Home › Civil filing fees
Civil filing fees: state and federal
A general civil complaint — the filing that starts a regular lawsuit above the small claims limit — costs from $72 in South Dakota to $435 in California at state level, and a flat $405 to open a civil case in federal district court.
The federal benchmark: $405
Under the U.S. Courts' District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule (effective December 1, 2023), filing a civil action in a U.S. District Court costs $405: a $350 statutory filing fee (28 U.S.C. §1914(a)) plus a $55 administrative fee. The administrative fee does not apply to a person granted in forma pauperis status. Related federal fees on the same schedule: certification of a document $12; exemplification $24; copies $0.50 per page; a record search $34. Appealing to a U.S. Court of Appeals costs a $600 docketing fee plus the $5 statutory fee under 28 U.S.C. §1917 — $605 in total.
How state civil fees are built
Most states publish one first-paper fee for a civil complaint, sometimes tiered by the amount in controversy — Oregon, for example, charges $170 for tort/contract claims up to $10,000 but $1,178 at $10 million and above. Others build the total from a base plus named surcharges: Texas's $350 district court fee is a $213 Local Consolidated Fee plus a $137 State Consolidated Fee; Washington's $290 Superior Court total is a $200 base plus $40 and $50 surcharges. In the county-set states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and others) the same case costs different amounts in different counties — each state guide gives a verified county example.
Civil filing fees are not the whole case cost
After the first paper, courts charge for motions, jury demands, and notes of issue — New York's schedule, for instance, prices a motion at $45 and a Note of Issue at $30 on top of the $210 index number. Service of process is separate everywhere. And if the case is really a small claims case, it belongs in the cheaper track entirely — see small claims costs.
The calculator carries the verified civil complaint fee for all 50 states, plus your service and copy costs.
Open the cost calculatorSources: U.S. Courts — Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule · U.S. Courts — District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule · U.S. Courts — Court of Appeals Miscellaneous Fee Schedule. Researched October 2026 — confirm current figures with the court clerk.