A memorandum of costs after judgment is the document the winning party files to have specific litigation expenses added to the judgment the loser owes. Federal courts call the equivalent filing a “bill of costs,” but the mechanics are the same: you itemize recoverable expenses, verify them under oath, file within a short deadline after judgment, and serve the other side so they can object before the clerk makes the costs part of the judgment. Costs don’t shift automatically. If you don’t file, you absorb them.
What Costs You Can Actually Claim
The categories are narrower than most people expect. In federal court, only six types of expenses are recoverable unless a separate statute says otherwise:
- Clerk and marshal fees, including filing fees and charges for serving process or enforcing the judgment.
- Transcript fees, but only for transcripts necessary to the case rather than ordered for convenience.
- Witness fees, along with printing and disbursement costs tied to testimony.
- Copying and exemplification fees for materials genuinely needed in the litigation.
- Docket fees.
- Court-appointed expert and interpreter fees.
Routine expenses do not qualify: postage, office overhead, legal research database charges, and attorney travel all fall outside the list. Copying costs count only when the copies were necessarily obtained for the case, not when a party ran off extras for internal files. Courts regularly strike line items that fall outside these categories, so padding a cost request with questionable entries tends to backfire.
Federal witnesses receive $40 per day for attendance, plus travel reimbursement at the government mileage rate or actual common-carrier costs, and a subsistence allowance when an overnight stay is required.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1821 – Fees and Allowances for Witnesses State courts set their own witness fee schedules, with comparable amounts in most jurisdictions. Process server fees and sheriff service charges for post-judgment writs typically run between $65 and $235, depending on the jurisdiction and the type of service.
Attorney Fees Are Usually Not Included
Under the American Rule, each side pays its own attorney fees regardless of who wins. The Supreme Court has held that courts lack authority to award attorney fees to a private litigant absent congressional authorization. Two exceptions matter in practice. A contract between the parties can include a fee-shifting clause that lets the prevailing party recover attorney fees under its terms. And specific federal statutes override the American Rule for certain case types—civil rights actions are the most prominent example, with federal law giving courts discretion to award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1988 – Proceedings in Vindication of Civil Rights Hundreds of other federal statutes contain similar provisions in consumer protection, employment, and environmental law. Without one of these authorizations, attorney fees stay off the cost memorandum no matter how lopsided the outcome.
How to File the Memorandum
Pull Your Documentation First
Before touching any form, gather every receipt, invoice, and statement for each expense you plan to claim. Court filing receipts, process server invoices, deposition transcription bills, and witness payment records should be organized by date. Each item has to be verifiable because you’ll swear under oath that the costs are accurate and were necessary. Federal law requires the bill of costs to include an affidavit confirming each item “is correct and has been necessarily incurred in the case and that the services for which fees have been charged were actually and necessarily performed.”3GovInfo. 28 USC 1924 – Verification of Bill of Costs
Use the Court’s Official Form
Most courts supply an official cost-claim form, available from the clerk’s office or the court’s website. Federal courts typically use AO 133 (Bill of Costs). State courts have their own versions. Using the correct form matters. Courts will reject filings on non-standard documents.
Enter the case name and number exactly as they appear on the judgment. Itemize each expense with the date incurred, a brief description, and the dollar amount. Attach your supporting documentation and the verification affidavit. File the original with the clerk and keep copies for your records and for serving the opposing party.
Watch the Deadline
In federal court, the clerk taxes costs after providing 14 days’ notice to the parties.4LII / Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 54 – Judgment and Costs Many federal district courts impose local rules requiring the bill of costs itself to be filed within 14 or 30 days after judgment entry, so check the local rules for the court where your case was decided. State court deadlines vary but are similarly tight. Miss the window and you almost always forfeit the right to recover those costs entirely.
Serve the Opposing Party
After filing, serve a copy of the cost memorandum on the judgment debtor, usually by mail or personal delivery. This gives the other side a chance to review the claimed expenses and decide whether to challenge them. File a proof of service with the court afterward. The court won’t act on your request until it confirms proper service.
What Happens If the Other Side Objects
Receiving a cost claim doesn’t mean the losing party is automatically on the hook for every dollar. In federal court, after the clerk taxes costs, either party can file a motion asking the judge to review the clerk’s decision, served within seven days after the clerk’s action.4LII / Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 54 – Judgment and Costs State courts use different procedures and timelines but most provide a similar mechanism, often called a motion to tax costs or a motion to strike costs.
The strongest objections fall into two categories. First, that an expense doesn’t fit any legally recoverable category, such as attorney time disguised as a “litigation cost” or travel charges no statute authorizes. Second, that a technically recoverable expense is unreasonably inflated, like premium rush charges on transcripts that weren’t needed urgently, or copying costs for thousands of pages that played no role in the case. A good objection identifies each contested item by line number and explains why it doesn’t qualify or why the amount is excessive.
If no challenge is filed within the deadline, the claimed costs become part of the judgment automatically. Even if only some items are questionable, the entire bill gets rubber-stamped when nobody objects in time.
Interest and Later Enforcement Costs
Costs are not the only thing that gets added to a judgment. In federal court, interest begins accruing automatically on any money judgment from the date it’s entered. The rate equals the weekly average one-year constant maturity Treasury yield published by the Federal Reserve for the calendar week before the judgment date.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1961 – Interest Interest compounds annually and runs daily until the judgment is paid in full. State courts generally impose post-judgment interest as well, though rates and calculation methods vary. Some states set a fixed statutory rate; others tie the rate to a market index. Either way, the judgment creditor doesn’t need to file anything extra to trigger it.
Enforcement itself generates further costs that can go into a later memorandum. A writ of execution is a court order directing law enforcement to seize the debtor’s assets to satisfy the judgment. In federal court, the U.S. Marshal handles execution and the creditor may need to post an indemnity bond and advance deposit to cover estimated expenses.6U.S. Marshals Service. Writ of Execution In state court, the sheriff or a levying officer typically handles it, with fees that vary by jurisdiction. Recording an abstract of judgment creates a lien on real property the debtor owns in the county where it’s recorded; recording fees typically run from $25 to $50. Filing and service costs for these writs, along with recording fees for abstracts, are generally recoverable as post-judgment enforcement expenses and can be claimed in a subsequent memorandum of costs.