Federal Courts Tariff B and Titles Updated

Summary#

The Rules Amending the Federal Courts Rules and the Federal Courts Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection Rules (SOR/2025-232) change how the Federal Courts calculate and award legal costs and update a judicial title. The rules were registered on November 21, 2025, published in the Canada Gazette on December 3, 2025, and come into force about one month later (see below for the exact date rule).

What it does#

• Simplifies the costs schedule known as Tariff B in the Federal Courts Rules by breaking it into four separate tables for different case types: actions, applications, appeals and motions.
• Reduces the number of column choices used to calculate costs from five to three, with the usual/default option now column 2.
• Increases the scale of recoverable costs roughly 25% overall by widening the ranges used for each item and adding procedures that were previously missing from the tariff.
• Allows fractional units in assessments and changes rounding so results are rounded up to the next multiple of 10.
• Adds many specific items that lawyers commonly perform (for example, document production, expert work and travel) to make tariff awards more closely match actual litigation costs.
• Keeps the Court’s power to choose between using the tariff or awarding a lump-sum amount; judges still have full discretion.
• Replaces the title “prothonotary” with associate judge across the Federal Courts Rules and the Federal Courts Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection Rules.
• Transitional rule: the old Tariff B continues to apply to costs awarded by orders made before these amendments come into force.
• Coming into force rule: the amendments take effect on the day in the first month after registration that has the same calendar number as the registration day. Because these rules were registered on November 21, 2025, they will come into force on December 21, 2025 (unless that calendar rule produces a different date in other cases).

Who's affected#

• Litigants in the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal — people, companies, non-profits and government bodies involved in federal litigation.
• Lawyers and law firms who prepare bills of costs and represent parties in federal matters.
• Court staff and assessment officers who calculate and administer costs awards.
• Parties in types of cases where costs have historically been under-compensated (notably intellectual property and maritime/admiralty disputes) are most likely to see noticeable differences.
• Small businesses that sue or are sued in federal matters may see higher or more predictable cost awards, depending on case outcomes.

Why it matters#

• Predictability: the tariff is designed to be easier to use and to produce more predictable cost awards than before. That helps parties estimate potential exposure or recovery for legal fees.
• Financial impact: many losing parties could face higher costs awards because the tariff was increased by about 25% and covers more common litigation tasks. However, judges can still choose lump-sum awards when they think that’s appropriate.
• Settlement incentives: clearer and larger potential cost awards may encourage earlier settlement in some cases.
• Administrative ease: clearer tables and added items should make it faster for assessment officers and lawyers to prepare and assess bills of costs.
• Title consistency: changing “prothonotary” to associate judge aligns the rules with the federal statutes and removes an outdated term.