Does Adding a Second Defendant Raise Your Small Claims Filing Fee?

If you're suing two people over the same dispute — a roommate and their co-signer, two business partners, a driver and the company that owns the car — you might expect the court to charge more for a case with more defendants. In most of the states this site tracks, it doesn't: the filing fee is set by how much you're suing for, not by how many people you're naming. New Jersey is the one exception.

The filing fee, by claim amount, in eight states

California's filing fee runs $30 up to $1,500, $50 up to $5,000, and $75 up to $12,500 — set entirely by the claim amount, per the California Courts Self-Help Guide. Florida's fee runs $50 up to $100, $75 up to $500, $170 up to $2,500, and $295 up to $8,000, the same way, under Fla. Stat. §34.041. Texas charges one flat $54 for any claim up to $20,000, regardless of how many defendants share it. New York's fee is $15 for claims of $1,000 or less and $20 for claims over $1,000 up to $10,000, under the NYC Civil Court Act §1803. Pennsylvania's fee is $81 up to $2,000 and $116.50 up to $12,000. Michigan's fee is $25 up to $600, $45 up to $1,750, and $65 up to $7,000, under MCL §600.8371. And Washington charges $50 in counties that run a dispute-resolution center and $35 in counties that don't — a county distinction, not a defendant count. None of these eight states' filing fees move when a second or third defendant is added to the same complaint.

New Jersey ties its filing fee to the defendant count

New Jersey's small claims filing fee is $35 for one defendant, plus $5 for each additional defendant, according to the New Jersey Courts website. Name a second defendant on the same complaint and the filing fee becomes $40; a third makes it $45. Among the states this site tracks, New Jersey is the only one where the court's own filing charge scales with how many people you're suing.

North Carolina charges per defendant too — but it isn't the filing fee

North Carolina's small claims filing fee is a flat $96 — built from a $12 facilities fee, a $4 IT fund fee, and an $80 General Court of Justice fee — regardless of how many people you sue, under N.C. Gen. Stat. §7A-305. What does scale per defendant is a separate $30 service fee, charged under the same statute for having the sheriff physically serve papers on each person. That's a real cost that grows with each additional defendant, but it's a service charge, not an increase to the court's filing fee itself — worth keeping straight, since the two line items are easy to conflate.

Service costs are a separate story

Even where the filing fee itself holds flat, several of the service-of-process fees this site tracks are charged per defendant served rather than per case. California's sheriff fee is $50 per person served, under Cal. Gov. Code §26721.2. Florida's sheriff fee is $40 per summons or writ served, under Fla. Stat. §30.231. Michigan's court officer fee is $26 per defendant, under MCL 600.2559. And New Jersey's Special Civil Part Officer service runs $10 to personally serve the first defendant plus $12 for each additional one — on top of the filing fee's own $5-per-defendant increase. So a multi-defendant case can end up costing more to bring even in a state where the filing fee alone doesn't move — two separate line items, and it's worth checking both before assuming the filing fee tells you the total.

Check your state before you file

Because filing-fee structure varies state by state and can change, the filing fee calculator breaks out the fee for your state and claim amount, cited to that court's own fee schedule. For the full out-of-pocket total including service, the total cost to sue calculator adds filing and service fees together in one place.

This is informational only, not legal advice — confirm current fees with your court clerk before filing.

Frequently asked questions

Does naming more than one defendant always raise the filing fee?

No. Among the states this site tracks, only New Jersey ties the small claims filing fee itself to the number of defendants — $35 for one, plus $5 for each additional one. The other eight states set the fee by claim amount (or, in Texas, a single flat rate), regardless of defendant count.

Is North Carolina's per-defendant charge a filing fee increase?

No. North Carolina's $96 filing fee is flat regardless of defendant count. What scales per defendant is a separate $30 service fee under N.C. Gen. Stat. §7A-305, charged for having each defendant served — not an increase to the court's own filing charge.

How much more does a second defendant cost to file in New Jersey?

$5. New Jersey's small claims filing fee is $35 for one defendant, and each additional defendant on the same complaint adds $5, according to the New Jersey Courts website.

Even if the filing fee doesn't change, could suing more defendants still cost more overall?

Often yes. Several of the service-of-process fees this site tracks are charged per defendant served rather than per case, including California's $50 sheriff fee, Florida's $40 sheriff fee, and Michigan's $26 court-officer fee — so a case with more defendants can cost more to serve even where the filing fee itself holds flat.

Where can I check my own state's filing fee before I file?

Use the filing fee calculator for your state and claim amount, or the total cost to sue calculator for the combined filing-plus-service total — both are cited to each court's own fee schedule.