9/11 VCF Attorney Fees: What a Lawyer Costs and What the Fee Covers
How much does a 9/11 VCF lawyer cost?
Federal law caps what an attorney can charge on a September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) claim at 10% of the award. Routine expenses count toward that cap rather than being added on top, and some costs can never be charged at all. The fee is usually charged as a percentage of the award, and the claimant pays it under the terms of the fee agreement.
Key Takeaways
- 10% Cap: Federal law caps VCF attorney fees at 10% of the award.
- Expenses Inside the Cap: Routine expenses count toward the 10% fee, not on top of it. Printing, mailing, phone calls and staff time can never be charged in addition to the 10% fee cap.
- Other Expenses: Most expenses outside the normal course of a claim need the Special Master's written approval. In our experience, they are extremely rare.
- Lawyer Not Required: No one is required to have a lawyer to file a VCF claim. However, in 2023, the VCF said about 86% of all claimants were represented.
- Our Fee: Our fee is 10%, paid only from the award, with nothing due up front.
- Hearings: In our experience, more claims now need an appeal hearing as records and witnesses from 2001 and 2002 grow harder to find. We do not charge any additional fees to represent clients in appeal hearings. If a claim is denied and no award is made, we do not receive a fee. See how 9/11 VCF appeals work.
Under the VCF Act, an attorney may not charge any individual more than 10% of the amount of the individual's VCF award. The limit is set by federal law rather than by each firm, and it is a percentage of the award.
Our fee is 10%, paid only from the total award. The sections below cover what counts toward the cap, and what work is involved for a claim.
What counts toward the 10% cap?
Routine expenses do. Under the VCF's rules, an attorney may charge expenses routinely incurred in providing legal services only as long as those expenses and the fee together stay within the 10% cap. They are not added on top of it.
Some costs can never be charged to a claimant at all. The VCF lists obtaining routine supporting documents; printing, mailing, delivery, messenger services and telephone calls; staff expenses; and litigation expenses from a 9/11-related lawsuit as routine costs that cannot be charged to a claimant.
Expenses outside the normal course of a claim are treated differently, and the Special Master can allow them beyond the 10% cap. Medical record fees and certified translations need no prior approval if they meet the VCF's conditions. Any other such expense must be explained in an itemized statement submitted with the claim and approved in writing by the Special Master.
The Special Master does not comment on disagreements between claimants and their attorneys about fees. A claimant who believes an attorney charged for expenses that were not approved can raise it with the VCF Helpline.
What does a 9/11 VCF lawyer do on a claim?
The 10% cap is not a filing fee. On our claims, it covers the whole file: guiding the client through certification by the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program, a separate program whose certification the VCF looks for before a claim is filed; registering by the deadline; completing every required form; and timely answering the VCF's follow-up requests by their appropriate deadlines.
The 10% attorney's fee also covers any further action needed on a claim after a decision. If the claimant is certified for a new condition, or new circumstances arise to warrant additional compensation, we amend the claim. If the decision letter denies eligibility or appropriate compensation and we believe the decision is wrong, we appeal the decision and represent the client in an appeal hearing, as required by the VCF of any claimant represented by an attorney.
Why is proving presence harder 25 years later?
In our experience, the hardest part of a claim today is often not proving the 9/11-related condition, but rather, proving that the claimant was in the VCF-covered exposure zone during the narrow exposure period. Employers have gone out of business, payroll systems have been replaced, and school and lease records have been purged.
When the documentation is gone, presence has to be rebuilt from what survives and from people who were there. Those accounts are required to be presented on the VCF's own Witness Presence Statement form. Statements have to be accurate, truthful, and align with each other and with the available documentary evidence. The exposure zones page covers where and when presence counts.
What happens at a 9/11 VCF appeal hearing?
An appeal starts with an Appeal Request Form, due within 30 days of the decision letter, and a complete Appeal Package, due within 60 days. Documentation submitted after the Appeal Package may not be considered, with very limited exceptions. An appeal is available only when the decision letter includes an Appeal Request Form, and is typically considered appropriate when no new documentation or information is available. When new information or additional documents are available, an amendment may be appropriate instead.
The VCF requires that the claimant and all available witnesses testify during an appeal hearing. Typically, the claimant testifies first, except in very limited cases where a request is made beforehand in writing for a witness to testify first instead. The VCF hears testimony only from those whose written statements were provided in advance. A presence witness who was not previously available must submit a Witness Presence Statement well in advance of the appeal hearing.
If a claimant is represented by an attorney, the attorney must attend the appeal hearing. A Hearing Officer from the Special Master's office conducts the hearing, VCF staff make a recommendation, and the Special Master reviews what was presented. The decision comes later, by letter.
In our experience, more claims need a hearing as the years pass. The documents that could prove presence and loss either no longer exist or are harder to find, and in that case, claimant and witness testimony may best explain any gaps in the paper record.
We start every claim as if it may require an appeal. From the first day, we gather and organize the evidence, identify the people who can speak to the claimant's presence, and build the record we would want a Hearing Officer to see. If an appeal is needed, that groundwork is already done from Day 1.
What happens when a 9/11 VCF form is missing or defective?
In our experience, most delays start with paperwork, not eligibility. A missing signature, an out-of-date form, or an exhibit left off can send a claim into a Missing Information Letter cycle or put it on hold, and the VCF says claims that are not submitted with the required documents take significantly longer to review.
A Missing Information Letter also carries a deadline. If the deadline passes without a response, the VCF decides the claim on what is in the file, and it can deny a claim if the appropriate responsive records or information are not submitted. Knowing which form is required at each stage, and checking it before it is submitted, is a large part of what the fee pays for.
The 10% cap is the same on every claim. What the work involves is not: it depends on what records survive, which forms each stage needs, and whether the claim may one day reach a hearing.
Get a Free Case Review →Common Questions
Not with us. Our fee comes out of the award when it is paid, and routine expenses are included in the 10% rather than billed separately.
To date, we have not charged any client for expenses beyond the 10%. If there is no award, there is no fee.
Not with us. The same 10% applies on any additional award made if we amend a claim or appeal a decision.
No. The VCF's own policy says a claimant is not required to have an attorney to file a claim, and claims can be filed directly by claimants. In its 2023 Annual Report, the VCF said approximately 86% of its claimants were represented by an attorney.
Whether to hire an attorney is the claimant's decision. This page describes what the work involves, so the decision can be made with those details in view.
The claimant does, under the terms of the fee agreement. The VCF does not reimburse claimants for attorney fees.
Not routine ones. Routine expenses must fit inside the 10%, and some costs, such as printing, mailing and staff time, can never be charged.
Expenses outside the normal course of a claim can go beyond the 10% only under the VCF's rules: medical record fees and certified translations that meet its conditions, or other expenses the Special Master approves in writing.
October 27, 2026 · Based on VCF Policies and Procedures Section 7 (effective April 17, 2026), Section 4 (effective February 27, 2026) and Section 1 (effective October 20, 2026), VCF Program Statistics (as of September 30, 2026), and the VCF 2023 Annual Report. Statements about our fee and our experience are the firm's own, not VCF figures. Rules may change, so confirm the details that apply to a particular claim.
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