The Notice of Appeal must be in writing and must be lodged with the Clerk of Appeals, together with the fee (currently £100) and the additional material referred to in the Regulations and in the Criminal Costs Practice Direction within 21 days of receipt of the reasons given for the decision or within such longer time as the Costs Judge may direct. Papers are lodged with the Clerk of Appeals in Room 7.12.

The Notice of Appeal should follow the form in Schedule 3 to the Criminal Costs Practice Direction (see Appendix AE). It is important that the Notice of Appeal should clearly identify (i) the matters which are being appealed to the Costs Judge and (ii) the amount in dispute in relation to each item.

Notices of Appeal must be signed by advocates personally or by a partner in the appellant firm of Solicitors.

It occasionally happens that appellants fail to serve the appropriate officer at the Legal Aid Agency with a copy of the Notice of Appeal.  The Regulations are mandatory in this respect and failure to do so may result in the appeal being dismissed without the merits being considered.