What does it cost
to file in your state?
Plain-language filing fees, waiting periods, step-by-step guides, for divorce, eviction, small claims, restraining orders + 8 more civil processes across 10 states. Know what to expect before the courthouse. According to the National Center for State Courts and each covered state's official court fee schedule, updated September 2026.
The national picture
Across 120 process-state records in 10 covered states, 20 filings (17%) are free ($0), fee-charging filings run $20–$1435, and civil lawsuit carries the highest average fee in this coverage set.
- $0–$1435
- range incl. free ($0)
- $20–$1435
- paid-filing floor–ceiling
- 17%
- free to file
- 405
- avg. civil lawsuit, highest
Averages are computed live from each state's published filing fee, not estimated. See the methodology for how figures are sourced and verified.
Filing Fees at a Glance
National average court filing fee by civil process type. Larger tiles indicate higher typical fees across the 10 states we cover.
A different way to compare
How filing cost and free access intersect
A low average fee does not necessarily mean a process is usually free. Each point compares the average filing fee with the share of covered state schedules at $0; the median lines divide the map into four reader-facing patterns.
Read every process's values
- Domestic Violence Protection: $0 avg fee, 100% free-to-file
- Restraining Order: $0 avg fee, 100% free-to-file
- Civil Lawsuit: $405 avg fee, 0% free-to-file
- Divorce: $292 avg fee, 0% free-to-file
- Eviction: $195 avg fee, 0% free-to-file
- Guardianship: $317 avg fee, 0% free-to-file
- Court Mediation: $181 avg fee, 0% free-to-file
- Name Change: $239 avg fee, 0% free-to-file
- Probate: $380 avg fee, 0% free-to-file
- Property Dispute: $404 avg fee, 0% free-to-file
- Small Claims: $93 avg fee, 0% free-to-file
- Tenant Rights: $109 avg fee, 0% free-to-file
Educational purposes only. This information does not constitute legal advice. Always verify fees and requirements with your local court before filing.
Browse by Process Type
Select a legal process to compare requirements and fees across all 10 covered states.
Civil Lawsuit
Legal action between private parties seeking monetary damages or specific performance.
Court Mediation
Facilitated negotiation process to resolve disputes outside of trial with a neutral mediator.
Divorce
Legal dissolution of a marriage, including division of assets, child custody, and spousal support.
Domestic Violence Protection
Emergency and long-term protective orders for victims of domestic violence, abuse, or stalking. Filing is typically free.
Eviction
Legal process for a landlord to remove a tenant from a rental property.
Guardianship
Legal process to establish court-supervised care for a minor or incapacitated adult.
Name Change
Legal process to officially change your name through the court system.
Probate
Court-supervised process to administer a deceased person's estate and distribute assets.
Property Dispute
Civil litigation involving ownership, boundary, or rights related to real or personal property.
Restraining Order
Court order restricting contact or proximity between individuals, typically for safety reasons.
Small Claims
Simplified court process for resolving disputes involving smaller dollar amounts without an attorney.
Tenant Rights
Legal actions available to tenants including habitability complaints, security deposit recovery, and anti-retaliation claims.
Browse by State
See all 12 legal processes for a specific state with local fees and requirements.
Return visits
Pick up where you left off
Save processes on any state record, then reopen your list here. Court fee schedules change on their own cadence; we publish verified updates on the data changelog and refresh the registry on a quarterly review cycle.
Registry last updated 2026-09-01. See methodology for source attribution and per-record verification dates.
According to the National Center for State Courts and each covered state's official court fee schedule, PlainCivil tracks 120 process-state combinations across 10 states and 12 civil process types, last verified 2026-03; see our methodology for the full source list.
Legal Process Guides
In-depth guides to understanding common legal processes.
How to File for Divorce
Step-by-step guide to filing for divorce, including residency requirements, no-fault vs. fault grounds, and what to expect at each stage.
Small Claims Court Dollar Limits by State
Compare small claims court dollar limits across all 10 covered states. Know your options before filing.
The Eviction Process Explained
A complete guide to the eviction process from required notice periods to writs of possession, for both landlords and tenants.
Understanding Court Filing Fees
What you'll actually pay at the courthouse, how fee waivers work, and which processes are free to file.
Original Research & Analysis
About this data
How PlainCivil works, and why you can trust these numbers
What this site is
PlainCivil is a plain-language reference for state legal processes, covering filing fees, waiting periods, residency requirements, and step-by-step timelines for 12 common civil processes (divorce, small claims, eviction, name change, guardianship, and more) across 10 US states (120 process-state records). Every fee and requirement is sourced directly from official state court systems, such as the California Courts, Florida Courts, and New York State Unified Court System (see the full list of sources below).
Editorial process
- