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What Does This Costs Order Mean?

Led by Diellza Nika Hyseni and Mentor Nika · Updated 21 October 2026

Paste a costs order, or pick the wording, and see what it means: who ends up paying under each way the case can end, whether anything is payable now, and how the amount is decided. Costs in the case, costs reserved, costs thrown away, indemnity costs and wasted costs, from DMD Costs, law costs draftsmen in Westhoughton, Bolton.

  • Free, with no sign-up
  • Civil, family and tribunal
  • Every answer sourced
  • Nothing leaves your browser

Paste the costs part of the order, or pick the wording from the list. What it means, who ends up paying and when appear as you type. Nothing leaves your browser.

The order
How do you want to enter it?
Only the words are read, here in your browser. Names and sums are not needed: leave them out if you prefer.
The detail
Who has the benefit of the order?
What kind of proceedings?
For the date a stated sum is due.
Special cases

The decoder applies CPR Parts 36, 38, 44, 46 and 47, Practice Directions 44, 46 and 47, FPR Part 28 and the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 as they stood on 21 October 2026. Always read the order itself: the court can make any order it thinks just. It is a guide, not legal advice, and it never puts a figure on costs.

Key points

  • DMD Costs’ costs order decoder is a free online tool that explains what an order about costs means: paste the order, or pick the wording, and it shows who ends up paying under each way the case can end, whether anything is payable now, and how the amount is decided.
  • It is completely free, with no sign-up, and runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent to DMD Costs. It explains orders and never puts a figure on the costs.
  • “Costs” or “costs in any event” means the party gets its costs of that part whatever happens later; “costs in the case” means whoever is awarded costs at the end gets them; “costs reserved” defers the decision, and becomes costs in the case if no later order is made (PD 44 para 4.2).
  • A sum stated in the order is payable within 14 days of the date the order was made, unless the order says otherwise (CPR 44.7); costs left to detailed assessment normally wait until the whole case ends (CPR 47.1), though a payment on account can be ordered (CPR 44.2(8)).
  • An order that says nothing about costs generally means no one gets any (CPR 44.10(1)), except where it grants permission to appeal or for judicial review, or was made without notice, when it counts as “applicant’s costs in the case” (CPR 44.10(2)).
  • Wasted costs are paid by a lawyer personally (Senior Courts Act 1981 s.51(6); CPR 46.8); costs thrown away are paid between the parties.

How to use the costs order decoder

  1. Enter the order. Paste the words of the order about costs, or pick the wording from the list.
  2. Add the detail. Optionally, say who has the benefit of the order, what kind of proceedings it is, and the date it was made.
  3. Tick any special case. A personal injury claim, legal aid, a child or protected party, a litigant in person, fixed recoverable costs or the small claims track.
  4. Read the answer. See what each order in it means, who recovers the costs under each way the case can end, when anything is payable and how the amount is decided, with the rules.

The costs orders in Practice Direction 44

Practice Direction 44 sets out the general effect of the costs orders courts commonly make before trial. The table is not an exhaustive list of the orders the court may make (PD 44 para 4.2). It is reproduced here as published, including two slips in the fourth row: the courts read that row as meaning the named party gets its costs of that part if it wins at the end, and does not pay the other side’s costs of that part if it loses.

