Small claims court · before you file
Court filing fees by state
Pick your state to see what the court charges to open a case at each level: small claims, the limited civil tier above it, and the general trial court. Every figure comes from the judiciary's own fee schedule or the statute, with the date it was last confirmed.
36 states set one statewide fee · 7 add a local fee to a statewide base · 6 leave it to each county's court · Snapshot built 2026-10-23
| State | Small claims filing fee | Limit | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama partly unverified | Statutory docket fee $35 (≤$1,500) or $109 ($1,500.01–$3,000), plus local-act costs; charged totals vary by county | $6,000 | Set by your county's court |
| Alaska | ≤$2,500: $50; >$2,500: $100 | $10,000 | Statewide |
| Arizona | $30 state schedule, plus county fees (Maricopa $58 and Pima $60 in total) | $5,000 | Statewide base plus a local add-on |
| Arkansas | District court small claims: local court sites post $65 (Fulton County $67.50) | $5,000 | Not verified on a primary source |
| California | ≤$1,500: $30; ≤$5,000: $50; ≤$12,500: $75; $100 for a filer with more than 12 claims in the past 12 months | $12,500 | Statewide |
| Colorado | ≤$500: $31; $500.01–$7,500: $55 | $7,500 | Statewide |
| Connecticut | $95 flat | $5,000 | Statewide |
| Delaware | Justice of the Peace Court debt claims under $1,000: $35; $1,000–$5,000: $40; over $5,000: $45 | $25,000 | Statewide |
| District of Columbia | ≤$500: $5; $500.01–$2,500: $10; over $2,500: $45 | $10,000 | Statewide |
| Florida | Under $100: $50; $100–$500: $75; $500.01–$2,500: $170; $2,500.01–$8,000: $295; plus a $4 clerk fee on every filing | $8,000 | Statewide |
| Georgia change scheduled | Magistrate court: a filing deposit set by each court's local rule, capped at $22 by statute, plus mandatory surcharges; charged totals run about $50 to $115 | $15,000 | Set by your county's court |
| Hawaii | $35 | $5,000 | Statewide |
| Idaho | $69 | $15,000 | Statewide |
| Illinois | Set by each county board within statutory caps: ≤$2,500 up to $94 ($270 in Cook County); $2,500.01–$10,000 up to $266 ($362 in Cook) | $10,000 | Set by your county's court |
| Indiana | $97 total ($87 when e-filed); Marion County township courts $130 | $10,000 | Statewide |
| Iowa partly unverified | $115 ($95 filing plus $20 original-notice postage) | $6,500 | Statewide |
| Kansas | ≤$500: $47.50; $500.01–$10,000: $67.50 (docket fee plus a $12.50 surcharge); Johnson County adds $1.50 and Sedgwick County $2 | $10,000 | Statewide |
| Kentucky | $38, plus a $20 court technology fee, a $10 access-to-justice fee, and county library or courthouse fees where the county charges them | $2,500 | Statewide base plus a local add-on |
| Louisiana | Small claims division of a city or parish court: $35 per defendant; justice of the peace court new suit $130 plus $20 per additional defendant | $5,000 | Statewide base plus a local add-on |
| Maine | $70 (includes a $15 mediation fee) | $10,000 | Statewide |
| Maryland | $44 (includes $34 of statutory surcharges) | $5,000 | Statewide |
| Massachusetts | ≤$500: $40; ≤$2,000: $50; ≤$5,000: $100; ≤$7,000: $150 (each includes a $10 surcharge) | $7,000 | Statewide |
| Michigan | ≤$600: $25; ≤$1,750: $45; $1,750.01–$7,000: $65 | $7,000 | Statewide |
| Minnesota | $65 statewide, plus the county's law library fee | $20,000 | Statewide base plus a local add-on |
| Mississippi | Justice court: $25 uniform civil fee plus $5 per additional defendant, as reprinted in a 2025 bill | $3,500 | Not verified on a primary source |
| Missouri partly unverified | Supreme Court base of $10 plus statutory surcharges and local fees; circuits post totals around $20.50 when e-filed | $5,000 | Set by your county's court |
| Montana | $20 | $7,000 | Statewide |
| Nebraska | $58 total | $7,500 | Statewide |
| Nevada | ≤$1,000: $45; ≤$2,500: $65; ≤$5,000: $85; ≤$7,500: $125; ≤$10,000: $175; plus $1 everywhere and $5–$10 in counties over 100,000 people | $10,000 | Statewide base plus a local add-on |
| New Hampshire | ≤$5,000: $105; $5,001–$10,000: $160; plus a $20 e-filing surcharge ($125 / $180) | $10,000 | Statewide |
| New Jersey | $35 for one defendant, $5 for each additional | $5,000 | Statewide |
| New Mexico | No separate small claims court: magistrate or Bernalillo Metropolitan Court civil $77 | $10,000 | Statewide |
| New York | New York City Civil Court: ≤$1,000 $15; over $1,000 $20. District and City Courts: $15 / $20. Town and Village Courts: $10 / $15 | $10,000 | Statewide |
| North Carolina | $96 ($80 General Court of Justice fee + $12 facilities + $4 telecommunications) | $10,000 | Statewide |
| North Dakota | $20 | $15,000 | Statewide |
| Ohio | Set by each municipal or county court: about $45 to $92 observed | $6,000 | Set by your county's court |
| Oklahoma | ≤$5,000: $45; $5,001–$10,000: $150; plus about $70 of statutory add-ons and a county courthouse security fee of up to $10 where adopted | $10,000 | Statewide |
| Oregon | ≤$2,500: $57; $2,500.01–$10,000: $102 | $10,000 | Statewide |
| Pennsylvania | Magisterial district judge civil: ≤$500 $68.50; ≤$2,000 $91.00; ≤$4,000 $114.00; $4,001–$12,000 $171.00 (calendar 2026) | $12,000 | Statewide |
| Rhode Island change scheduled | $75.75 at the counter: $55 statutory entry fee + $17.50 e-filing processing + $3.25 technology surcharge | $5,000 | Statewide |
