Article 83. Disbursements and Additional Allowances · Last amended 2013 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 8301 lists the categories of out-of-pocket litigation expenses, called disbursements, that a party may tax in an action, on appeal, on a motion, or in some cases even without an award of costs.
(a)Disbursements in action or on appeal. A party to whom costs are awarded in an action or on appeal is entitled to tax his necessary disbursements for:
1. the legal fees of witnesses and of referees and other officers; 2. the reasonable compensation of commissioners taking depositions; 3. the legal fees for publication, where publication is directed pursuant to law; 4. the legal fees paid for a certified copy of a paper necessarily obtained for use on the trial; 5. the expense of securing copies of opinions and charges of judges; 6. the reasonable expenses of printing the papers for a hearing, when required; 7. the prospective charges for entering and docketing the judgment; 8. the sheriff’s fees for receiving and returning one execution; 9. the reasonable expense of taking, and making two transcripts of testimony on an examination before trial, not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars in any one action; 10. the expenses of searches made by title insurance, abstract or searching companies, or by any public officer authorized to make official searches and certify to the same, or by the attorney for the party to whom costs are awarded, taxable at rates not exceeding the cost of similar official searches; 11. the reasonable expenses actually incurred in securing an undertaking to stay enforcement of a judgment subsequently reversed; and 12. any fee imposed by section fifty-three of the general municipal law; and 13. such other reasonable and necessary expenses as are taxable according to the course and practice of the court, by express provision of law or by order of the court.
(b)Disbursements on motion. Upon motion of any party made after the determination of a motion, or upon its own initiative, the court may allow any party thereto to tax as disbursements his reasonable and necessary expenses of the motion.
(c)Disbursements to party not awarded costs. The court may allow taxation of disbursements by a party not awarded costs in an action or on appeal; and shall allow taxation of disbursements by a party not awarded costs in an action for a sum of money only where he recovers the sum of fifty dollars or more.
(d)Reasonable fees taxable. Where an expense for a service performed, other than a search, is a taxable disbursement, the court may allow its taxation in an amount equal to the reasonable sum actually and necessarily expended therefor, if it is the usual charge made by private persons for the service, although it is in excess of the fee allowed a public officer.
Plain-English Summary
Costs and disbursements are different things, and CPLR 8301 is the section that defines disbursements. Subdivision (a) lists the specific expenses a party who has been awarded costs in an action or on appeal may tax as necessary disbursements: witness and referee fees, deposition-officer compensation, publication fees, certified copies needed for trial, printing costs, judgment entry and docketing charges, sheriff's execution fees, the expense of transcribing an examination before trial up to a stated cap, search expenses, the cost of an undertaking to stay enforcement of a reversed judgment, certain statutory fees, and a catch-all for other reasonable and necessary expenses taxable by law or court order.
Subdivision (b) extends the same idea to motions, letting the court allow a party to tax the reasonable and necessary expenses of a motion, on its own initiative or on a later motion by a party. Subdivision (c) goes further still, allowing the court to permit a party who was not awarded costs to tax disbursements anyway, and requiring it where that party recovered fifty dollars or more in a money action. Subdivision (d) rounds out the section by letting the court tax the real, reasonable cost of a service, such as process serving, even when it exceeds the fee that would otherwise apply to a public officer performing the same task.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between costs and disbursements under the CPLR?
Costs, fixed by Article 82, are a set statutory allowance tied to the stage of the case. Disbursements, defined by CPLR 8301, are a party's actual necessary out-of-pocket expenses, such as witness fees or transcript costs, that get reimbursed alongside costs.
What expenses can be taxed as disbursements under CPLR 8301(a)?
The subdivision lists witness and referee fees, deposition officer compensation, publication fees, certified copies needed for trial, costs of securing judicial opinions, printing expenses, judgment entry and docketing charges, sheriff's fees for one execution, capped examination-before-trial transcript costs, search expenses, the cost of an undertaking on a reversed judgment, certain statutory fees, and other reasonable expenses taxable by law or court order.
Can disbursements be taxed on a motion under CPLR 8301?
Yes. Subdivision (b) lets the court, either on its own initiative or on a party's later motion, allow any party to tax the reasonable and necessary expenses of the motion as disbursements.
Can a party recover disbursements even without being awarded costs?
Yes, in some circumstances. Under CPLR 8301(c), the court may allow disbursements to a party not awarded costs, and it must allow them where that party recovers fifty dollars or more in an action for a sum of money only.
Does CPLR 8301 cap disbursements at the official fee a public officer would charge?
No. Subdivision (d) allows the court to tax the actual, reasonable amount spent for a service, other than a search, even if that amount is higher than the fee a public officer would be allowed to charge for the same service.
Is there a dollar limit on transcript costs for an examination before trial under CPLR 8301?
Yes. CPLR 8301(a)(9) caps the taxable expense of taking and preparing two transcripts of examination-before-trial testimony at two hundred fifty dollars in any one action.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subd (a) of this section is derived from CPA § 1518; with one exception, the provisions are virtually unchanged. Although the former section did not so indicate, it was applicable also on appeal (see 23 Carmody-Wait, Cyclopedia of New York Practice 377 (1956)), as this subdivision expressly states. Cf. CPA § 1508(2). The only change of significance is that made by subparagraph 9, which increases the maximum disbursement for the cost of taking testimony at an examination before trial from the twenty-five dollars specified in former subparagraph 8-a to two hundred fifty dollars; despite the former provision’s recent origin, the committee considers its limitation totally unrealistic in the light of the actual charges made by stenographic reporters at examinations before trial. It is not intended, however, that the “cost” of taking and transcribing testimony include the regular salary paid to the attorney’s own stenographer, where she acts in an examination. Provision for taxing more than the “legal” fees of process servers and stenographers is made in subd (d).
Subd (b) of this section replaces part of CPA § 1505. Although it is unclear whether the disbursements mentioned in the former section were applicable to motions as well as references, this subdivision expressly allows disbursements upon all motions. Moreover, this subdivision gives the court discretion to deny disbursements even though costs are awarded, or to award disbursements where costs are not awarded. Cf. subdivision (c). The subdivision requires a separate motion after the determination of the motion with respect to which the disbursements are to be taxed, if the court has not awarded disbursements “upon its own initiative” in its determination of the motion. It is contemplated that in complicated motions—such as those requiring a reference or other extended proceedings—a proposed list of disbursements will be submitted to the court for allowance after the motion is finally determined, while in simple motions, the court’s decision on the motion will ordinarily recite whether the usual disbursements are allowed. Since the court is permitted to allow disbursements to “any party,” it may allow them to a party other than the one moving for taxation of disbursements.
Subd (c) of this section is new. It permits the court to allow disbursements to a party not entitled to costs. It therefore replaces part of CPA § 1499, which permits disbursements without costs to be awarded against a fiduciary.
Subd (d) of this section is new. It is intended to mitigate the former inequity created by divergence between the actual cost for such services as process serving and stenography, which, as a practical matter, are often necessarily paid for at competitive rates, and the far lower “legal” charge, which is the maximum amount taxable. Searches are excepted because of subd (a)(10).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 2012, ch 500, § 3, eff June 15, 2013.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
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