Rule 3.1702.Claiming attorney’s fees

Division 17. Attorney’s Fees and Costs · Last amended 2013 · Last verified July 29, 2026

In one sentenceRule 3.1702 sets the deadlines for moving to claim statutory or contractual attorney’s fees that require a court to determine entitlement or amount, tying the deadline to the time for filing a notice of appeal or a memorandum of costs, and routes fees fixed by a set formula into the cost memorandum instead.

Full Text of Rule 3.1702

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

(a) Application Except as otherwise provided by statute, this rule applies in civil cases to claims for statutory attorney’s fees and claims for attorney’s fees provided for in a contract. Subdivisions (b) and (c) apply when the court determines entitlement to the fees, the amount of the fees, or both, whether the court makes that determination because the statute or contract refers to “reasonable” fees, because it requires a determination of the prevailing party, or for other reasons. (Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2007.)

(b) Attorney’s fees before trial court judgment

(1) Time for motion A notice of motion to claim attorney’s fees for services up to and including the rendition of judgment in the trial court—including attorney’s fees on an appeal before the rendition of judgment in the trial court—must be served and filed within the time for filing a notice of appeal under rules 8.104 and 8.108 in an unlimited civil case or under rules 8.822 and 8.823 in a limited civil case.

(2) Stipulation for extension of time The parties may, by stipulation filed before the expiration of the time allowed under (b)(1), extend the time for filing a motion for attorney’s fees:

(A) Until 60 days after the expiration of the time for filing a notice of appeal in an unlimited civil case or 30 days after the expiration of the time in a limited civil case; or

(B) If a notice of appeal is filed, until the time within which a memorandum of costs must be served and filed under rule 8.278(c) in an unlimited civil case or under rule 8.891(c)(1) in a limited civil case. (Subd (b) amended effective July 1, 2013; previously amended effective January 1, 1999, January 1, 2006, January 1, 2007, January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2011.)

(1) Time for motion A notice of motion to claim attorney’s fees on appeal—other than the attorney’s fees on appeal claimed under (b)—under a statute or contract requiring the court to determine entitlement to the fees, the amount of the fees, or both, must be served and filed within the time for serving and filing the memorandum of costs under rule 8.278(c)(1) in an unlimited civil case or under rule 8.891(c)(1) in a limited civil case.

(2) Stipulation for extension of time The parties may by stipulation filed before the expiration of the time allowed under (c)(1) extend the time for filing the motion up to an additional 60 days in an unlimited civil case or 30 days in a limited civil case. (Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2010; previously amended effective January 1, 1999, January 1, 2006, January 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008.)

(d) Extensions For good cause, the trial judge may extend the time for filing a motion for attorney’s fees in the absence of a stipulation or for a longer period than allowed by stipulation. (Subd (d) amended effective January 1, 2007; adopted effective January 1, 1999.)

(e) Attorney’s fees fixed by formula If a party is entitled to statutory or contractual attorney’s fees that are fixed without the necessity of a court determination, the fees must be claimed in the memorandum of costs. (Subd (e) amended effective January 1, 2007; adopted as subd (d); previously relettered effective January 1, 1999.)

End

Plain-English Summary

Not every attorney’s fee claim works the same way. Rule 3.1702 separates fees that need a court to decide something, such as whether a party qualifies as prevailing or what a reasonable fee looks like, from fees that a statute or contract fixes by formula and need no judicial determination at all. The rule’s deadlines apply to the first kind.

For fees tied to work done through trial court judgment, including appellate work performed before that judgment, the deadline to move for fees lines up with the deadline to file a notice of appeal. The parties can stipulate to push that deadline out further, and further still once a notice of appeal is filed, tying the new deadline to when a memorandum of costs is due on appeal. A separate track covers fees for appellate work claimed after judgment, keyed instead to the appellate cost-memorandum deadline. In both situations, a trial judge can grant more time for good cause even without a stipulation.

Fees that do not require a court determination skip this whole framework. If a statute or contract fixes the fee amount without needing the court to decide anything, Rule 3.1702(e) routes that claim into the ordinary memorandum of costs instead of a separate fee motion.

Frequently Asked Questions

When must a party move for trial court attorney’s fees in a California civil case?

Within the same time allowed for filing a notice of appeal, under Rule 3.1702(b)(1), unless the parties stipulate to a longer period.

Can the deadline to move for attorney’s fees be extended by agreement?

Yes. Rule 3.1702(b)(2) lets the parties stipulate to extend the deadline, and further still once a notice of appeal is filed, tied to the deadline for the appellate memorandum of costs.

How are attorney’s fees claimed when a statute or contract fixes the amount without a court determination?

In the memorandum of costs, not by a separate fee motion, under Rule 3.1702(e).

Does a different deadline apply to attorney’s fees for work done on appeal?

Yes. Rule 3.1702(c) ties the deadline for fees on appellate work claimed after judgment to the deadline for the appellate memorandum of costs, rather than the trial court appeal deadline.

Amendment History

Rule 3.1702 amended effective July 1, 2013; adopted as rule 870.2 effective January 1, 1994; previously amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 1999, January 1, 2006, July 1, 2008, January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2011.

Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from the Judicial Council of California. Adopted by the Judicial Council of California. Last verified July 29, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: deadline to file motion for attorney fees Californiaclaiming attorney fees after judgment CaliforniaCRC rule 3.1702