Mileage is 62 cents a mile, and eBill does the math
CPCS reimburses driving at 62 cents a mile. You do not calculate it. You enter where you started and where you went, and eBill computes the miles and the reimbursement. You cannot edit the number it produces (Assigned Counsel Manual, Chapter 5, Item BB).
Short trips to court do not count
Here is the rule that surprises people. If your round trip to a courthouse is under 30 miles, the mileage is not reimbursable. It counts as local court travel. The exclusion applies only to court travel, meaning a courthouse, a hospital, or a mental health facility (Assigned Counsel Manual, Chapter 5, Item BB).
Travel for the case counts, near or far
Driving to see your client, to an investigation, or to interview a witness is reimbursable no matter the distance. The 30-mile exclusion is court travel only. Distance is measured from whichever is closer, your nearest office or your home (Assigned Counsel Manual, Chapter 5, Item BB).
Travel time is capped, and paid at your case rate
Travel time is separate from mileage, and it is paid at the hourly rate of the case. There is a ceiling: eBill allows at most one hour of travel time for every 30 miles. You enter your actual travel time, and you are paid the lower of your actual time or that maximum, so you cannot round up to the cap (eBill 2.0 User Manual, Section 3.4). One quirk: eBill rounds travel time down to the nearest tenth, which is different from how it rounds your legal-service time.
Same-town trips and the islands
If your start and end are in the same city or town, eBill allows up to 5 miles one way, or 10 for a round trip. For Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket, you can bill mileage to the boat landing at Hyannis or Woods Hole and the miles you drive on the island, entered as separate trips. CPCS does not pay for the boat ride itself, but you can submit the ferry ticket as an expense (eBill 2.0 User Manual).
Parking, tolls, and other out-of-pocket costs
Mileage does not cover parking or tolls. Those are out-of-pocket costs, and eBill handles them on a separate voucher, not your travel line. When you pay for something directly and keep the receipt, you file it as an Other out-of-pocket expense voucher against the NAC. You can submit one per type per NAC each month, and anything over $50 has to be mailed in with proof of payment (eBill 2.0 User Manual, Section 4).
How Plani helps
Plani logs your travel as you go, the trip and the time, so it is captured and categorized when you file. It does not compute the mileage, eBill does that from the cities, but it keeps you from forgetting the trip in the first place. For a parking or toll receipt, text it a photo. Plani reads the date and the amount, files it to the case, and hands it back to you at billing time, so it is not lost in your cup holder when the voucher is due.