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Solicitors Act Assessment Checker

Led by Diellza Nika Hyseni and Mentor Nika · Updated 24 October 2026

Can a solicitor’s bill still be assessed? Check the time limits in section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974 from the dates of delivery, payment and judgment: assessment as of right, the court’s discretion, special circumstances or no power at all. Then the one-fifth rule and the CPR 46.10 timetable. For clients and for firms. From DMD Costs, law costs draftsmen in Westhoughton, Bolton.

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  • For clients and firms
  • Every rule sourced
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Give the dates you know. The checker shows which part of s.70 applies on the day the claim would be issued, the dates that matter, the one-fifth rule and the timetable after the order. It never says whether special circumstances exist. Nothing leaves your browser.

Who would apply
Firms checking whether a client can still challenge a bill: choose the client.
The bill
Is it a final bill, signed and properly delivered (a statute bill)?

Signed by the solicitor or an authorised employee, or sent with a signed letter that refers to it (an electronic signature counts); delivered by hand, by post, or by email where the client agreed to receive bills that way; and final for the work it covers. An interim bill can be a statute bill; a request for money on account is not, and nor is an invoice that can be topped up later, such as a discounted fee under a conditional fee agreement.

How was it delivered?
Payment and judgment
Has the bill been paid?
Has the firm obtained judgment for the costs in the bill?
The application
Leave blank for today.
The one-fifth rule
The total the bill demands, paid or not. Several bills under one order: ordinarily measured together (Wilsons v Bentine at [62] and [64]).
Same basis as the bill: both with VAT, or both without.
After the order

The checker applies Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974, CPR 46.9, 46.10 and 67.3, their practice directions and the cases named, as they stood on 24 October 2026. It shows the route and the dates; the court decides whether special circumstances exist, what terms to impose and what the bill should be. It is a guide, not legal advice.

Key points

  • DMD Costs’ Solicitors Act assessment checker is a free online tool that works out whether a solicitor’s bill can still be assessed under section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974, from the dates of delivery, payment, judgment and the application.
  • It is completely free, with no sign-up, and runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent to DMD Costs. It works for the client and for the firm, and never says whether special circumstances exist: that is for the court.
  • Within one month of delivery of a statute bill, the client is entitled to an order for assessment; up to 12 months, the court may order it if the bill is unpaid and there is no judgment (s.70(1) and (2)).
  • After 12 months from delivery, after judgment, or after payment, an order needs special circumstances; more than 12 months after payment there is no power to order assessment on the client’s application (s.70(3) and (4)).
  • A bill emailed to a client who agreed to receive bills that way is treated as delivered on the first working day after it was sent, unless the contrary is proved (s.69(2F)).
  • Fees taken from money held for the client count as payment only where the client agreed the amount taken for the bill (Oakwood Solicitors Ltd v Menzies [2024] UKSC 34 at [71]–[72]), and a part payment is not payment of the bill (Rippon Patel and French LLP v Mowlam [2020] EWHC 1079 (QB) at [27]).
  • If the bill is reduced by one fifth or more, the solicitor normally pays the costs of the assessment; otherwise the client does (s.70(9)). The amount of the bill is the total it demands, paid or not (Karatysz v SGI Legal LLP [2022] EWCA Civ 1388 at [49]).

How to use the Solicitors Act assessment checker

  1. Say who would apply. The client, the firm that sent the bill, someone else who paid it, or a beneficiary of an estate or trust that paid it.
  2. Describe the bill. Whether it is a statute bill, how it was delivered and when; an emailed bill moves to the next working day under s.69(2F).
  3. Add payment and judgment. Whether, how and when the bill was paid, and whether the firm has judgment for it.
  4. Give the application date. The day the claim for assessment would be issued, or leave it blank for today.
  5. Read the answer. The route under s.70 with the Act’s words, the key dates, and, if you add figures and an order date, the one-fifth rule and the CPR 46.10 timetable.

The time limits at a glance

Section 70 sets a graduated scheme: the later the client applies, the harder it gets, and payment closes the door after 12 months (Oakwood Solicitors Ltd v Menzies [2024] UKSC 34 at [2]–[3]; Kenig v Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP [2024] EWCA Civ 15 at [8]).

When the client appliesWhat the court can doThe Act
Within one month of deliveryMust order assessment, with no payment into court, and no action on the bill until it is completed. Payment or judgment makes no difference.s.70(1)
After one month, within 12 months of delivery, the bill unpaid and no judgment for itMay order assessment, on such terms as it thinks fit (not terms about the costs of the assessment)s.70(2)
More than 12 months after delivery, or after judgment for the costs, or after the bill is paid in full (but within 12 months of payment)Only in special circumstances; any order may include terms about the costs of the assessments.70(3)
More than 12 months after the bill is paid in fullNo power to order assessment on the client’s application, and no inherent power either (Harrison v Tew [1990] 2 AC 523)s.70(4)

The months are calendar months, ending on the corresponding date, or on the last day of the month where there is none (Interpretation Act 1978, Sch 1; Dodds v Walker [1981] 1 WLR 1027, HL), and an application made on that date is in time. CPR 2.8(5) moves only periods set by the rules, a practice direction or an order. Where a period in the Act ends on a day the court office is closed, the Court of Appeal has held that time runs on to the next open day for an act that can only be done when the office is open (Pritam Kaur v S Russell & Sons Ltd [1973] QB 336; accepted as common ground in Matthew v Sedman [2021] UKSC 19 at [3]). But no reported case applies that to s.70, and a claim can now be issued on CE-File when the office is closed, on the day the fee is paid (PD 5C para 3.5(1)). The safe course is to issue on CE-File by the last day, or on paper by the open day before. For an application on the next open day, the checker shows both answers.

When is a bill delivered?

The clock starts with delivery of a statute bill: signed by the solicitor or an authorised employee, or enclosed with a signed letter that refers to it, and delivered personally, by post or left at the client’s place of business or home, or electronically where the client has said they will accept bills that way (s.69(2) to (2D)). In the Act’s words, “A bill which is delivered as mentioned in subsection (2C)(c) is to be treated as having been delivered on the first working day after the day on which it was sent (unless the contrary is proved).” A working day excludes weekends, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays (s.69(6)). No reported case has applied that rule to the s.70 periods, but it is the only provision on when an electronic bill is delivered, so the checker applies it. For post, the Interpretation Act 1978, s.7 presumes delivery when a properly addressed, prepaid letter would arrive in the ordinary course of post, unless the contrary is proved.

Each interim statute bill is intended to be complete and final for the work it covers, so its limits run from its own delivery (Richard Slade & Co v Boodia [2018] EWCA Civ 2667 at [28]–[31]; Falmouth House Freehold Co Ltd v Morgan Walker LLP [2010] EWHC 3092 (Ch) at [9]). A request for payment on account starts no clock: in Vlamaki v Sookias & Sookias [2015] EWHC 3334 (QB), with no statute bills delivered, the application for assessment was premature ([39]), and a firm cannot turn on-account bills into statute bills later to fix the client with an old date ([32]). An invoice that can still be topped up, such as one at a discounted rate with more due on success under a conditional fee agreement, is not final either, so it starts no clock even once paid: in Signature Litigation LLP v Ivanishvili [2024] EWCA Civ 901 that left 79 paid invoices, almost £13 million, open to challenge ([2], [48], [51], [61]). Until a statute bill arrives, the client can ask the court to order one (s.68; CPR 67.2), and the firm cannot sue (s.69(1)).

What counts as payment?

Payment brings in special circumstances after the first month and ends the court’s power 12 months later. Where the firm pays itself from money it holds for the client, such as damages, that is payment only where the client agreed the sum taken for the bill. In an appropriate case the agreement can be inferred from conduct, in particular accepting the balance shown on the bill, but a general authority to deduct fees, followed by delivery of the bill, is not enough (Oakwood v Menzies at [71]–[72]), and there can be no payment of a bill before it is delivered ([63]). A firm can agree fees in advance, as a fixed fee or a formula, and the Supreme Court thought the practical concerns overstated ([78]–[79]). A part payment is not payment of the bill: payment means the entire sum due under it (Rippon Patel and French LLP v Mowlam [2020] EWHC 1079 (QB) at [7] and [27]; see also Falmouth House at [9]).

