How Much Parents Can Be Fined for Term-Time Holidays

It’s no secret the average cost of a family holiday abroad can be eye-watering.

In 2015, the average family of four spent around £3,000 on a nine-night holiday, according to ONS data analysed by NimbleFins.

Fast forward to 2026 and the average nine-night holiday cost for a family of four is nearer £4,000. This figure can climb up depending on where you’re headed, how you choose to fly, where you’ll be staying and, of course, when you go.

Holiday costs surge dramatically when the kids are off school. “For a family of four, the price per person rises by an average of 9%,” claims Go Compare.

It’s perhaps no surprise then that almost half (45%) of British parents have taken their child out of school for a holiday during term time.

A YouGov poll found lower costs are the biggest motivator, with 53% citing cheaper travel and 42% citing cheaper accommodation as reasons for taking term-time holidays.

Just over a third (36% of) parents say they would seek school approval for a term-time holiday, but travel regardless and accept the risk of a fine.

But it turns out there are only a certain number of times you can do this in a three-year period before more serious legal action is taken.

Parents can face fines if they take their children (ages five and up) out of school for a holiday during term time.

Parents are encouraged to write to their school’s headteacher to request permission to take them out of school for a period of time – however their term-time trip is still likely to be marked down as unauthorised absence unless there are “exceptional circumstances”.

UK government guidance states: “Generally, the DfE [Department for Education] does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation to be an exceptional circumstance.”

Parents might face a fine if a child’s absence is classed as ‘unauthorised’.

All schools are “required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons”, reads the guidance. A full day at school – morning and afternoon – is considered two sessions.

A child’s previous attendance counts, too. So, if they’ve had unauthorised absences previously, even if they didn’t go on holiday, these also count towards the five-day tipping point where a fine would be considered.

According to the UK government, 93% of fines issued in 2024-25 were for unauthorised term-time holidays.

The fines are issued per parent, per child – so they can soon add up.

If children are off for 5+ days and it’s deemed unauthorised, each parent can be fined £80 (if paid in 21 days), which then rises to £160 (if paid in 28 days). If the fine isn’t paid during this timeframe, parents may be prosecuted.

So, theoretically, if a family of five went away and three children were taken out of school, each parent could be fined £80 per child. That would be £240 per parent and £480 as a whole family (and that’s if it’s paid within 21 days).

If a parent receives another fine for the same child within a three-year period, they are automatically fined £160.

You can receive up to two fines within a three-year period.

But once that limit has been hit, if you take them out for another unauthorised term-time holiday, you could get a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or a jail sentence up to three months.