TermEffect
Costs
Costs in any event		The party in whose favour the order is made is entitled to that party’s costs in respect of the part of the proceedings to which the order relates, whatever other costs orders are made in the proceedings.
Costs in the case
Costs in the application		The party in whose favour the court makes an order for costs at the end of the proceedings is entitled to that party’s costs of the part of the proceedings to which the order relates.
Costs reservedThe decision about costs is deferred to a later occasion, but if no later order is made the costs will be costs in the case.
Claimant’s/Defendant’s costs in case/applicationIf the party in whose favour the costs order is made is awarded costs at the end the proceedings, that party is entitled to that party’s costs of the part of the proceedings to which the order relates. If any other party is awarded costs at the end of the proceedings, the party in whose favour the final costs order is made is not liable to pay the costs of any other party in respect of the part of the proceedings to which the order relates.
Costs thrown awayWhere, for example, a judgment or order is set aside, the party in whose favour the costs order is made is entitled to the costs which have been incurred as a consequence. This includes the costs of preparing for and attending any hearing at which the judgment or order which has been set aside was made; preparing for and attending any hearing to set aside the judgment or order in question; preparing for and attending any hearing at which the court orders the proceedings or the part in question to be adjourned; any steps taken to enforce a judgment or order which has subsequently been set aside.
Costs of and caused byWhere, for example, the court makes this order on an application to amend a statement of case, the party in whose favour the costs order is made is entitled to the costs of preparing for and attending the application and the costs of any consequential amendment to his own statement of case.
Costs here and belowThe party in whose favour the costs order is made is entitled not only to that party’s costs in respect of the proceedings in which the court makes the order but also to that party’s costs of the proceedings in any lower court. In the case of an appeal from a Divisional Court the party is not entitled to any costs incurred in any court below the Divisional Court.
No order as to costs
Each party to pay own costs		Each party is to bear that party’s own costs of the part of the proceedings to which the order relates whatever costs order the court makes at the end of the proceedings.

“Costs” or “costs in the case”?

The commonest misreading. A bare “costs” order, “claimant’s costs”, or “the defendant shall pay the claimant’s costs of the application” is the first row of the table: the claimant gets those costs whatever happens later. Only the words “in the case” or “in the application” make the order depend on who wins at the end. And “costs reserved” is not costs in the case straight away: the decision is put off, and only if no later order is made do the costs follow the final result.

Payable now, or at the end?

A sum stated in the order, whether assessed at the hearing or agreed, is payable within 14 days of the date the order was made, unless the order gives another date (CPR 44.7(1)(a), (c); CPR 40.7(1)). Costs left to detailed assessment normally wait until the whole case ends (CPR 47.1), and are payable 14 days after the costs certificate (CPR 44.7(1)(b)); the court will order a reasonable sum on account unless there is good reason not to (CPR 44.2(8)). Costs in the case and the party-named versions are not payable during the case; reserved costs are not payable until a later order deals with them, which may come before the end. At the end of a fast track trial, or after any other hearing lasting no more than a day, the judge normally assesses the costs there and then (PD 44 para 9.2), on a statement of costs filed and served at least 24 hours before the hearing, or at least 2 days before a fast track trial (para 9.5(4)): prepare it with the free N260 builder.

When the order says nothing about costs

The general rule is that no party is entitled to costs in relation to that order (CPR 44.10(1)). Orders granting permission to appeal or permission to apply for judicial review, and orders made on a without-notice application, are treated as including “applicant’s costs in the case”, and any party affected can apply to vary that (CPR 44.10(2), (3)). Whether the court can deal with costs later is unsettled: in family proceedings the Court of Appeal has held that it keeps a discretion to do so (Timokhina v Timokhin [2019] EWCA Civ 1284 at [45]–[52]), while in a civil appeal the High Court held that a judge had no power to award costs under orders that were silent about them (Kapoor v Johal [2024] EWHC 551 (KB)at [68]–[73]). If costs were argued or meant to be dealt with, ask the court promptly to vary the order (CPR 3.1(7)), or appeal it.

Orders the rules make for you

Some costs orders are deemed, on the standard basis, without the court making them (CPR 44.9): on accepting a Part 36 offer within the relevant period, the claimant’s costs up to the date notice of acceptance was served (CPR 36.13(1)); on discontinuance, the defendant’s costs up to service of the notice, unless the court orders otherwise (CPR 38.6(1)); on a claim struck out for an unpaid fee, the defendant’s costs; and where a fee cheque is dishonoured and not replaced, the costs of the other parties, payable by the party whose claim or defence is struck out (CPR 3.7B). Interest runs from the date of the event (CPR 44.9(4)), and a payment on account can be ordered (Global Assets v Grandlane [2019] EWCA Civ 1764). Work out an offer with the Part 36 calculator, discontinue with the N279 builder, and start detailed assessment with the N252 builder.