Special circumstances

“no order shall be made except in special circumstances and, if an order is made, it may contain such terms as regards the costs of the assessment as the court may think fit” (s.70(3)). There is no definition. It is a value judgment, comparing this case with the run of the mill (Falmouth House Freehold Co Ltd v Morgan Walker LLP [2010] EWHC 3092 (Ch) at [13]); the circumstances need not be exceptional, but should be significant and out of the ordinary (Wilsons Solicitors LLP v Bentine [2015] EWCA Civ 1168 at [66]–[69]). The size of the fees, though not decisive on its own, and a bill that calls for explanation are legitimate considerations (Falmouth House at [11]–[12]). On a third party’s application, the court may weigh circumstances that affect the applicant but not the client (s.71(2)).

Even where special circumstances exist, the court still decides whether to order assessment (Kenig v Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP [2024] EWCA Civ 15 at [9]). Delay in applying, and any prejudice it causes the firm, may count in that decision, and the court can impose terms such as security for the costs of the assessment where a proper basis is shown (Rippon Patel and French LLP v Mowlam [2020] EWHC 1079 (QB) at [41] and [44]–[46]). That the client approved the fees knowing what they were is also relevant (Falmouth House at [11]). Where the limits have passed and the bill is unpaid, a client sued for the fees can still dispute in that claim whether they are reasonable (Turner & Co v O Palomo SA [2000] 1 WLR 37, CA).

The one-fifth rule

“the costs of an assessment shall be paid according to the event of the assessment, that is to say, if the amount of the bill is reduced by one fifth, the solicitor shall pay the costs, but otherwise the party chargeable shall pay the costs” (s.70(9)). The rule gives way where the order was made on the solicitor’s application and the client does not attend, or where the order, or an order on special circumstances certified by the costs officer, says otherwise (s.70(9)(a) and (b) and (10)). A reduction of exactly one fifth is enough (Wilsons Solicitors LLP v Bentine [2015] EWCA Civ 1168 at [83]). “The amount of the bill” is, for the categories of costs being assessed, the total sum the bill demands be paid, whether or not any of it has been paid, and whoever paid it, as long as the bill says so (Karatysz v SGI Legal LLP [2022] EWCA Civ 1388 at [35] and [49]). If only the profit costs are assessed, which the client can insist on (s.70(5)), the fifth is of the profit costs (s.70(12)); where several bills are assessed together, the aggregate reduction is ordinarily used (Wilsons at [62] and [64]). On a beneficiary’s application under s.71(3) the court decides who pays the costs of the assessment (s.71(3)(b)). The Court of Appeal pointed small bills to the Legal Ombudsman as cheaper, and warned that trivial claims brought to the High Court may lose their costs under s.70(10) even after a one-fifth reduction (Karatysz at [45]).

Third parties and beneficiaries

Someone other than the client who paid, or is or was liable to pay, the bill can apply as if they were the client, and the court can make only the order it could have made for the client, so the s.70 limits read across, counted from delivery of the bill to the client (s.71(1); Kenig at [13]–[14]). A beneficiary of property out of which a trustee, executor or administrator has paid, or is entitled to pay, the bill applies under s.71(3), and has no right to assessment. There the court must have regard “the court shall have regard— (a) to the provisions of section 70 as to applications by the party chargeable for the assessment of a solicitor’s bill so far as they are capable of being applied to an application made under that subsection; (b) to the extent and nature of the interest of the applicant.” (s.71(4)). The Court of Appeal’s provisional view is that it is well arguable the 12-month limit after payment does not bind a beneficiary in the same way, since a beneficiary may not know when the bills were paid; it did not decide the point (Kenig at [54]–[55]). If the executor gave fully informed approval of the bills, that is likely to be a major consideration on a beneficiary’s challenge, and in many cases may prove decisive ([56]–[58]).

Gross sum bills and fee agreements

For contentious business, a gross sum bill is allowed, but the client may require a detailed bill instead within 3 months of delivery and before being served with proceedings for the costs (s.64(2)); if the firm sues on a gross sum bill, the court must order assessment if the client asks within one month of service (s.64(3)). Costs under a contentious business agreement are not assessed except as ss.61 to 63 allow: the court can enforce the agreement or set it aside, and under an hourly-rate agreement the costs officer can look at the hours worked (s.60(1); s.61(1), (2) and (4B)); re-opening after payment has its own 12-month limit (s.61(5)). Under a non-contentious business agreement, if the client objects to it on the assessment as unfair or unreasonable, the costs officer may enquire into the facts and certify them, and the court may set the agreement aside or reduce the amount payable (s.57(5)).

