Court Costs on the Small Claims Track: What CPR 27.14 Lets You Recover

One of the most common questions people ask before filing a small claim is whether they can get their legal costs back if they win. The short answer: not really. The small claims track has its own cost rules under CPR 27.14, and they are deliberately restrictive — the whole point is to keep claims affordable for people who represent themselves.

What you can recover under CPR 27.14

If you win your small claim, the court can order the losing side to pay these specific items:

Court fees

The issue fee and the hearing fee you paid to the court. For a £3,000 claim that is £115 + £181 = £296. These are almost always awarded to the winning party.

Fixed solicitor costs on issue

If a solicitor issued the claim for you, CPR Part 45 allows fixed costs of £50 to £100 depending on the size of the debt. This only covers the administrative act of issuing the claim, not the solicitor's broader fees.

Witness expenses

Reasonable travel and other attendance expenses for a party or witness, plus loss of earnings capped at £95 per person per day.

Expert report fees

Up to £750 per expert — but only if the court granted express permission for expert evidence under CPR 27.5. You cannot simply instruct an expert and expect to recover the fee; the court must have agreed the expert was necessary.

What you cannot recover

Solicitor fees for advice, preparation or representation — if you pay a solicitor £500 to review your case, draft your particulars of claim and attend the hearing, you cannot recover any of that from the defendant. This is the defining feature of the small claims track.

Your own time — litigants in person cannot claim hourly rates for time spent researching, drafting or preparing their case. The court does not compensate your personal time investment.

Accountant or surveyor reports without court permission — if you commissioned a report before getting the court's approval, the fee is not recoverable.

Unreasonable travel or other expenses — reasonable travel and attendance expenses may be claimed, but the court decides what is reasonable. The £95-per-day limit applies to loss of earnings, not travel costs.

The unreasonable behaviour exception

CPR 27.14(2)(g) gives the court discretion to award wider costs if a party has "behaved unreasonably." This is the one route to recovering solicitor fees on the small claims track, but the bar is high.

Unreasonable behaviour means more than just losing or running a weak defence. Examples the courts have recognised include:

• Failing to engage with the pre-action protocol at all
• Refusing to attend mandatory mediation without good reason
• Making dishonest statements or fabricating evidence
• Dragging out the case with baseless adjournment requests

If the court finds unreasonable behaviour, it can order that party to pay the other side's costs — including solicitor fees — on a summary or standard basis. But this is exceptional, and you should never count on it when budgeting for your claim.

Practical takeaway

For most small claims, the cost calculation is simple: your total outlay is the court issue fee plus the hearing fee plus postage and printing. If you win, you can usually recover the court fees. Everything else — your time, any professional advice, and expenses the court does not consider reasonable — is your own cost.

This is why hiring a solicitor to run a £2,000 small claim rarely makes financial sense. You pay them, you cannot recover their fees, and the claim itself may only net you a few hundred pounds after enforcement. Doing it yourself with a structured procedural guide is the practical choice.

The County Court Money Claim Guide explains CPR 27.14 in full and helps you budget for every fee and cost before you file.

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