Expense Codes
The ABA expense codes (E101 through E124) plus the LOC intellectual property extension (E125 through E131), each with guidance on when the cost is billable, whether it is passed through at actual cost, and what invoice review checks.
UTBMS expense codes classify the costs a firm passes through on an invoice, separate from timekeeper fees, so that each cost can be tested against billing guidelines.
Guidelines generally organize expense review around three questions: is the cost billable at all or is it firm overhead, is it passed through at actual cost without markup, and did it require pre-approval or documentation. Codes E101 through E124 are the ABA originals; E125 through E131 are the LOC extension for intellectual property matters. Every code below is searchable alongside all sets at the UTBMS code database.
Expense review is one of the fastest places to recover spend, which is why it sits at the center of a legal spend management program: the rules are concrete, the amounts are verifiable against receipts, and the guideline questions rarely change from matter to matter.
What are expense codes used for?
Expense codes separate hard costs from professional time so that the two can be reviewed on different logic. Fees are reviewed for reasonableness of effort; expenses are reviewed for whether the cost belongs on the bill at all and whether the billed amount matches what the vendor actually charged.
Because expenses are concrete and documented, they are where guideline enforcement is most objective. A code that is designated overhead is adjustable on that basis alone, and a pass-through cost billed above its receipt is a factual discrepancy rather than a judgment call.
What does each UTBMS expense code cover?
E101: CopyingABA (1997)
In-office photocopying and printing charges, typically billed per page.
When to use this code: Use for internal reproduction costs where guidelines permit them. Many clients treat routine copying as overhead and allow charges only for large, matter-driven reproduction.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Per-page rates above the cap stated in guidelines, and volume that reflects internal convenience copies rather than required productions. Per-page pricing predates modern document workflows, so charges here often invite the question of whether printing was necessary at all.
What invoice review checks: Validate the per-page rate against your guideline cap and the volume against matter activity. High E101 totals in a period with no production or filing event are worth a narrative-level look.
E102: Outside printingABA (1997)
Reproduction and printing performed by external vendors, such as trial binders or large production sets.
When to use this code: Use for third-party printing engaged for the matter. Guidelines typically require pass-through at actual vendor cost.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Amounts that exceed the underlying vendor invoice, and charges above your documentation threshold submitted without receipts.
What invoice review checks: Request vendor receipts above the guideline threshold and reconcile the billed amount to them. This is a pure at-cost category, so the check is arithmetic.
E103: Word processingABA (1997)
Document production support performed by word processing staff.
When to use this code: Rarely billable under modern guidelines. Nearly all clients classify word processing as firm overhead built into hourly rates.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Any usage at all, since most guidelines addressed this category explicitly years ago. Charges here usually reflect firm billing system defaults rather than a current entitlement.
What invoice review checks: Check your guideline language; if word processing is designated overhead, entries under E103 are adjustable on that basis alone.
E104: FacsimileABA (1997)
Fax transmission charges.
When to use this code: Legacy category. Most guidelines now disallow fax charges entirely.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Continued per-page fax charges, which persist in some firm billing systems long after the underlying cost disappeared.
What invoice review checks: If your guidelines disallow the category, the review is a simple rule. If they are silent, this is an easy update to make at the next guideline refresh.
E105: TelephoneABA (1997)
Telephone and conferencing charges.
When to use this code: Largely legacy. Routine telephone costs are overhead under most guidelines; some clients still permit third-party conferencing or interpretation services at cost.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Per-minute long distance charges and conference line fees in an era of flat-rate communications, which typically reflect legacy billing configurations.
What invoice review checks: Distinguish third-party service invoices, which may be billable at cost, from internal telephone allocations, which guidelines generally classify as overhead.
E106: Online researchABA (1997)
Charges for computerized legal research services such as Westlaw or Lexis.
When to use this code: Use where guidelines permit research charges, typically at the firm's actual cost. This is one of the most guideline-sensitive expense categories.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Charges based on retail per-search rates when the firm pays a flat subscription, which produces billed amounts unrelated to actual incremental cost. Research charges also sometimes appear alongside A102 fee entries for the same work, so both dimensions of the research cost deserve a joint look.
What invoice review checks: Confirm what your guidelines say about actual cost versus standard rates, and track E106 as a ratio to research fees by firm. The variance across a panel is usually wide, and the data supports a productive rate conversation.