How to apply, and what follows

Issue a Part 8 claim form (or a Part 23 application in existing proceedings), with Precedent J as the model, and file the bill or bills and any conditional fee agreement (CPR 67.3(2); PD 46 para 6.4). It goes to the High Court, where in London it may be issued in the Costs Office (PD 67 para 2.1), on CE-File for a represented party (PD 5C para 2.1), or to the County Court only where the bill relates wholly or partly to contentious business done in the County Court and is £5,000 or less (CPR 67.3(1); s.69(3)). The court fee is £69 (fee 1.8(b); see the civil court fees calculator). In the Costs Office the court fixes a hearing for directions unless the claim is not contested, with no evidence needed before it (PD 67 para 2.2A).

After the order, the solicitor serves a breakdown of costs within 28 days (Precedent P, with a cash account on a s.70 application, counsel’s and experts’ fee notes and evidence of other disbursements over £250), the client serves points of dispute within 14 days of service of the breakdown, any reply follows within 14 days, and either party requests a hearing on Form N258C after points of dispute and within 3 months of the order (CPR 46.10; PD 46 paras 6.6 to 6.11), with fee 5.2 on the costs claimed. There is no default costs certificate (para 6.8), and at the hearing only the items in the points of dispute may be raised without permission (para 6.14). Costs are assessed on the indemnity basis, but in County Court proceedings an item cannot exceed what could have been recovered from the other side unless a written agreement expressly allows more (CPR 46.9(2); s.74(3)). They are presumed reasonable where the client approved them, which means informed approval after a full and fair explanation (Belsner v CAM Legal Services Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 1387 at [67]), and presumed unreasonably incurred where they are unusual and the client was not warned beforehand; the presumptions can be rebutted (CPR 46.9(3); PD 46 paras 6.1 and 6.2).

Reform

The Civil Justice Council consulted on reforming Part III of the Act in a twelve-week consultation that closed on 16 July 2026 (the CJC’s Solicitors Act project). The Act has not changed: the checker applies it as it stands.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

