Civil news: include vouchers for expense claims over £20
Remember to attach vouchers for any expense claim of more than £20.
When submitting expense claims it is important to include vouchers for any item totalling more than £20, including VAT.
Where possible the expense or disbursement voucher should contain the following:
- breakdown of work carried out and detail of hourly rate charged for each item
- expert’s name, specialism and address
- client name
Remember to tag all the vouchers together using a treasury tag, bulldog clip, staple or sturdy paper clip.
Vouchers unavailable
In some situations no voucher may be available because of the nature of the disbursement. Examples where this would apply include court fees or mileage costs.
In these circumstances, your request would need to be accompanied by a file note, letter confirming payment or ledger entry showing full details of the disbursement claimed.
For train fares where no ticket is available the ledger entry should be accompanied by a screen shot from a rail ticketing website.
Court order copies
These would be needed for the following disbursement types:
- drug/alcohol testing
- transcription fees
The court order is also useful where disbursements have been shared between different parties, especially DNA testing.
Model disbursement vouchers
In order to help providers check that the voucher contains all the necessary information we have drafted model vouchers/invoices to be used as a template.
These can be found in the back of both the civil finance and escape case handbooks.
Further information
Legal aid guidance – for cost assessment guidance and to download ‘The electronic handbook’ (Civil Finance Electronic Handbook)
Escape cases electronic handbook
Expert witnesses in legal aid cases – to download ‘Expert witness fee guide’