Winning a federal case does not end the money question. If you are entitled to attorney’s fees, you have a short, separate deadline to claim them, and it runs from the judgment itself. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d)(2)(B) gives you 14 days after entry of judgment to file and serve your fees motion, unless a statute or a court order sets a different period. Miss that window and the fee claim is usually gone, even though the judgment on the merits stands.
This guide explains the 14-day rule, what the motion must contain, how the related costs rules work, and how the fees deadline interacts with the appeal clock. It covers federal civil cases only. State courts have their own fee rules, and many set very different deadlines.
The 14-Day Rule Under FRCP 54(d)(2)(B)
Rule 54(d)(2)(B) is short and strict. Unless a statute or court order provides otherwise, the motion must be filed and served no later than 14 days after entry of judgment. Note both verbs: filed and served. Dropping the motion in the court’s filing system on day 14 but serving the other side on day 15 does not satisfy the rule.
The motion must also do three things. It must specify the judgment and the statute, rule, or other grounds entitling the moving party to the award. It must state the amount sought or provide a fair estimate of it. And if the court directs, it must disclose the terms of any agreement about fees for the services covered by the claim. A motion that just says “we will seek fees later” does not meet this standard.
The 14 days run from entry of judgment, not from the day the judge announces a decision from the bench or issues an opinion. Under Rule 58, a judgment is entered when it is set out in a separate document or, where no separate document is required, when it is entered in the civil docket. If you are counting, start from the docket entry date and count forward under Rule 6(a): exclude the trigger day, count every calendar day including weekends, and if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period runs to the next business day.
When the 14-Day Rule Does Not Apply
Two exceptions matter most in practice. First, Rule 54(d)(2)(A) says the motion procedure does not apply when the substantive law governing the action provides for recovery of fees as an element of damages to be proved at trial. In that situation the fees are part of the trial proof, not a post-judgment motion.
Second, Rule 54(d)(2)(E) carves out claims for fees and expenses as sanctions for violating the rules. Sanctions motions follow their own rules and deadlines, not the 14-day fee clock.
Beyond those exceptions, the rule itself bows to statutes and court orders. A fee-shifting statute can set its own period. The Equal Access to Justice Act, for example, gives a party seeking fees against the United States 30 days after final judgment under 28 U.S.C. 2412(d)(1)(B), not 14. A judge’s scheduling order or a district’s local rule can also set a different schedule. Always check the statute you are claiming under, the local rules, and the judge’s individual practices before relying on the default 14 days.
Worked Date Examples
Counting under Rule 6(a) is mechanical, but it is easy to get wrong by a day. Exclude the day judgment is entered, then count forward 14 calendar days.
Judgment entered Monday, November 2, 2026: day 1 is Tuesday, November 3, and day 14 is Monday, November 16, 2026. The fees motion must be filed and served by November 16.
Judgment entered Friday, November 13, 2026: day 14 is Friday, November 27, 2026. That date is the day after Thanksgiving, which is not a federal legal holiday, so no rollover applies and the motion is still due November 27.
Judgment entered Friday, December 4, 2026: day 14 is Friday, December 18, 2026. File and serve by December 18.
If the 14th day lands on a weekend or a federal holiday, Rule 6(a)(3) pushes the deadline to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. And remember that electronic service gets no extra time: since December 1, 2016, the extra 3 days under Rule 6(d) do not apply to service made electronically.
Costs Are a Different Clock: FRCP 54(d)(1)
Do not confuse attorney’s fees with costs. Costs other than attorney’s fees, things like filing fees, transcript costs, and witness fees, are governed by Rule 54(d)(1), and they run on their own timetable.
Under Rule 54(d)(1), costs are allowed as of course to the prevailing party unless the court directs otherwise, except that costs against the United States, its officers, and its agencies may be imposed only to the extent permitted by law. The clerk may tax costs on 14 days’ notice. Once the clerk acts, a party that objects must serve a motion for court review within the next 7 days.