One month from delivery for assessment as of right (Solicitors Act 1974, s.70(1)). Up to 12 months from delivery, the court may order assessment if the bill is unpaid and there is no judgment for it (s.70(2)). After that, or after judgment, or after payment, only in special circumstances (s.70(3)). More than 12 months after payment, the court has no power to order assessment on the client’s application (s.70(4)).
A bill that meets the Solicitors Act: signed by the solicitor or an authorised employee, or sent with a signed covering letter that refers to it (an electronic signature counts); delivered personally, by post or left at the client’s address, or electronically where the client has agreed to that (s.69(2) to (2D)); and intended to be complete and final for the work it covers. Interim statute bills are possible by agreement or at a natural break (Richard Slade & Co v Boodia [2018] EWCA Civ 2667 at [19] and [28]–[31]). A request for money on account is not a statute bill, nor is an invoice that can still be topped up, such as a discounted fee under a conditional fee agreement (Signature Litigation LLP v Ivanishvili [2024] EWCA Civ 901 at [48]), and the s.70 time limits do not start until one is delivered (Vlamaki v Sookias & Sookias [2015] EWHC 3334 (QB) at [39]).
On the first working day after the day it was sent, unless the contrary is proved (s.69(2F)). A working day is any day except a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday in England and Wales (s.69(6)). Delivery by email counts only if the client has said they will accept bills that way, giving the address to use (s.69(2C)(c) and (2D)).
Only where the client agreed the amount taken for the bill. The Supreme Court held that a deduction or retention from money held for the client is payment only with an agreement to the sum taken, which in an appropriate case can be inferred from conduct such as accepting the balance shown on the bill; a general authority to deduct fees, followed by delivery of the bill, is not enough (Oakwood Solicitors Ltd v Menzies [2024] UKSC 34 at [71]–[72]). Until then, the 12-month limit after payment does not start.
No. For s.70(4), payment of the bill means the entire sum due under it, so a part payment is not enough; it is a payment on account (Rippon Patel and French LLP v Mowlam [2020] EWHC 1079 (QB) at [7] and [27], where the point was common ground). A part-paid bill is treated as unpaid, so after 12 months from delivery special circumstances are needed, but the 12-month bar after payment does not apply.
There is no definition. Whether they exist is a value judgment, made by comparing the case with the run-of-the-mill case (Falmouth House Freehold Co Ltd v Morgan Walker LLP [2010] EWHC 3092 (Ch) at [13]). They need not be exceptional, but should be something significant and out of the ordinary (Wilsons Solicitors LLP v Bentine [2015] EWCA Civ 1168 at [66] and [69]). The size of the fees is not irrelevant, though not decisive on its own, and a bill that calls for explanation is a legitimate consideration (Falmouth House at [11]–[12]). Even where special circumstances exist, the court still decides whether to order assessment, and delay and any prejudice to the firm may count (Kenig v Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP [2024] EWCA Civ 15 at [9]; Rippon Patel and French LLP v Mowlam [2020] EWHC 1079 (QB) at [41]).
The costs of the assessment follow its outcome: if the bill is reduced by one fifth or more, the solicitor normally pays them; otherwise the client does (s.70(9)). The exceptions: an order made on the solicitor’s application where the client does not attend, or an order, including one on special circumstances certified by the costs officer, that provides otherwise (s.70(9) and (10)). The amount of the bill is the total it demands for the costs being assessed, whether or not paid, as long as the bill says so (Karatysz v SGI Legal LLP [2022] EWCA Civ 1388 at [35] and [49]); where only part is assessed, the fifth is of that part (s.70(12)). On a beneficiary’s application under s.71(3), the court decides who pays (s.71(3)(b)).
Yes, once the client’s first month has passed (s.70(2)); the 12-month, judgment and payment limits restrict only the client. The Supreme Court noted that a solicitor faced with a client who will not engage can seek assessment, which is likely to be short, and the court can treat an unreasonable refusal to engage as a special circumstance when deciding who pays the costs of the assessment (Oakwood v Menzies at [84]–[86]; s.70(9)(b) and (10)). Within the first month, the High Court can allow the firm to sue, and order assessment, only on probable cause that the client is about to leave England and Wales, become bankrupt, compound with creditors or do any other act that would tend to prevent or delay payment (s.69(1)).
Yes, under s.71(3): a person interested in property out of which a trustee, executor or administrator has paid, or is entitled to pay, the bill can apply, and the court may order assessment on terms, having regard to the s.70 rules so far as they can apply and to the extent and nature of the applicant’s interest (s.71(4)). A beneficiary has no right to assessment. The Court of Appeal’s provisional view is that it is well arguable the 12-month limit after payment does not bind a beneficiary in the same way; it did not decide the point (Kenig v Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP [2024] EWCA Civ 15 at [54]–[55]). Someone else who paid or must pay the bill applies under s.71(1), as if they were the client, with the client’s dates.
By Part 8 claim form, or an application notice in existing proceedings (CPR 67.3(2)), using Precedent J as the model and filing the bill or bills, with any conditional fee agreement (PD 46 para 6.4). It goes to the High Court, where in London it may be issued in the Costs Office (the SCCO), on CE-File for a represented party, or to the County Court only where the bill relates wholly or partly to contentious business done in the County Court and is £5,000 or less (CPR 67.3(1); s.69(3); PD 67 para 2.1). The court fee is £69 (fee 1.8(b)). In the Costs Office the court fixes a directions hearing unless the claim is not contested (PD 67 para 2.2A).
The solicitor serves a breakdown of costs within 28 days, with a cash account on a s.70 application; the client serves points of dispute within 14 days of service of the breakdown; the solicitor may reply within 14 days; and either party requests a hearing on Form N258C after points of dispute and within 3 months of the order (CPR 46.10; PD 46 paras 6.6 to 6.10). There is no default costs certificate (PD 46 para 6.8). Costs are assessed on the indemnity basis, with presumptions in favour of costs the client approved with a full and fair explanation, and against unusual costs the client was not warned about; in County Court proceedings the s.74(3) cap applies unless a written agreement allows more (CPR 46.9(2) and (3); Belsner v CAM Legal Services Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 1387 at [67]).
The Civil Justice Council consulted on reforming Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974, the part that governs solicitors’ remuneration and these assessments, in a consultation that closed on 16 July 2026. Until Parliament changes the Act, the rules on this page apply.
No. It applies the Act and the rules to your dates and figures, and shows which route applies and what follows. Whether special circumstances exist, and what an assessment would allow, are for the court. It is free, with no sign-up, and nothing you type leaves your browser.

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