Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Costs definition

What does Costs mean? In litigation, costs are the legal fees, disbursements, court fees and VAT incurred in bringing, defending or appealing a claim, and the sums a court or tribunal may order one party to pay another for those liabilities. The concept is governed by procedural rules and case law rather than a single statutory definition: England and Wales (CPR 44–47), Northern Ireland (RCJ Ord 62), Scotland (where the equivalent term is expenses), and Ireland (Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 and the Legal Costs Adjudicators). The general approach is broadly consistent, subject to local terminology and procedure. Typical features include the discretionary rule...

Guideline Hourly Rates (England and Wales): application in summary and detailed assessment, London bands, uplifts/departures, in-house and solicitor advocates, counsel and LIP rates, with SPPI indexation from 2026

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Practice notes

Guideline Hourly Rates (GHR) for civil and commercial matters

This Practice Note reviews the Guideline Hourly Rates (GHR) applicable to civil and commercial work. On a Summary assessment, the court judges what Costs a party may recover by weighing solicitors' charge-out rates alongside the GHR. The GHR were increased for inflation with effect from 1 January 2026 in line with the Services Producer Price Index (SPPI), and will thereafter be adjusted each year in accordance with SPPI. In routine practice, the courts also turn to the GHR when deciding whether costs are reasonable on a Detailed assessment. This Practice Note explains how to interpret the bands A-D, which are determined by the lawyer’s location, qualifications and experience, and it offers guidance to aid understanding of the rates. authorities demonstrate the extent to which the courts exercise a measure of flexibility when applying the GHR. The Note further considers the costs of drafting solicitor witness statements, and identifies the hourly rate recoverable by a litigant in person (LIP), providing clarity on what may properly be claimed...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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