E107: Delivery services/messengersABA (1997)
Courier, messenger, and overnight delivery charges.
When to use this code: Use for third-party delivery engaged for the matter, passed through at cost.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Overnight or courier delivery for materials that had no filing deadline, and recurring delivery charges between offices of the same firm.
What invoice review checks: Match delivery charges to matter events with real deadlines. At-cost verification applies above your receipt threshold.
E108: PostageABA (1997)
Ordinary mailing costs.
When to use this code: Routine postage is overhead under most guidelines. Bulk mailing tied to a matter event, such as class notice, is the main billable exception.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Small recurring postage entries that accumulate across matters, which guidelines typically fold into overhead.
What invoice review checks: Apply the guideline classification. Bulk matter-driven mailings should come with documentation like any other vendor cost.
E109: Local travelABA (1997)
Mileage, parking, taxis, and similar costs for travel within the timekeeper's home market.
When to use this code: Use for matter-required local travel where guidelines permit it, at documented rates.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Mileage billed above the standard reimbursement rate referenced in guidelines, and commuting-pattern charges such as regular travel between a timekeeper's home and office.
What invoice review checks: Validate mileage rates against the published standard your guidelines reference and confirm the travel connects to a matter event. Receipts govern parking and taxi charges above the threshold.
E110: Out-of-town travelABA (1997)
Airfare, lodging, ground transport, and related costs for travel outside the home market.
When to use this code: Use for matter-required travel, typically subject to pre-approval and class-of-travel rules in guidelines.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Premium cabin airfare where guidelines specify coach, lodging above stated caps, bookings made close to travel dates at correspondingly higher fares, and travel that was not pre-approved where guidelines require it.
What invoice review checks: Check pre-approval records first, then validate class of travel and nightly rates against guideline caps. Receipts are standard for this category, which makes each element verifiable.
E111: MealsABA (1997)
Meal costs incurred during matter-related travel or approved working sessions.
When to use this code: Use within the per-person caps and conditions stated in guidelines. Many clients limit meals to overnight travel contexts.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Per-person amounts above guideline caps, alcohol included where guidelines exclude it, and local working meals in categories the guidelines do not cover.
What invoice review checks: Itemized receipts against the cap. The category is small individually and is best handled by automated rules rather than manual attention.
E112: Court feesABA (1997)
Filing fees and other charges paid to courts.
When to use this code: Use for fees paid directly to courts, passed through at cost. Among the least contested expense categories.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Little. The main item is confirming amounts match the court's published fee schedule.
What invoice review checks: Straightforward at-cost verification. Publicly available fee schedules make this a fast check when a number looks unusual.
E113: Subpoena feesABA (1997)
Costs of issuing and serving subpoenas, including process server charges.
When to use this code: Use for service costs passed through at actual cost.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Rush service charges on subpoenas without deadline pressure, and service attempts billed multiple times without explanation in the narrative.
What invoice review checks: Vendor receipts above the threshold, and a quick narrative check when multiple service attempts appear.
E114: Witness feesABA (1997)
Statutory attendance fees and travel allowances paid to witnesses.
When to use this code: Use for witness payments at the statutory rates that apply in the jurisdiction.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Amounts above statutory rates, which occasionally reflect other witness-related costs coded here for convenience.
What invoice review checks: Statutory rates are published, so validation is direct. Amounts beyond the statute belong in their proper category with documentation.
E115: Deposition transcriptsABA (1997)
Court reporter and transcript costs for depositions.
When to use this code: Use for transcript costs passed through at cost. Expedite and rough-draft services typically require a reason or approval.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Expedited delivery premiums on transcripts with no imminent deadline, original-plus-copy pricing where a copy would serve, and video and stenographic services stacked on the same deposition without stated need.
What invoice review checks: Compare service level billed to the case calendar. Expedite premiums are the recurring adjustment area, and the invoice itself documents the service level ordered.
E116: Trial transcriptsABA (1997)
Court reporter and transcript costs during trial.
When to use this code: Use for trial transcript costs at actual cost. Daily and realtime services are usually a strategic choice worth confirming in advance.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Daily or realtime transcription ordered without prior discussion, since the service carries a significant premium over standard delivery.
What invoice review checks: Confirm the service level was agreed before trial. When it was, this category reviews cleanly at cost.
