Form N256(CC): Final Costs Certificate Explained

At a glance

• What it is: the county court's final costs certificate, issued under CPR rule 47.17 once a detailed assessment of costs is complete and the completed bill has been filed.
• Who gets it: both the receiving party (owed the costs) and the paying party (who owes them) — the court serves it on all parties to the detailed assessment.
• What it certifies: the final, court-assessed amount of costs payable, net of any interim payments already made, including the costs of the assessment itself.
• Enforcement status: it includes an order to pay under CPR rule 47.17(5), so it can be enforced in the same way as any other county court judgment for a specified sum.
• Payment period: Practice Direction 47 provides that, unless the court directs otherwise, payment is due within 14 days of issue — check the exact period stated on your certificate.
• Prerequisite: the court will not issue the certificate until all court fees on the assessment are paid, and it can withhold the certificate until other ordered costs are paid first.
• Related form: if the paying party never disputes the bill, the equivalent certificate is a default costs certificate on Form N255, following a request on Form N254 — see our guide on Form N254.

What Form N256(CC) is

Form N256(CC) is the document a county court produces at the end of a detailed assessment of costs — the court process used when one party has been ordered to pay another party's legal costs, but the parties cannot agree how much those costs should be.

Detailed assessment is governed by CPR Part 47. Once the assessment hearing has taken place and the receiving party (the one who is owed the money) files a "completed bill" — a bill recalculated to show the amount due following the judge's decisions — the court issues a final costs certificate and serves it on every party to the assessment. This is set out in CPR rule 47.17.

The "CC" in the form name distinguishes it from Form N256(HC), the equivalent certificate issued in High Court detailed assessment proceedings. This guide covers the county court version only.

Unless the court orders otherwise, the certificate itself includes an order requiring the paying party to pay the certified sum. In practical terms, once you have a final costs certificate, you are in the same position as a party who holds a court judgment for a specific amount of money.

How a final costs certificate differs from a default costs certificate

These two certificates are easy to confuse because they both conclude a costs dispute, but they arise from very different processes.

A default costs certificate (Form N255) is issued where the paying party simply fails to respond. After the receiving party serves a notice of commencement of assessment (Form N252) and a bill of costs, the paying party has 21 days to send back "points of dispute" setting out what they object to. If nothing is received within that window, the receiving party can apply — using Form N254 — for a default costs certificate, and the court certifies the bill essentially as claimed, without a judge examining the figures. See gov.uk's guidance on what happens if the other party does not send points of dispute.

A final costs certificate (Form N256), by contrast, follows an actual detailed assessment hearing. Points of dispute were served, the parties could not agree a reduced bill through "points of reply," and a district judge heard both sides and decided, item by item, what should and should not be allowed. The completed bill reflects the judge's decisions, and the final costs certificate records the resulting balance.

In short: a default costs certificate means the point was never argued; a final costs certificate means it was — and a judge has ruled.

How a case reaches this stage

1. A costs order is made. Detailed assessment only becomes relevant once a court has already ordered one party to pay another's costs, but has not fixed the amount (unlike a summary assessment, where the amount is fixed there and then).
2. The receiving party serves notice. Within 3 months of the costs order, the receiving party must serve a notice of commencement of assessment (Form N252), the bill of costs, and supporting fee notes and receipts, as explained in gov.uk's guidance on before you apply for an assessment.
3. The paying party has 21 days to respond. They can serve points of dispute. If they do not, the receiving party can seek a default costs certificate (Form N255) instead of continuing to a hearing.
4. If the bill is disputed, either party applies for a detailed assessment hearing. This uses Form N258, and is subject to a court fee that scales with the size of the bill (currently ranging from £398 for bills of £15,000 or less up to £6,640 for bills over £500,000 — check current fees on gov.uk's detailed assessment page before relying on any figure, as court fees are periodically revised).
5. The hearing takes place before a district judge (or a Costs Judge if the case is in London), who rules on each disputed item.
6. The completed bill is filed within 14 days of the hearing, recalculated to reflect the judge's decisions, per CPR rule 47.17(2).
7. The court issues the final costs certificate and serves it on all parties — this is Form N256(CC).

What the certificate covers — and its limits

The final costs certificate states: the court and claim details, the parties, the total costs assessed (including the costs of the detailed assessment process itself), and whether any interim payments have already been credited — for example, sums paid under an interim costs certificate issued earlier in the proceedings under CPR rule 47.16. The figure on the certificate is the net balance still owed, not the gross bill.

There are two specific limits worth knowing:

• Counsel's fees. The certificate will only include disbursements for barristers' fees where receipted fee notes or accounts were actually produced to the court at assessment, and only up to the amount those receipts show. Fees claimed but not evidenced with a receipt will not appear.
• Fee prerequisite. The court will not issue the certificate until all court fees payable on the assessment have been paid. The court can also direct that the certificate is withheld until other specified costs are paid first, under CPR rule 47.17(4).

Enforcing an unpaid final costs certificate

Because CPR rule 47.17(5) provides that the certificate includes an order to pay, an unpaid final costs certificate can be enforced in the same way as any other county court judgment for a fixed sum. Practical routes include:

• A warrant of control, instructing enforcement agents to take control of goods to the value of the debt.
• A third-party debt order, freezing money owed to the paying party by someone else (for example, a bank account).
• An attachment of earnings order, where the paying party is an employee.
• A charging order over land or property the paying party owns — see our guide on Form N379: applying for a charging order on land.
• Registering the debt on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, which affects the paying party's credit record.

If an earlier enforcement step — such as a warrant — has lapsed without recovering the money, see our guide on Form N445: asking the court to reissue a warrant.

Practice Direction 47 provides that, unless the court directs otherwise, payment under a costs certificate is due within 14 days of issue — the same period that applies to a default costs certificate under CPR rule 47.11. Always check the specific date shown on your certificate, since the court can order a different period.

What to do next

If you are the receiving party (owed the money):

1. Check the certificate carefully against the figures argued at the hearing, and query anything that looks wrong with the court promptly.
2. Note the payment deadline stated on the certificate.
3. If payment is not made by that date, consider which enforcement route fits your situation — this often depends on what you know about the paying party's assets and income.

If you are the paying party (who owes the money):

1. Read the certificate to understand exactly what is now owed, and check it against any interim payments you have already made.
2. If you dispute how the assessment was conducted, note that a final costs certificate is the outcome of a hearing you had the opportunity to attend and argue — options to challenge it (such as an appeal) are limited and time-sensitive.
3. If you genuinely cannot pay, contact the receiving party or their representative before enforcement action starts — an agreed instalment arrangement is often possible and avoids added enforcement costs.
4. If enforcement action has already started, understanding your options quickly matters — see our guide on Form N24: filing a draft order or judgment if a consent order is being considered.

This guide provides general information about final costs certificates in county court detailed assessment proceedings in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at July 2026 and is subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position, including current court fees, which are revised from time to time.

Last reviewed: July 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: July 2027 or on rule change.