A concrete example: if notice of taxation is given on Monday, November 2, 2026, taxation follows 14 days later on Monday, November 16, 2026, and a motion asking the court to review the clerk’s action must be served within the next 7 days, by Monday, November 23, 2026. The 14-day notice period for costs and the 14-day filing period for a fees motion look alike but are different steps with different consequences, so calendar them separately.
Does a Fees Motion Pause the Appeal Deadline?
By default, no. Entry of judgment is not delayed, and the time for appeal is not extended, in order to tax costs or award fees. That is why the appeal clock and the fees clock must be tracked independently. Our federal notice of appeal deadline guide explains the 30-day appeal window under FRAP 4, which runs on its own schedule.
There is one narrow bridge between the two clocks. If a timely fees motion is made under Rule 54(d)(2), the court, before a notice of appeal has been filed and has become effective, may order that the motion have the same effect under FRAP 4(a)(4) as a timely motion under Rule 59. In plain terms, the court can choose to treat the fees motion like a post-judgment motion that tolls the appeal deadline. But the court must make that order, and it must do so before an effective notice of appeal is filed. Filing a fees motion alone does not toll anything.
This is also where our federal post-judgment motion deadline guide matters: a Rule 59 motion filed within 28 days of judgment does toll the appeal clock automatically under FRAP 4(a)(4)(A)(iv). A Rule 54 fees motion does not, unless the court orders otherwise as described above. If both motions are in play, calendar each deadline separately and do not assume one protects the other.
What Happens If You Miss the 14 Days
Courts enforce the 14-day period strictly in most cases. A late fees motion needs a court order or a statute-based reason to survive, and “we were busy with the appeal” is not one. The practical move is to ask for an extension before the deadline expires, not after. If an appeal is already underway, the court may defer ruling on the fees motion, deny it without prejudice and set a new filing period after the appeal is resolved, or rule on it while the appeal proceeds. But none of that helps if the original 14-day motion was never filed.
One more trap: a new judgment entered after a reversal, a remand, or a successful Rule 59 motion starts a fresh fee period tied to that new judgment. If your case comes back from appeal with a new judgment, do not assume the old fee motion covers it. File again within 14 days of the new entry.
If a deadline has already slipped, our missed court deadline guide walks through the options for seeking relief, including what courts look for before they will excuse a missed filing. For working out any federal deadline from a trigger date, try our legal deadline calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 14-day clock start when the judge announces the decision?
No. The clock starts on entry of judgment under Rule 58, which is when the judgment is set out in a separate document or entered in the civil docket. An oral announcement or an opinion alone does not start it.
Can the court extend the 14-day attorney’s fees deadline?
Yes. Rule 54(d)(2)(B) applies “[u]nless otherwise provided by statute or order of the court,” so a statute or a court order can set a different period. Ask for the extension before the deadline runs, and check local rules and the judge’s practices, which often set their own fee-motion schedules.
Does filing a fees motion extend the time to appeal?
Not by itself. The appeal deadline is not extended to award fees, unless the court orders, before an effective notice of appeal is filed, that the fees motion have the same effect under FRAP 4(a)(4) as a timely Rule 59 motion.
What if attorney’s fees are an element of damages in my case?
Then Rule 54(d)(2)(A) takes the claim out of the motion procedure altogether: fees that the substantive law requires to be proved at trial as an element of damages are proved at trial, not claimed in a post-judgment motion.
How are costs different from attorney’s fees under Rule 54?
Costs other than attorney’s fees fall under Rule 54(d)(1): the clerk taxes them on 14 days’ notice, and a party seeking court review must serve a motion within the next 7 days. Attorney’s fees fall under Rule 54(d)(2) and require a motion filed and served within 14 days of judgment.
What happens to a fees motion if the other side appeals?
The court may rule on it, defer its ruling, or deny it without prejudice and direct a new filing period after the appeal is resolved. File within the original 14 days regardless, so the claim is preserved either way.
This article is general information only, not legal advice. Deadlines depend on the statute claimed under, local rules, and court orders in your case. Check the current rule text and your court’s requirements, and consult a licensed attorney for advice about a specific matter.