POST-BAN: Idaho began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in mid-October. (AP / Otto Kitsinger)

States that unsuccessfully ­defended same-sex marriage bans in federal courts are on the hook to pay more than $800,000 in legal fees to the challengers, and requests for millions of dollars more are pending.

Federal district judges across the country have issued nearly three dozen rulings since late 2013 declaring state same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional. Attorney fee petitions haven’t been filed yet in the majority of those cases as they go before circuit courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. The fee awards, agreements and requests to date offer an early snapshot of what these landmark civil rights cases could cost taxpayers.