Rule 79.Costs—Taxation and Review.

Last amended August 10, 2016 · Last verified July 6, 2026

In one sentenceRule 79 lets the prevailing party recover a defined list of litigation costs — from filing fees to deposition transcripts to limited travel expenses — through a cost bill process that the clerk resolves in the first instance, subject to court review.

Full Text of Rule 79

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)

(a) Allowance to Prevailing Party. Unless the court otherwise directs, the prevailing party is entitled to recover costs allowable under paragraph (f) that were necessarily incurred in the action. The amount awarded for each item will be the amount specified in this rule or, if no amount is specified, the cost actually incurred by the party to the extent this cost is reasonable.

(b) Cost Bill. To recover costs, the prevailing party must file and serve an itemized and verified cost bill, showing the date costs were incurred, within 10 days after the date shown in the clerk’s certificate of distribution on the judgment. Failure of a party to file and serve a cost bill within 10 days, or such additional time as the court may allow, will be construed as a waiver of the party’s right to recover costs. The prevailing party must have receipts, invoices, or other supporting documentation for each item claimed. This documentation must be available to other parties for inspection and copying upon request and must be presented to the clerk upon request.

Documentation may be filed only if requested by the clerk or in response to an objection.

(c) Objection and Reply. A party may object to a cost bill by filing and serving an objection within 7 days after service of the cost bill. The prevailing party may respond to an objection by filing and serving a reply within 5 days after service of the objection.

(d) Taxing of Costs by Clerk. Promptly upon expiration of the time for filing objections, or if an objection is filed, the time for filing a reply, the clerk shall issue an itemized award of costs allowable under this rule. No cost bill hearing will be held unless requested by the clerk. If a hearing is held, it will be limited to issues identified by the clerk in the notice of hearing. The clerk may deny costs requested by the prevailing party on grounds that

(1) the cost is not allowed under paragraph (f);

(2) the party failed to provide an adequate description or adequate supporting documentation following a request by the clerk or another party; or

(3) the amount claimed by the prevailing party is unreasonable.

The clerk may not deny costs on grounds that the costs were not necessarily incurred in the action. If a party objects on this basis, the party must seek review under paragraph (e) of the clerk’s action in awarding the cost.

(e) Review by Court. A party aggrieved by the clerk’s action in awarding costs may file a motion for review of the clerk’s award. The motion must be filed and served within five days after the date shown on the clerk’s certificate of distribution on the award. The motion must particularly designate each ruling of the clerk to which objection is made. Matters not so designated will not be considered by the court. Costs awarded by the clerk are presumed to be reasonable.

(f) Allowable Costs. The following items are the only items that will be allowed as costs:

(1) the filing fee;

(2) fees for service of process allowable under Administrative Rule 11 or postage when process is served by mail;

(3) other process server fees allowable under Administrative Rule 11;

(4) the cost of publishing notices required by law or by these rules;

(5) premiums paid on undertakings, bonds, or security stipulations where required by law, ordered by the court, or necessary to secure some right accorded in the action;

(6) the cost of taking and transcribing a deposition allowed by Civil Rule 30(a) or 31(a) (including a deposition that is ordered by the court or agreed to by the parties under those rules), as follows:

(A) the court reporter’s fee and travel expenses to communities where a local court reporter is not available;

(B) expenses allowed by Civil Rule 30.1(e) for recording, editing, or using an audio or audio-visual deposition; and

(7) witness fees allowed under Administrative Rule 7;

(8) the fee of an interpreter or translator for a witness when that witness is entitled to a fee under Administrative Rule 7;

(9) travel costs allowed under paragraph (g) of this rule;

(10) long distance telephone charges for telephonic participation by an attorney or party at court proceedings, depositions, the meeting of the parties required by Civil Rule 26(f), and interviews of witnesses other than the party;

(11) charges paid by the prevailing party’s attorney for computerized legal research;

(12) copying costs for paper copies, photographs, and microfilm, the cost of scanning, imaging, coding, and creating electronic media files, such as computer diskettes or tapes, and the cost of duplicating text files or otherwise copying documents or data in an electronic medium, as follows:

(A) for copies from the court, a copy center, or a person or entity other than the prevailing party’s attorney, the amount charged for the copies; and

(B) for copies from the prevailing party’s attorney, the amount charged by the attorney or $.15 per copy, whichever is less;

(13) exhibit preparation costs;

(14) the cost of transcripts ordered by the court;

(15) other costs allowed by statute; and

(16) any sales or other taxes necessarily incurred by the party in connection with a cost allowed in this subsection.

(g) Travel Costs.

(1) Travel costs will be allowed for

(A) one attorney to attend trial, hearings on dispositive motions, settlement conferences, and the meeting of the parties required by Civil Rule 26(f), but only if no local attorney is present; if more than one out-of-town attorney attends a proceeding at which no local attorney is present, travel costs will be allowed for the attorney who traveled the shortest distance to the trial site;

(B) one attorney to attend depositions, interviews of witnesses who are not deposed, and meetings to review documents produced in the course of discovery;

(C) one legal assistant or investigator to interview witnesses who are not deposed or to review documents produced in the course of discovery; and

(D) witnesses to the extent permitted by Administrative Rule 7.

(2) Travel costs are subject to the following limitations:

(A) air fare is allowed at the coach class fare or the actual fare, whichever is less;

(B) ground transportation, including car rental, is allowed outside the traveler’s home city; and

(3) In unusually complex cases, the court may allow a prevailing party to recover travel costs for more than one attorney to participate in the activities described in section (g)(1)(A) of this rule. To request travel costs for more than one attorney, the prevailing party must file a motion for court review of the clerk’s award as provided in paragraph (e) and must include supporting documentation for each item claimed. These costs should not be included in the cost bill filed with the clerk.

