Free N258A, N258B and N258C Builder

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

Fill in the official requests for detailed assessment of legal aid only costs, of costs out of a fund such as a Court of Protection deputy’s, and for a Solicitors Act hearing: the right words struck through, the fee, the deadline and the route checked. From DMD Costs, law costs draftsmen in Westhoughton, Bolton.

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The official HMCTS forms
Fees from 13 July 2026
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The builder applies CPR 46.9, 46.10, 47.18 and 47.19, Practice Directions 46 and 47 and the court fees from 13 July 2026, as they stood on 21 October 2026, to the official forms N258A (04.13), N258B (04.13) and N258C (7.00). Check every box against your file before filing. It is a guide, not legal advice.

Key points

DMD Costs’ N258A, N258B and N258C builder is a free online tool that fills in the official HMCTS forms requesting a detailed assessment, with the right words struck through, the court fee and the deadline, and downloads them as PDFs ready to sign and file.
It is completely free, with no sign-up, and runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent to DMD Costs.
N258A requests the assessment of costs payable only by the Legal Aid Agency (CPR 47.18; PD 47 para 17), within 3 months of the right arising; where another party was ordered to pay costs, the route is a notice of commencement and N258 unless those costs have been agreed and paid, and then the Legal Aid Agency may expect to assess the rest itself.
N258B requests the assessment of costs payable out of a fund, such as a Court of Protection deputy’s costs or a trust (CPR 47.19; PD 47 para 18); Court of Protection bills pay fee 6.1, £102, whatever their size.
N258C requests a hearing in a Solicitors Act assessment, once the breakdown and the points of dispute have been served, within 3 months of the order (CPR 46.10; PD 46 para 6).

How to use the builder

Choose the form. N258A for legal aid only costs, N258B for costs out of a fund, N258C for a Solicitors Act hearing.
Enter the claim. The court, the claim number, the parties, the date the right arose and the bill total.
Answer the route checks. The builder flags the wrong form, the Legal Aid Agency route, the Court of Protection limits and missing steps.
Tick what you enclose. Each document filed with the request, as the form lists them.
Sign and download. Choose who signs: the builder strikes through the words that do not apply. Download, check, sign and file.

Which form?

N258 is the ordinary request for detailed assessment between the parties. N258A is for legal aid only costs: costs payable by the Legal Aid Agency alone, requested by the legally aided person’s solicitor within 3 months of the right arising (CPR 47.18). N258B is for costs payable out of a fund other than legal aid, such as a deputy’s, trustee’s or personal representative’s costs (CPR 47.19). N258C asks for a hearing in an assessment of a solicitor’s bill to its own client ordered under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 (CPR 46.10). Costs to be deducted from a child’s or protected party’s damages go on N258, not N258B.

Between the parties: the N252, N254 and N258 builders
Fees and dates: the civil court fees calculator and the detailed assessment deadline calculator
Every free tool in one place: costs help for solicitors

Sources

Form N258A, Form N258B and Form N258C (HMCTS, GOV.UK)
CPR Part 47 (rules 47.18 and 47.19) and Practice Direction 47 (paras 4, 13.2, 17 and 18)
CPR Part 46 (rules 46.9 and 46.10) and Practice Direction 46 (para 6)
The Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Schedule 1, fees 5.1, 5.2 and 6.1, as substituted from 13 July 2026
The Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008, Schedule 1 (fees 9.1 and 9.2)
Submit a bill of costs for a Court of Protection matter at the SCCO (GOV.UK, June 2026) and the SCCO Guide 2025, section 27
The Legal Aid Agency’s Civil Finance Electronic Handbook, section 13.2, and the 2024 Standard Civil Contract Specification, paras 6.45 and 6.46
The Senior Costs Judge’s Practice Note on deductions from a child’s or protected party’s damages, December 2021

Frequently asked questions

N258A is for a legally aided party’s costs payable only by the Legal Aid Agency (CPR 47.18). Where another party has been ordered to pay costs, detailed assessment starts with a notice of commencement and the request is made on N258, with the legal aid documents enclosed (PD 47 para 13.2(l)), unless those costs have been agreed and paid; then the Legal Aid Agency may expect to assess the legal aid only costs itself (2024 Standard Civil Contract Specification para 6.45).

No. Bills of £2,500 or less, fixed fees, claims where proceedings were never issued and cases that ended in the magistrates’ court are assessed by the Legal Aid Agency, claimed on CCMS. Above £2,500, where the case ended before a District Judge or higher, the provider can choose the court or the Agency.

Fee 5.1, £296 in civil proceedings from 13 July 2026, where no other party is ordered to pay the costs. In family proceedings it is fee 9.1 of the Family Proceedings Fees Order, £74.

A request for detailed assessment of costs payable out of a fund other than legal aid, such as costs of a Court of Protection deputy, a trustee or a personal representative (CPR 47.19; PD 47 para 18). The court provisionally assesses the bill on paper, and you have 14 days to ask for a hearing (PD 47 para 18.6).

Form N258B with fee 6.1, £102. A professional deputy files on CE-File, choosing the band on profit costs alone without VAT or disbursements, and does not e-file the supporting papers. The SCCO cannot assess general management costs where P’s net assets are below £20,300 without a specific order, or costs after P’s death.

Once the solicitor has served a breakdown of costs and the client has served points of dispute, within 3 months of the order for assessment unless the order says otherwise (CPR 46.10(5)). The request must include a time estimate (PD 46 para 6.11). The fee is fee 5.2, by the amount of the bill.

In the SCCO and the other CE-File courts, a legally represented party must use CE-File (PD 5C para 2.1). Requests in the London County Court hearing centres listed in PD 47 para 4.2 are filed in the SCCO.

The forms have not been updated: receivers became deputies under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and the Supreme Court Costs Office was renamed the Senior Courts Costs Office in 2009. The forms are still the current editions on GOV.UK.

Yes. It is completely free, with no sign-up, no paywall and no limit. It fills in the official HMCTS forms in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to DMD Costs.

Costs between the parties to assess?

We work for claimant solicitor firms: we draft the bill, answer the Points of Dispute and negotiate the costs to settlement. The fee is fixed and agreed before any work begins.

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