without a decision.
- Your evidence. The tribunal expects the parties to have agreed basic facts and disclosed everything relied on before the hearing.
Step 1: Close out the VOA stage
A challenge needs valid grounds — a matter of fact about the property, the basis of the valuation, or circumstances affecting the surrounding area. Submit your proposed rateable value with a supporting statement through your business rates valuation account, and keep every document you exchanged. The appeal is built from those papers.
The challenge has a backstop period of 18 months. If the VOA has still not issued a decision when it expires, the tribunal route opens without one.
Step 2: Get the appeal form and lodge it
For 2023-list valuations, download the Notice of Appeal form from the Valuation Tribunal for Wales website and send it to the tribunal. The VTW also runs an Online Appeal Submission portal for lodging appeals electronically. Attach the VOA's decision notice where you have one; where the case is a no-decision appeal, explain the timeline in your grounds.
Pre-2023 cases need no form — the VOA sends those to the tribunal itself.
Step 3: Prepare and exchange evidence
The VTW expects the parties to agree basic facts and disclose what will be relied on before the hearing. If the valuation officer or listing officer supports the assessment with sales or rental evidence, they must notify you at least 2 weeks before the hearing, and you may ask to inspect evidence on up to 4 comparable properties — and a similar number where they used more. Build your case from the check and challenge material:
- the lease, rent or licence figures relied on in the challenge
- floor areas and plans
- comparable properties on the rating list
- the VOA's decision notice and your supporting statement
Step 4: The hearing and the decision
Hearings are informal. Three volunteer members usually hear the appeal — two can hear it if everyone agrees — with a paid clerk advising on procedure and law. You may call witnesses, both sides question each other, and new evidence introduced at closing is usually disregarded. If neither side attends or submits written evidence, the tribunal can dismiss the appeal.
The tribunal usually reserves its decision and issues written reasons as soon as reasonably practicable. It can order the valuation officer or listing officer to alter the rating list, and the billing authority is notified of the change.
What it costs
The VTW is a free service: there is no fee to appeal and the tribunal cannot award costs — you meet only your own expenses of preparing and attending. The one exception to that protection lies further up: the tribunal has no power to award costs, but the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) can, and appeals from the VTW go there within 4 weeks of the decision notice.
Keep paying while you appeal
Payment continues until the tribunal's decision arrives. If the rateable value falls, the council recalculates the bill and repays the overpayment from the effective date. Non-payment leads to enforcement regardless of the appeal, so ask the council about payment arrangements rather than withholding.
Troubleshooting
- The VOA rejected your challenge. Check the grounds and resubmit before considering an appeal — the tribunal expects a completed challenge.
- The deadline has passed. Contact the tribunal clerk promptly; if the case is a no-decision appeal after 18 months, the window may still be open.
- New evidence has appeared. Usually too late for the appeal — use it to support a future material change submission instead.
- You want to settle. You can still settle with the VOA before the hearing; notify the clerk as soon as you do, or withdraw in writing at any stage before the hearing date.
Where Appeal My Rates UK fits
The tribunal is free and designed for unrepresented ratepayers. What a specialist adds is the valuation argument: grounds that survive scrutiny, comparables that support the proposed figure, and evidence exchanged on time. Appeal My Rates UK assesses every case free of charge and confirms the fee basis in writing before any work starts — most instructions are no win, no fee, while some carry a fixed fee. Tell us about your case and we will fight it for you.
Let us handle your case
Free assessment of your Welsh appeal position, with the fee basis confirmed in writing before anything starts.
FAQ
Do I need to fill in an appeal form for the Valuation Tribunal for Wales?
Yes, for valuations made on or after 1 April 2023 you complete the Notice of Appeal form yourself and send it to the tribunal. Pre-2023 cases are sent to the tribunal by the VOA automatically.
How long do I have to appeal a VOA challenge decision in Wales?
Four months from the date of the challenge decision notice. If the VOA has not decided within 18 months of your challenge, you can appeal without a decision.
Does the Valuation Tribunal for Wales charge a fee?
No. The tribunal is free to use and cannot award costs against you, though the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) can when you appeal further.
Who hears a business rates appeal in Wales?
Usually three volunteer tribunal members, with a paid clerk advising on procedure and law. Two members can hear the appeal if everyone agrees.
Do I keep paying business rates during the appeal?
Yes. Payment continues until the tribunal’s decision, and the council repays any overpayment if the rateable value is reduced.
Can I give the tribunal new evidence at the hearing?
Usually not. Evidence introduced at closing may be disregarded, so exchange everything with the valuation officer or listing officer before the hearing.
Where can I appeal after the Valuation Tribunal for Wales decides?
To the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), within four weeks of the decision notice, if you appeared in person or were represented. The Upper Tribunal can award costs.
One last thing
The form requirement is the trap for 2023-list properties: ratepayers who experienced the old automatic referral wait for the VOA to act, and the 4-month window closes while they do. The day a challenge decision lands, download the Notice of Appeal form — or start it online — and diarise the deadline.
Related guides
- How long does a business rates appeal take?
- Can a business rates appeal be rejected?
- Can a business rates reduction company attend a tribunal hearing?
- Business rate help in 2026: your options compared