(4) To recover travel costs, the prevailing party must include the following information for each trip: the name of the traveler, whether the traveler is an attorney, legal assistant, or investigator, the reasons for the travel, and the travel dates.

(h) Equitable Apportionment Under AS 09.17.080. In a case in which damages are apportioned among the parties under AS 09.17.080, costs must be apportioned and awarded according to the provisions of Civil Rule 82(e).

End

Amendment History

(Adopted by SCO 5 October 9, 1959; amended by SCO 56 effective November 1, 1963; by SCO 258 effective November 15, 1976; by SCO 554 effective April 4, 1983; by SCO 1085 effective January 15, 1992; by SCO 1118 effective July 15, 1993; by SCO 1153 effective July 15, 1994; by SCO 1200 effective July 15, 1995; by SCO 1246 effective July 15, 1996; and by SCO 1279 effective July 31, 1997; rescinded and readopted by SCO 1306 effective January 15, 1998; amended by SCO 1340 effective January 15, 1999; by SCO 1631 effective April 16, 2007; by SCO 1806 effective July 1, 2014; and by SCO 1893 effective August 10, 2016)

Notes

Note: AS 25.25.313(c), added by § 6 of ch. 57 SLA 1995 (the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act), has the effect of amending Civil Rule 79 by requiring the court to award costs and fees against a party who requests a hearing primarily for delay in a support proceeding listed in AS 25.25.301.

Note: Chapter 94 SLA 1998 adopts AS 46.03.761, which allows the Department of Environmental Conservation to impose administrative penalties against an entity that fails to construct or operate a public water supply system in compliance with state law or a term or condition imposed by the department. According to section 5 of the act, subsection (j) of this statute has the effect of amending Civil Rules 79 and 82 by allowing the recovery of full reasonable attorney fees and costs in an action to collect administrative penalties assessed under AS 46.03.761.

Note: Chapter 136 SLA 03 (HB 151) amends Chapters 10 and 45 of Title 9 of the Alaska Statutes relating to claims and court actions for defects in the design, construction, and remodeling of certain dwellings and limits on when certain court actions may be brought. According to Section 4(2) of the Act, AS 09.45.889(b) has the effect of amending Civil Rule 79 by allowing the court to deny costs to a claimant in the situation described in AS 09.45.889(b), even if the claimant is the prevailing party.

Note: Chapter 60, SLA 2013 (HB 57), effective July 1, 2014, adopted the Alaska Entity Transactions Act, effective July 1, 2014. According to section 30 of the Act, AS 10.55.603(a), enacted by section 10 of the Act, has the effect of amending Alaska Rule of Civil Procedure 79, directing that the process service fee be allowed to a prevailing party, whether or not the fee amount exceeds the amount allowed by Rule 11, Alaska Rules of Administration.

Plain-English Summary

Unless the court directs otherwise, the prevailing party recovers costs allowed under the rule that were necessarily incurred, at the amount the rule specifies or, if none is specified, the reasonable amount incurred. To collect, the prevailing party files and serves an itemized, verified cost bill within 10 days after the clerk's certificate of distribution on the judgment, backed by receipts or other documentation available to other parties on request — filing that documentation with the court is only required if the clerk or another party asks for it. Missing the 10-day deadline waives the right to costs, absent an extension. Any party can object within 7 days of service of the cost bill, and the prevailing party can reply within 5 days after that; the clerk then issues an itemized award, denying costs only for items not allowed under the rule, inadequately documented items, or unreasonable amounts — not on the ground that a cost wasn't necessarily incurred, which instead has to be raised on review. A party aggrieved by the clerk's award can move for court review within 5 days, specifically identifying each disputed ruling, and the clerk's award is presumed reasonable.

Allowable costs include the filing fee; process-server and publication fees; bond or undertaking premiums; deposition-related costs, including the reporter's fee, travel to communities without a local reporter, audio or audio-visual recording expenses, and one original plus one copy of the transcript; witness and interpreter fees; approved travel costs; long-distance charges for telephonic participation; computerized legal research charges; copying and electronic-media costs, capped at 15 cents a copy for copies from the prevailing party's own attorney; exhibit preparation; court-ordered transcripts; other costs a statute allows; and related sales or other taxes. Travel costs are limited to one attorney at trial or on dispositive matters absent a local attorney, one attorney at depositions and similar activities, one legal assistant or investigator, and permitted witness travel, capped at coach airfare or actual cost, ground transportation outside the traveler's home city, and the same per diem allowed court employees — with a separate court-review process for a complex case needing more than one traveling attorney. Where damages are apportioned under state comparative-fault law, costs are apportioned and awarded following Rule 82(e).

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I recover my litigation costs after winning a case?

File and serve an itemized, verified cost bill within 10 days after the clerk's certificate of distribution on the judgment; missing that deadline, without an extension, waives the right to recover costs.

Can the other side object to the costs I'm claiming?

Yes, within 7 days of being served the cost bill, and you can reply within 5 days after that — the clerk then rules on the objection, though a dispute over whether a cost was necessarily incurred at all has to go to the court on review rather than being decided by the clerk.

Are attorney travel expenses recoverable as costs?

Yes, within limits — generally one attorney's travel to trial or dispositive proceedings when no local attorney is present, one attorney's travel to depositions, and one legal assistant or investigator's travel, capped at coach airfare, ground transportation outside the traveler's home city, and standard per diem rates.

Source & verification. The rule text, Amendment History, and Notes are reproduced verbatim from the official Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure (Alaska R. Civ. P. 79). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Alaska (Alaska Const. art. IV, § 15). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 6, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: cost bill Alaska civil rulerecoverable litigation costs AlaskaAlaska R. Civ. P. 79