Thrown away, wasted and non-party costs

Costs thrown away are paid between the parties. A wasted costs order is made against a lawyer or other representative personally, for costs wasted by an improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission (Senior Courts Act 1981 s.51(6)–(7); CPR 46.8). The court asks whether the conduct was improper, unreasonable or negligent, whether it caused unnecessary costs, and whether it is just to order the lawyer to pay (PD 46 para 5.5), and gives the lawyer a reasonable opportunity to respond first (CPR 46.8(2)). A non-party costs order, against a funder or director for example, is exceptional: the person must be joined for costs purposes (CPR 46.2) and the order must be just (Tescher v Direct Accident Management [2025] EWCA Civ 733).

Family proceedings and employment tribunals

The PD 44 table applies in family proceedings (PD 28A para 2.4), but there is no “loser pays” rule: the court may make such order as to costs as it thinks just (FPR 28.1, 28.2). In financial remedy proceedings the general rule is no order as to costs, the court can order costs for a party’s conduct, and only open offers count (FPR 28.3). Employment tribunals are not “loser pays” either: a costs or preparation time order is made only on the grounds in rule 74 of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024, and an application must be made within 28 days after the final judgment was sent to the parties (rule 75(1)).

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Whoever is awarded costs at the end of the case also gets its costs of the part the order covers, such as an interim application. Nothing is payable now, and the costs are not assessed now; they are assessed with the rest of the winner’s costs at the end. If no one is awarded costs at the end, each side bears its own costs of that part (PD 44 para 4.2).
Costs reserved puts off the decision about those costs to a later occasion, so the court can decide them then, for example at trial. Only if no later order is made do they become costs in the case. Costs in the case is decided now: the costs follow whoever is awarded costs at the end (PD 44 para 4.2).
If the claimant is awarded costs at the end, it also gets its costs of that part. If the defendant is awarded costs at the end, the claimant does not have to pay the defendant’s costs of that part, and bears its own. The PD 44 wording of this row is garbled; this is how the order is applied in practice: see, for example, ACD v Overall [2012] EWHC 100 (TCC) at [15].
No. A bare “claimant’s costs”, or “the defendant shall pay the claimant’s costs of the application”, is a costs order in any event: the claimant gets those costs whatever happens later. Only the words “in the case” or “in the application” make it depend on the final result (PD 44 para 4.2).
Each party bears its own costs of the part of the case the order covers, whatever order is made at the end (PD 44 para 4.2). It is not the same as an order that says nothing about costs, which has exceptions under CPR 44.10(2).
The costs incurred because a judgment or order was set aside, or a hearing adjourned: the hearing where the judgment was made, the hearing to set it aside, any adjourned hearing and any enforcement steps (PD 44 para 4.2). They are paid between the parties. Wasted costs are different: they are paid by a lawyer personally (Senior Courts Act 1981 s.51(6)).
Costs assessed on the indemnity basis are not subject to the proportionality test, and any doubt about whether they were reasonably incurred or reasonable in amount is resolved in favour of the receiving party (CPR 44.3(3)). Unreasonable costs are still disallowed. On the standard basis, costs must also be proportionate and doubts favour the paying party. An order that does not say which basis is on the standard basis (CPR 44.3(4)).
Within 14 days of the date of the judgment or order if it states the amount, or of the costs certificate if the amount is decided by detailed assessment, unless the court specifies another date (CPR 44.7). The 14 days run from the date the order was made, not when it was sealed or served (CPR 40.7(1)).
As a general rule, no party is entitled to costs in relation to that order (CPR 44.10(1)). Orders granting permission to appeal or permission to apply for judicial review, and orders made on a without-notice application, are treated as including “applicant’s costs in the case” (CPR 44.10(2)). In family proceedings those deemed orders do not apply (FPR 28.2).
An order that a lawyer or other representative personally pays, or loses, costs wasted by their improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission (Senior Courts Act 1981 s.51(6)–(7); CPR 46.8). The court asks whether the conduct was improper, unreasonable or negligent, whether it caused unnecessary costs, and whether it is just to order the lawyer to pay (PD 46 para 5.5).
The PD 44 table applies in family proceedings (PD 28A para 2.4), but there is no “loser pays” rule (FPR 28.2), and in financial remedy proceedings the general rule is no order as to costs, with only open offers counting (FPR 28.3).
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