Definition
A bill of costs is a formal, itemized written statement submitted by the prevailing party in a lawsuit, listing the specific costs and disbursements incurred during the litigation for which that party seeks reimbursement from the losing party. It is not a request for attorney's fees but rather an accounting of recoverable court-related expenses — filing fees, service of process charges, deposition transcript costs, witness fees, and similar items recognized by statute or court rule as taxable costs.
Once submitted, a bill of costs is reviewed and approved (or reduced) by the clerk of court or another authorized officer in a process called taxation of costs. Only after taxation does the bill become the basis for a formal cost judgment enforceable against the losing party.
Common Confusion
A bill of costs is sometimes confused with a fee application or petition for attorney's fees. They are distinct: a bill of costs covers court-related disbursements recoverable as a matter of procedural right under statute or rule; an attorney's fee application seeks compensation for legal services and requires independent statutory or contractual authorization. The two may be filed together after judgment but operate under different legal standards and are ruled upon through different procedures.
Why It Matters in Research
The bill of costs is a procedural document, not a substantive legal concept, which means its practical content is almost entirely governed by local rules, statutes, and court schedules rather than common law doctrine. Researchers working with historical sources should be alert to two significant traps.
First, what is taxable has changed substantially. Categories of costs recoverable in nineteenth-century equity practice differ from those recoverable under modern federal practice. The federal framework is now anchored in 28 U.S.C. § 1920, which enumerates taxable items, and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d), which establishes the presumption in favor of awarding costs to the prevailing party. State courts operate under their own statutes, and the lists of recoverable items vary considerably. A historical bill of costs that includes certain fees (for example, charges related to the preparation of equity pleadings) may reflect costs that have no modern analogue.
Second, the term "bill" itself carries different weight across historical sources. In equity practice, a "bill" was the initiating pleading — the bill of complaint. Researchers encountering "bill of costs" in older equity records should confirm context to distinguish the cost-accounting document from references to other bills filed in the proceeding. Rapalje & Lawrence's entry gestures at this by briefly noting other historical uses of "bill" in equity before returning to the cost-statement meaning, a reminder that the surrounding text in historical sources matters.
For federal court research, the connection between bill of costs, the clerk's taxation process, and Rule 54(d) is direct and well-documented. The encyclopedia entry for civpro_142 covers the modern federal framework in detail and is the natural starting point for anyone tracing current practice.
Historical Dictionary Support
The three primary sources agree closely on the core definition. Black's, Bouvier's, and Burrill's all describe the bill of costs as a written, itemized statement of the costs in an action or judicial proceeding. The sources are consistent enough that no meaningful disagreement exists on the basic concept.
Burrill's entry is the most granular of the three, specifying that the bill should include the times when services were rendered, the nature of those services, and the individual sums due — detail that reflects nineteenth-century equity practice, where cost items were more varied and the taxation process more elaborate. Bouvier's adds the procedurally important point that taxation by the proper officer is required and that the bill is demandable as a matter of right before costs are paid — meaning the losing party could not simply be required to pay a lump sum without receiving an itemized accounting.
What the historical dictionaries collectively omit is any discussion of the substantive limits on what may be included. They describe the form and procedure but do not engage with the contested question of which costs are legally recoverable — a gap filled in modern practice by statute and rule. Researchers relying solely on historical dictionary definitions will find them accurate but incomplete for any question about the contents of a valid bill.
Jurisdictional Note
Federal courts follow 28 U.S.C. § 1920 and Rule 54(d), which create a presumption that costs are awarded to the prevailing party and specify a defined list of taxable items. State courts vary significantly: some states follow a similar statutory enumeration, others allow broader or narrower categories of costs, and a few limit cost recovery to nominal amounts set by statute that have not kept pace with actual litigation expenses. Always consult the applicable local rules and cost schedule before preparing or evaluating a bill of costs.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
civpro_142: Costs and Taxation of Costs — Rule 54(d) and 28 USC 1920 (The Law Mind Civil Procedure & Evidence Encyclopedia)