LedesReady › Sample LEDES 1998B file, explained field by field
Sample LEDES 1998B file, explained field by field
A complete, valid LEDES 1998B invoice you can open in a text editor, compare with your own file, or drop into a validator: 7 line items (5 fees, 2 expenses), one invoice, total 3207.30. Firm, client and people are fictional.
LEDES1998B[] INVOICE_DATE|INVOICE_NUMBER|CLIENT_ID|LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID|INVOICE_TOTAL|BILLING_START_DATE|BILLING_END_DATE|INVOICE_DESCRIPTION|LINE_ITEM_NUMBER|EXP/FEE/INV_ADJ_TYPE|LINE_ITEM_NUMBER_OF_UNITS|LINE_ITEM_ADJUSTMENT_AMOUNT|LINE_ITEM_TOTAL|LINE_ITEM_DATE|LINE_ITEM_TASK_CODE|LINE_ITEM_EXPENSE_CODE|LINE_ITEM_ACTIVITY_CODE|TIMEKEEPER_ID|LINE_ITEM_DESCRIPTION|LAW_FIRM_ID|LINE_ITEM_UNIT_COST|TIMEKEEPER_NAME|TIMEKEEPER_CLASSIFICATION|CLIENT_MATTER_ID[] 20261031|INV-1001|ACME-INS|2026-014|3207.30|20261001|20261031|Legal services October 2026|1|F|1.50|0|675.00|20261002|L120||A104|NB|Review and analyze complaint and coverage letter|12-3456789|450.00|Bell, Nora|PT|CLM-44-1021[] 20261031|INV-1001|ACME-INS|2026-014|3207.30|20261001|20261031|Legal services October 2026|2|F|2.20|0|990.00|20261003|L210||A103|NB|Draft answer and affirmative defenses|12-3456789|450.00|Bell, Nora|PT|CLM-44-1021[] 20261031|INV-1001|ACME-INS|2026-014|3207.30|20261001|20261031|Legal services October 2026|3|F|0.30|0|82.50|20261006|L160||A106|MR|Telephone conference with claims adjuster re early mediation|12-3456789|275.00|Ruiz, Marco|AS|CLM-44-1021[] 20261031|INV-1001|ACME-INS|2026-014|3207.30|20261001|20261031|Legal services October 2026|4|F|1.80|0|495.00|20261015|L310||A103|MR|Prepare initial disclosures and witness list|12-3456789|275.00|Ruiz, Marco|AS|CLM-44-1021[] 20261031|INV-1001|ACME-INS|2026-014|3207.30|20261001|20261031|Legal services October 2026|5|F|1.20|0|540.00|20261020|L330||A101|NB|Plan and prepare for deposition of plaintiff|12-3456789|450.00|Bell, Nora|PT|CLM-44-1021[] 20261031|INV-1001|ACME-INS|2026-014|3207.30|20261001|20261031|Legal services October 2026|6|E|1|0|412.80|20261021||E115|||Deposition transcript - plaintiff|12-3456789|412.80|||CLM-44-1021[] 20261031|INV-1001|ACME-INS|2026-014|3207.30|20261001|20261031|Legal services October 2026|7|E|120|0|12.00|20261022||E101|||Copying - deposition exhibits|12-3456789|0.10|||CLM-44-1021[]
How it's built
- Line 1 is
LEDES1998B[]; line 2 is the header with the 24 field names; each line after that is one fee or expense, every line ending in[]. - The LEDES Oversight Committee describes 1998B as "an ASCII, pipe delimited format containing 24 fields" and the most widely used e-billing standard in the US (ledes.org, checked 2026-10-27).
- Invoice-level fields (date, number, total, billing period…) repeat on every line.
Line 1 (a fee) and line 6 (an expense), field by field
| # | Field | Fee line | Expense line | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | INVOICE_DATE | 20261031 | 20261031 | YYYYMMDD |
| 2 | INVOICE_NUMBER | INV-1001 | INV-1001 | |
| 3 | CLIENT_ID | ACME-INS | ACME-INS | |
| 4 | LAW_FIRM_MATTER_ID | 2026-014 | 2026-014 | |
| 5 | INVOICE_TOTAL | 3207.30 | 3207.30 | Sum of all LINE_ITEM_TOTALs, repeated on every line |
| 6 | BILLING_START_DATE | 20261001 | 20261001 | |
| 7 | BILLING_END_DATE | 20261031 | 20261031 | |
| 8 | INVOICE_DESCRIPTION | Legal services October 2026 | Legal services October 2026 | |
| 9 | LINE_ITEM_NUMBER | 1 | 6 | 1, 2, 3… within the invoice |
| 10 | EXP/FEE/INV_ADJ_TYPE | F | E | F fee, E expense (IF / IE invoice-level adjustments) |
| 11 | LINE_ITEM_NUMBER_OF_UNITS | 1.50 | 1 | Hours for fees, quantity for expenses |
| 12 | LINE_ITEM_ADJUSTMENT_AMOUNT | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | LINE_ITEM_TOTAL | 675.00 | 412.80 | Units × unit cost + adjustment |
| 14 | LINE_ITEM_DATE | 20261002 | 20261021 | |
| 15 | LINE_ITEM_TASK_CODE | L120 | | UTBMS task code (fees) |
| 16 | LINE_ITEM_EXPENSE_CODE | | E115 | UTBMS expense code (expenses) |
| 17 | LINE_ITEM_ACTIVITY_CODE | A104 | | UTBMS activity code (fees) |
| 18 | TIMEKEEPER_ID | NB | | |
| 19 | LINE_ITEM_DESCRIPTION | Review and analyze complaint and coverage letter | Deposition transcript - plaintiff | |
| 20 | LAW_FIRM_ID | 12-3456789 | 12-3456789 | Usually the firm's tax ID |
| 21 | LINE_ITEM_UNIT_COST | 450.00 | 412.80 | |
| 22 | TIMEKEEPER_NAME | Bell, Nora | | |
| 23 | TIMEKEEPER_CLASSIFICATION | PT | | e.g. PT partner, AS associate |
| 24 | CLIENT_MATTER_ID | CLM-44-1021 | CLM-44-1021 | The client's or insurer's own claim / matter number |
The math
Line 1: 1.50 hours × 450.00 = 675.00. Line 7: 120 copies × 0.10 = 12.00. INVOICE_TOTAL 3207.30 is the sum of all seven line totals — a one-cent mismatch is a common rejection (see rejection errors).
The LEDES Oversight Committee also publishes its own 1998B format document and sample file (rev. 7-2014). For every field's rules, see LEDES 1998B format: all 24 fields; for the codes, the UTBMS code list.
Next step: Want this file from your own time entries? LedesReady reads the codes from your Toggl, Clockify or Harvest tags or an Excel column, flags missing or invalid codes, and writes a validated LEDES 1998B file — free up to 25 line items, in your browser. Create a LEDES file →
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