Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Detailed assessment definition

What does Detailed assessment mean? The court process for calculating how much one party must pay another after a costs order, by scrutinising a bill of costs and allowing only costs that are reasonably incurred and proportionate. In England and Wales, detailed assessment is a formal procedure under the Civil Procedure Rules (notably CPR Part 47 and associated Practice Directions). It commonly follows an inter partes costs order or a solicitor–client costs challenge. The receiving party serves a bill of costs; the paying party serves points of dispute; replies may follow. A costs judge or district judge then assesses the items (often provisionally on the...

Costs of detailed assessment under CPR 47: recovery, departures, interest, pro bono, Part 36, ADR, settlement, non-payment and discontinuance (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

Recovering the Costs of a Detailed assessment

Following a detailed assessment, the Receiving party is entitled to recover the costs of the detailed assessment proceedings (CPR 47.20(1)) as a general rule. There are, however, two clear exceptions:

where any Act, any of the rules in the CPR, or any relevant practice direction provides otherwise; or
where the court makes some other order.

Any such variation may apply to all, or only a proportion, of the costs of the detailed assessment proceedings. When addressing the question of costs connected with the detailed assessment, the court will typically summarily assess those costs at the conclusion of the proceedings in question (CPR 47.20(5)).

In some cases, costs may nonetheless be incurred after the detailed assessment has concluded. The issue of whether such later costs are recoverable was considered in Bloomsbury Law Solicitors v Macpherson (2017), an appeal heard by Warby J sitting with an assessor. In allowing this aspect of the appeal, he held that the timing of the detailed assessment cannot by itself be a sufficient test of recoverability, as costs may properly be incurred after the judge gives their final decision—for example, drawing up an order—where such costs are recoverable...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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