ARC Costs recently assisted in a case in which they were required to make an application for a final costs certificate as the paying party refused to pay the costs outstanding to the receiving party.

CPR 47.17: Final Costs Certificates

The general rules for Final Costs Certificates are dealt with under part 47.17 of the Civil Procedure Rules and state the following:

“47.17

(1) In this rule a ‘completed bill’ means a bill calculated to show the amount due following the detailed assessment of the costs.

(2) The period for filing the completed bill is 14 days after the end of the detailed assessment hearing.

(3) When a completed bill is filed the court will issue a final costs certificate and serve it on the parties to the detailed assessment proceedings.

(4) Paragraph (3) is subject to any order made by the court that a certificate is not to be issued until other costs have been paid.

(5) A final costs certificate will include an order to pay the costs to which it relates, unless the court orders otherwise.

(Practice Direction 47 deals with the form of a final costs certificate.)

(6) Where the court issues a final costs certificate in detailed assessment proceedings pursuant to an order under section 194(3) of the 2007 Act, the receiving party must send a copy of the final costs certificate to the prescribed charity.”

What is a Final Costs Certificate?

A Final Costs Certificate is a document issued under part 47.17 of the Civil Procedure Rules in England and Wales. It specifies the agreed or assessed amount of costs owed to each party involved in a case and includes an enforceable order for payment.

Once a Bill of Costs or costs agreement is filed, the Court will issue a Final Costs Certificate to all parties involved in the detailed assessment process.

The paying party is required to make payment for the costs mentioned in the certificate within 14 days. If a specific date is stated on the certificate, the costs must be paid by that specified date.

The procedure to obtain a Final Costs Certificate is outlined in CPR 47 and Practice Direction 47. The application for the certificate must be submitted in the court where the Detailed Assessment proceedings occurred, typically the County Court or High Court.

Under CPR 47.10:

“(1) If the paying party and the receiving party agree the amount of costs, either party may apply for a costs certificate (either interim or final) in the amount agreed…

(2) An application for a certificate under paragraph (1) must be made to the court which would be the venue for detailed assessment proceedings under rule 47.4.”

In circumstances where the other side refuse to pay the costs payable in a timely fashion, an application can be made by consent, or on notice if consent cannot be obtained, for a costs order (the Final Costs Certificate), which once received can then be enforced. 

The receiving party should inform the paying party of their intention to apply for a Final Costs Certificate. This step is taken to confirm the agreement and to pursue enforcement if the payment remains outstanding.

If the paying party still fails to make the payment and does not respond to the notification, the receiving party can proceed with an application for a Final Costs Certificate using a CPR 23 application.

When making the application, the receiving party should request an order for the agreed amount, along with interest calculated from the date when the costs were originally due. Additionally, they can seek reimbursement for the costs incurred during the application process.

Final Costs Certificate case study

ARC Costs recently assisted on a case where an application for a final costs certificate was required due to the non-payment of a proportion of agreed costs.

Costs were agreed in the sum of £33,000.00 on 3rd February 2023. The Defendant made an interim payment of £30,000.00 prior to this date, which left a sum of £3,000.00 outstanding.

Despite several chasers, this £3000 payment was not forthcoming. ARC costs put the Defendant on notice on 12th April 2023 that an application for a Final Costs Certificate would be made.

In spite of this notice, and the threat of the application, the Defendant did not pay the outstanding balance and ARC made their application to the court a Final Costs Certificate on 10th May 2023, enclosing a N260 costs schedule outlining the costs of the same.

The matter was already listed for a remote hearing on 17th May 2023, and the Claimant wanted to use this hearing to obtain a Final Costs Certificate along with the costs of the same.

ARC costs were preparing for the remote hearing, and an hour before the hearing, the Defendant informed the Claimant that the outstanding payment had been paid, and suggested for the hearing to be adjourned via a Consent Order with costs of the Final Costs Certificate to be assessed if not agreed.

ARC Costs contacted the solicitor client to confirm that the outstanding payment had been received and this was confirmed by the client.

The Defendant sent the draft Consent Order half an hour before the hearing was due to begin. Due to the lack of time, ARC Costs attended the remote hearing to inform the District Judge that the parties had agreed to adjourn the hearing and costs of the application are to be paid by the Defendant. A Consent Order with the settlement terms would be sent to the Court later that morning.

The draft Consent Order was agreed and signed by the parties, thereafter it was sent to the Court by the Defendant.

How Can ARC Costs Assist?

The costs Costs Draftsmen and Costs Lawyers at ARC Costs are highly experienced in the recovery of legal costs.

We can assist in the enforcement of agreed costs by contacting the paying party in an attempt to obtain agreed costs, and thereafter making an application for a final costs certificate, if the other side refuse to pay.

We can also assist in the recovery of your costs at detailed assessment. We can assist in the drafting of your bills of costs, points of dispute and replies to points of dispute. If an agreement cannot be reached as to costs, we can further assist by providing representation at detailed and porvisional assessment hearings at Court.

If you require any free initial advice, or our assistance with regards to any aspect of costs, please email us at info@arccosts.co.uk, or contact us via the Contact Us page and one of the team will get in touch on the same working day.

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