Federal IDR Fees: Administrative & Arbitrator Costs

Federal administrative fee: $15 per party

For disputes initiated on or after June 11, 2026, the federal administrative fee is $15 per party per dispute. It remains non-refundable. Disputes initiated January 22, 2024 through June 10, 2026 retain the $115 administrative fee.

CMS administrative fee update

The arbitrator charges a separate fee

Each certified IDR entity publishes its own single-dispute, batch and additional-line fees. Use the fee year and structure applicable to the matter, then reconcile against the entity’s invoice. A batch base fee covering 2–25 lines is a pricing tier, not a universal 25-line eligibility limit.

For example, CMS lists C2C’s 2026 single-determination fee at $485 and its base batch fee at $685, with $100 for each additional 25-line tier beginning at line 26. Other entities charge different amounts. These are entity fees; add the applicable administrative fee.

CMS current certified IDR entity fee table

A practical cash budget

Illustration using C2C’s listed 2026 single fee and the $15 administrative fee: one party would budget $500 in federal process fees at submission of its offer, before any representation charges. A qualifying base-tier batch would total $700 for that party using the $685 batch fee.

These examples are cash requirements, not a prediction of final expense or recovery. Eligibility, the selected entity, fee tier, dispute outcome and any refund affect the final cost. Check the invoice and current instructions before paying.

Advance payment and final allocation differ

Both parties generally advance the certified IDR entity fee. The non-prevailing party generally bears that fee after the determination, with the prevailing party’s advance returned under the applicable rules. Mixed batch outcomes, settlement and withdrawal require their own allocation review; do not assume every successful line produces a full refund.

Track the non-refundable administrative fee, entity advance and entity refund separately. Professional service fees are set by the practice’s engagement agreement, not by the CMS fee table.

CMS overview of federal IDR fees and process

Compare costs with realistic recovery

Estimate the additional payer payment that could be recovered, then compare it with process costs, contractual service charges and the work required to support the matter. Avoid equating the total selected rate with new cash: prior payments and patient cost sharing must be reconciled.

Batching can reduce repeated process costs when claims meet the rules. It should follow an eligibility review, not drive a decision to combine unrelated claims. State processes have their own fees; the federal figures on this page do not price state arbitration.