(a) Prejudgment costs allowable under this chapter shall be claimed and contested in accordance with rules adopted by the Judicial Council.
§ 1034.Prejudgment Costs
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 6. Of Costs · Enacted 1986 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1034 directs the Judicial Council to adopt the procedural rules governing how prejudgment costs allowed under this chapter are claimed and contested, and separately to establish the rules for allowable costs on appeal and the procedure for claiming them.
Full Text of § 1034
(b) The Judicial Council shall establish by rule allowable costs on appeal and the procedure for claiming those costs.
Plain-English Summary
This chapter sets out who can recover costs and what counts as a cost, but the mechanics of claiming and fighting over them -- deadlines, forms, motions to tax costs -- come from somewhere else. Section 1034 hands that procedural rulemaking authority to the Judicial Council.
Subdivision (a) covers prejudgment costs, meaning costs allowable under this chapter generally, and requires them to be claimed and contested according to the Judicial Council's rules, the source of the memorandum-of-costs and motion-to-tax-costs procedure litigators use in practice. Subdivision (b) does the same for costs on appeal, requiring the Judicial Council to establish both what's allowable and how to claim it.
Several other sections in this chapter point back to § 1034 for that procedural framework, including § 1032's own reference to rules adopted under this section and § 1033's cost-discretion provisions for limited civil cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do the procedural rules for claiming costs come from?
The Judicial Council, which Section 1034 directs to adopt rules for claiming and contesting prejudgment costs and for costs on appeal.
Does Section 1034 itself list what costs are recoverable?
No. It only authorizes the Judicial Council's procedural rules; § 1033.5 is the section that lists recoverable cost items.
Does this section cover costs incurred on appeal?
Yes, subdivision (b) separately requires the Judicial Council to establish allowable appellate costs and the procedure for claiming them.
Amendment History
Repealed and added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 377, Sec. 15.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: ccp 1034 judicial council cost rulesmemorandum of costs procedure californiacalifornia rules of court costs appeal