E117: Trial exhibitsABA (1997)
Preparation and production of exhibits, demonstratives, and trial graphics.
When to use this code: Use for exhibit and demonstrative costs, typically from third-party vendors at cost, with larger engagements pre-approved.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Vendor charges exceeding the underlying invoice, and substantial graphics engagements that did not go through pre-approval where guidelines require it.
What invoice review checks: Vendor receipts and pre-approval records. For large demonstrative budgets, an estimate on file makes the final invoice review factual.
E118: Litigation support vendorsABA (1997)
eDiscovery, data hosting, document review platforms, and similar third-party litigation support costs.
When to use this code: Use for third-party litigation support at actual cost. This is often the largest expense category on a litigation matter, which makes it the highest-value review target in the E series.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Charges above the vendor's invoice to the firm, monthly hosting fees that continue after a matter goes quiet, per-gigabyte pricing that no longer reflects current market rates, and large engagements placed without the competitive process guidelines contemplate.
What invoice review checks: Reconcile to vendor invoices, track recurring hosting against matter status, and benchmark unit pricing across your portfolio. Where volumes justify it, direct client contracting with the vendor changes the economics entirely, and the E118 data tells you when volumes justify it.
E119: ExpertsABA (1997)
Fees of retained experts and consultants passed through the firm's invoice.
When to use this code: Use when expert costs flow through the firm rather than billing the client directly. Pass-through at actual cost is the near-universal guideline standard.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Amounts above the expert's own invoice, and expert engagements above guideline thresholds that were not pre-approved. The pass-through structure also delays your visibility into expert spend relative to direct billing.
What invoice review checks: Reconcile to the expert's invoice and check pre-approval. For significant engagements, moving experts to direct billing improves both cost visibility and accrual accuracy.
E120: Private investigatorsABA (1997)
Costs of investigative services.
When to use this code: Use for investigator costs at actual cost, with pre-approval where guidelines require it, which they typically do.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Investigative engagements appearing on an invoice before any approval conversation happened.
What invoice review checks: Pre-approval records and vendor receipts. The category is infrequent, which makes exceptions easy to spot.
E121: Arbitrators/mediatorsABA (1997)
Fees paid to arbitrators, mediators, and ADR administrators.
When to use this code: Use for neutral and forum fees at actual cost. These are commonly split between parties under the applicable rules or agreement.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: The full neutral fee billed where the engagement letter or forum rules provide for a split, and administrative fees duplicated across invoicing periods.
What invoice review checks: Check the fee split against the ADR agreement or forum rules, then verify at cost. Both documents are on file, so the review is factual.
E122: Local counselABA (1997)
Fees of local counsel passed through the primary firm's invoice.
When to use this code: Use when local counsel bills through the lead firm. Many clients prefer local counsel to bill directly, which brings that spend into normal fee review.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Amounts above local counsel's underlying invoice, and fee detail arriving as a single expense line, which places timekeeper-level review out of reach of your normal eBilling rules.
What invoice review checks: Reconcile to local counsel's invoice, and where volume warrants, move the relationship to direct billing so the fees run through task and activity code review like every other firm.
E123: Other professionalsABA (1997)
Fees of other third-party professionals, such as translators, accountants, or jury consultants.
When to use this code: Use for professional services that fit no more specific code, at actual cost with documentation.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Substantial professional engagements arriving under this generic code where a more specific category or a pre-approval process would normally apply.
What invoice review checks: Documentation above the threshold and a narrative sufficient to identify the professional and the purpose. Volume here is usually low, so exceptions stand out.
E124: OtherABA (1997)
Expenses that genuinely fit no other code.
When to use this code: Minimal expected usage. A well-coded invoice places nearly every expense in one of the categories above.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Recurring or material charges under the catch-all code, which usually indicates either a coding practice worth correcting or a cost category your guidelines have not yet addressed.
What invoice review checks: Track E124 as a share of expense lines by firm, and read narratives on anything material. Recurring items surfacing here are candidates for explicit treatment at your next guideline update.
E125: TranslationLOC IP extension
Translation costs, including preparation of translated documentation for foreign filings.
When to use this code: Use for translation costs on international IP and cross-border matters, passed through at cost.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Translation charges above the underlying vendor invoice, and repeated translation of boilerplate content across related filings.
