What are Fixed Recoverable Costs?
Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC) set the amount of legal costs a successful party can recover from their opponent by reference to a fixed table, rather than through a Bill of Costs and assessment of what was reasonable and proportionate. Fixed costs have long applied to lower-value road traffic, employers' liability and public liability claims under the pre-action protocols.
From 1 October 2023 the Civil Procedure Rules extended Fixed Recoverable Costs to most fast track claims and introduced a new intermediate track for claims valued up to £100,000. The detail sits mainly in CPR Part 45 and Part 26, with the figures set out in the accompanying tables.
Complexity bands and the intermediate track
Fast track claims are allocated to one of four complexity bands, and intermediate track claims to bands 1 to 4 of their own table. The band dictates the fixed sums recoverable at each stage, from pre-issue work through to trial. Allocation to the correct band is therefore one of the most important decisions in the case, and it should be considered — and argued where necessary — at the earliest opportunity.
Some work falls outside the fixed tables. Certain claims are excluded altogether, such as many clinical negligence claims and claims against the police, and there are transitional provisions depending on when the cause of action accrued or proceedings were issued.
Escaping or adjusting fixed costs
The rules allow limited departure from Fixed Recoverable Costs. An uplift may apply where a party has behaved unreasonably, and Part 36 offers carry their own consequences, including a percentage uplift on fixed costs where a claimant beats their own offer. In exceptional cases a party may seek to escape the regime altogether, but the threshold is high and the arguments must be carefully prepared.
Disbursements, VAT and specific items such as expert fees and counsel's fees for particular hearings are treated separately, and getting these right can make a meaningful difference to the final recovery.
How a Costs Lawyer helps with Fixed Recoverable Costs
Fixed costs do not remove the need for costs expertise — they change where it is applied. We advise on allocation and banding, check that the correct table and stage have been used, calculate entitlement to uplifts and disbursements, and identify where a claim falls outside the regime so that costs can be pursued on the standard basis.
For firms adapting their practice to FRC, we review case profiles and budgeting assumptions so that fee earners understand what is recoverable before work is carried out. Where a dispute arises, we prepare the arguments and represent clients at hearings.
This guide is general information and not legal advice. The rules and figures are revised periodically, so please contact us for advice on a specific matter.