| South Carolina change scheduled | Magistrate court $80 ($45 filing + $10 service + $25 assessment) | $7,500 | Statewide |
| South Dakota | ≤$100: $24.84; ≤$1,000: $30.84; under $4,000: $40.84; $4,000–$12,000: $42.84 (each includes $11.84 mandatory postage) | $12,000 | Statewide |
| Tennessee partly unverified | No small claims court: general sessions civil is the limited tier. Clerk fee under T.C.A. §8-21-401 plus state litigation tax plus a county litigation tax that varies | $25,000 | Set by your county's court |
| Texas | Justice court civil $54 ($21 state + $33 local consolidated fees) | $20,000 | Statewide |
| Utah | ≤$2,000: $60; $2,000.01–$7,499.99: $100; $7,500–$20,000: $185 | $20,000 | Statewide |
| Vermont | ≤$1,000: $65; $1,001–$10,000: $90 | $10,000 | Statewide |
| Virginia | Small claims division of the general district court: $36 civil processing fee + $10 legal aid fee + up to $9 of local option fees, $46 to $55 in total | $5,000 | Statewide base plus a local add-on |
| Washington | $35, or $50 in a county that funds a dispute resolution center | $10,000 | Statewide base plus a local add-on |
| West Virginia | Magistrate court: ≤$500 $30; ≤$1,000 $35; ≤$2,000 $40; over $2,000 $50 | $20,000 | Statewide |
| Wisconsin change scheduled | $94.50 ($22 fee + $51 court support + $21.50 justice information) through October 31, 2026; $124.00 from November 1, 2026 | $15,000 | Statewide |
| Wyoming | $10 | $6,000 | Statewide |
How this table is built
Last reviewed: October 2026
Three kinds of state
Statewide means one fee or one set of tiers applies in every courthouse, set by statute or a supreme-court schedule. Statewide base plus a local add-on means the statute fixes a base and names a small fee a county may add; the page shows both. Set by your county's court means the statute delegates the amount to each county or court and no statewide figure exists; the page shows the statutory structure and two or three cited courts as examples, and never one number.
What a row contains
The small claims fee with its tiers and dollar limit, the limited civil tier and its cap where the state has one, the general civil filing fee, who sets each and under what authority, the schedule the figures were read from with its stated effective date, the date this site last confirmed the fee was still on that schedule, and any increase already enacted for a future date.
Sources and limits
Only judiciary fee schedules, court rules and statutes are used; county and city court pages appear only as cited examples where fees vary. Nine schedules refuse automated requests or are published only through a commercial code viewer; those rows carry a hand-verified date instead. Two states, Arkansas and Mississippi, could not be verified on any primary source and say so. Service of process, jury demands and appeals are separate costs. This is a reference, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Why do some states show a range instead of one fee?
Because in those states the statute lets each county or court set the fee, or adds local surcharges on top of a statewide base. Illinois caps the fee by claim band and lets 102 county boards set the amount; Ohio tells each court to set its own; Georgia caps the deposit at $22 and lets counties add surcharges. Those pages show the statutory structure and cited examples, never a single made-up number.
Is the filing fee the whole cost of suing?
No. Service of process is almost always separate (a sheriff fee per defendant or certified mail), and a jury demand, a motion or an appeal each has its own fee. Several states also add mandatory e-filing or technology fees even for paper filings, which these pages fold into the counter total and itemize.
What is the limited or county civil tier?
The court between small claims and the general trial court, with a dollar cap: county court in Florida and Colorado, district court in Michigan and Iowa, justice court in Arizona and Nevada, Special Civil Part in New Jersey. About a third of states have no such middle tier; the page says so.
How current are these figures?
Each row names its schedule's effective date and the date the page last confirmed the fee was still on it (last review: October 2026). Most fee changes take effect July 1 or January 1, so the schedules are re-fetched in late January and late July. Enacted future changes, such as Wisconsin's November 2026 and South Carolina's January 2027 increases, are shown ahead of time.
Related tools
See exactly what it costs to file a small claims case, by state — cited to your court's own fee schedule.
Open tool →Total Cost to Sue CalculatorThe full out-of-pocket cost to sue in small claims court — filing fee plus service of process, added together and cited to each court's own fee schedule.
Open tool →Small Claims Limit CheckerSee whether your claim qualifies for small claims court and what the dollar limit is, by state and by plaintiff type — individual or business.
Open tool →Fee Waiver Eligibility CheckerSee whether you qualify to have your small claims filing fee waived for financial hardship, by state — cited to each court's own fee-waiver rule.
Open tool →Service of Process Cost CalculatorSee what it costs to serve a defendant, by state and by method — sheriff, court-arranged mail, or certified mail — cited to each state's own fee schedule.
Open tool →Small Claims Court Costs by StateFiling fees, claim limits, and service costs for every covered state, side by side.
Compare states →