What invoice review checks: Vendor receipts and per-word or per-page rate benchmarking across the portfolio, since translation is a commodity service with a wide price range.
E126: DrawingsLOC IP extension
Charges for drawings prepared by external draftsmen, principally patent drawings.
When to use this code: Use for third-party drafting costs at actual cost.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Per-figure rates varying widely across firms using different draftsman vendors.
What invoice review checks: Per-figure unit cost across the portfolio, one of the cleanest unit benchmarks in IP spend.
E127: Patent and Trademark RecordsLOC IP extension
Costs of obtaining patent copies, priority documents, file histories, and other IP records from third-party vendors.
When to use this code: Use for record retrieval costs at actual cost.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Retrieval charges for records available at low or no cost from patent office electronic systems.
What invoice review checks: Whether the record required a paid vendor at all, given how much is now freely retrievable from office databases.
E128: Searching and MonitoringLOC IP extension
Third-party search and watch service costs for IP matters.
When to use this code: Use for vendor search and monitoring services at actual cost, paired with the search-related task codes on the fee side.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Search vendor charges alongside substantial attorney search time for the same clearance, which is the fee-and-expense version of the dual-billing pattern.
What invoice review checks: Read with TR220/TR230 or the patent investigation codes for the full cost per clearance, and benchmark per-search vendor pricing.
E129: Official Fees (excluding maintenance, renewal, and late fees)LOC IP extension
Government and quasi-governmental fees on pending applications, including patent and trademark office fees, WIPO fees, notary and consular charges.
When to use this code: Use for official fees passed through at cost. Fee schedules are published by every office.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Official fees billed above the published schedule amount, or entity-status discounts (small or micro entity) not applied where the client qualifies.
What invoice review checks: Validate against the office fee schedule and confirm the correct entity status was claimed, both of which are objective checks.
E130: Post-Issuance Patent Maintenance and Trademark Renewal FeesLOC IP extension
Official fees paid to maintain issued patents and renew trademark registrations.
When to use this code: Use for maintenance and renewal fees at cost. The largest recurring official-fee category in an IP portfolio.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Annuity service margins layered on official fees where the client has not chosen the service model deliberately, and fees paid on assets the portfolio review would have abandoned.
What invoice review checks: Reconcile against the official schedule and, at portfolio scale, evaluate direct annuity service contracting. Every fee paid is also a keep-or-abandon decision that deserved to be made consciously.
E131: Late FeesLOC IP extension
Official surcharges to enter a document past a deadline, including extension-of-time fees.
When to use this code: Legitimate when a deliberate strategy choice, such as purchased extensions used for client decision time.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Recurring late fees across a portfolio, which usually indicate docketing process issues rather than strategy, and their causes are worth a firm-level conversation.
What invoice review checks: Track late-fee frequency by firm as a process-quality metric. The fee is small; the signal about docketing discipline is not.
What changed in the LOC revised codes?
2013 LOC Revised Expense Codes (X series) (2013). The 2013 revision replaces the E-series with an X-series precisely because clients had customized the E codes so heavily that no two implementations matched. The X codes roughly triple the granularity: copying splits into internal black and white (X101), internal color (X102), external service (X103), and special handling (X104); telephone splits into local, long distance, mobile, and conferencing (X107 through X110); new practice-specific costs get homes (eviction X118, foreclosure X119, title insurance X120, immigration X121, medical records X130 through X132, ATE premiums X125); the E125 through E131 IP extension carries over as X139 and the X200 series; eDiscovery vendor costs get the X300 series; and technology costs get the X400 series covering licenses, subscriptions, transactions, hardware, hosting, and storage. X900 through X998 are formally reserved for client customization, and X999 is the catch-all.
