When the receiving party files a request for a detailed assessment of a bill not exceeding £75,000, that party must also file the documents listed in the Part 47 Practice Direction (para 14.3) namely:

(a) the request in Form N258;
(b) the documents listed in the Part 47 Practice Direction at paragraphs 8.3 (open offers) and 13.2 (documents to accompany N258);
(c) an additional copy of the bill;
(d) a statement of the costs claimed in respect of the detailed assessment proceedings (drawn on the basis that there will be no oral hearing following the provisional assessment);
(e) the offers made (those marked “without prejudice save as to costs” or made under Part 36 must be contained in a sealed envelope marked “Part 36 or similar offers”, but not indicating which party or parties have made them);
(f) a copy of the points of dispute and any reply in the form of Precedent G.

Parties are invited to supply the court with an email address to which details of the provisional assessment may be sent and, where supplied, these should be set out in the statement of parties (required by the Part 47 Practice Direction (para 13.2(j))).

In the SCCO the Costs Judge or Costs Officer will have regard to the papers in support of the bill (that is, the papers listed in the Part 47 Practice Direction (para 13.12)) when conducting the provisional assessment. If the receiving party has not lodged supporting papers with the request for detailed assessment, that party should do so when requested by the court.

The court may give notice of the date on which the bill is intended to be provisionally assessed. However, the parties should not attend on that date. The court will use its best endeavours to undertake a provisional assessment within 6 weeks.

An application for an interim costs certificate which is made in a case proceeding to a provisional assessment will not be listed for hearing on a date before the provisional assessment takes place unless some good reason for such an early listing is shown.