Cost bill, also referred to as bill of costs, is an itemized list of court costs incurred by the prevailing party in a lawsuit. The prevailing party submits this list to the court and the losing party after a judgment has been issued in the case. This itemized statement can be used to determine how much of the prevailing party’s costs the losing party will pay.
A cost bill can include fees of the clerk, fees for service of summons and subpoena, fees for printing, fees for witnesses, compensation of court-appointed experts, etc. Statutes typically limit what can be included in the cost bill and attorney fees are usually a cost not allowed to be included.
[Last updated in June of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]