| Code | Name | Maps to | Revision note |
|---|---|---|---|
X101 | Copies/Blowbacks/Printing-Black and White (Internal) | E101 | Split from Copying |
X103 | Copy Service (External) | E102 | Formerly Outside Printing |
X111 | Online Legal Research | E106 | Formerly Online Research |
X114 | Local Travel | E109 | |
X115 | Out-of-Town Travel | E110 | |
X117 | Court and Governmental Agency Fees | E112 | Formerly Court Fees; scope clarified |
X122 | Late Fees | E131 | Generalized from the IP-only original |
X137 | Experts, Consultants, Other Vendors and Professionals | E119, E123 | Merged two originals |
X138 | Litigation Support Vendors | E118 | |
X139 | Translation | E125 | Generalized from IP-only |
X400 | Software License/User Access Fee | new | New; technology category |
X404 | Hosting Fees - Internal | new | New; pairs with L651 review of hosting economics |
X999 | Other | E124 |
For invoice review, the X series is a gift: granularity is what makes automated expense rules precise. The X400 technology codes deserve particular attention, since software, hosting, and storage pass-throughs were invisible inside E124 under the original schema. Where clients still run E codes, the official mapping in the LOC source governs translation between the two.
How should legal departments use expense codes in invoice review?
Expense review works best as a small set of standing rules applied to every invoice rather than a case-by-case judgment. Decide which expense categories your guidelines treat as overhead, set the caps and documentation thresholds for the rest, and require actual-cost pass-through everywhere so that any markup surfaces as a variance.
Those rules only hold if the eBilling platform enforces them automatically, which is where legal technology implementation matters: caps on E101 copying and E106 online research, receipt thresholds on E102 outside printing and E110 out-of-town travel, and hard blocks on overhead categories should run as system rules, not manual catches. Configured that way, expense review scales to every invoice without adding reviewer time.
How do Expense Codes support legal spend management?
Expense Codes only deliver value inside a program that enforces them. Our legal spend management and enterprise legal management hubs cover how coded invoices become spend control, and our guides to why billing guidelines fail, the cost of poor eBilling governance, and how legal eBilling works go deeper on the review programs, guidelines, and eBilling rules that put UTBMS coding to work.
Bottom Line
The expense codes reward a program that decides its guideline positions once and then enforces them consistently. The recurring wins are the same across most departments: research charges billed at retail rates against a flat subscription, copying and printing above cap, and overhead categories that should not appear on an invoice at all.
The intellectual property extension (E125 through E131) adds a handful of IP-specific pass-through costs that follow the same at-cost logic as the originals.
Set your expense guideline positions once, enforce them in the eBilling system, and expense review becomes a rule engine rather than a manual hunt.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the E-series and the X-series expense codes?
The E-series (E101 through E131) is the original ABA expense set plus the LOC intellectual property extension. The X-series is the 2013 LOC revision that roughly tripled the granularity because firms had customized the E codes so heavily that no two implementations matched. Most eBilling systems still run on the E-series, so it remains the primary reference, with the X-series changes summarized on this page.
Which expense codes are the most common sources of billing adjustments?
Online research (E106), copying and printing (E101), and travel (E109 and E110) are the categories where billed amounts most often diverge from guideline positions. Research billed at retail per-search rates against a flat subscription and copying above a per-page cap are the two patterns reviewers see most.
What are the E125 through E131 codes for?
They are the LOC intellectual property extension, covering pass-through costs specific to patent and trademark work such as official filing and search fees. They carry their own provenance because they were added to the ABA originals rather than being part of the 1997 set, and they follow the same actual-cost pass-through logic as the other expense codes.
How should an expense code be tested during invoice review?
Ask three questions in order: is this cost billable under our guidelines or is it overhead, is it passed through at actual cost without markup, and did it require pre-approval or a receipt above our threshold. Each expense code below lists the specific pattern reviewers watch for and what invoice review checks, so the test is concrete for every category.
How do UTBMS codes relate to outside counsel billing guidelines and legal spend management?
UTBMS codes are the shared vocabulary that outside counsel billing guidelines and a legal spend management program depend on. Guidelines define what each code should and should not contain, the eBilling system enforces those rules, and consistent coding is what makes spend analytics and cross-firm benchmarking possible. Without agreed codes, guidelines cannot be enforced and spend data cannot be compared.
About this reference
UTBMS code sets are standards published by their respective bodies, including the ABA, the LEDES Oversight Committee, UTBMS.com, the CBA, DRI, the Judiciaries of England and Wales, and the Yerra Global KM Expert Group. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners; Swiftwater & Company is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
Code identifiers follow the published standards, while all descriptions and annotations are original Swiftwater commentary, developed with human expertise, proprietary consulting knowledge, and AI assistance.
This is general reference material, not legal advice. Standards are revised over time, so confirm the current version with the originating body before implementing.
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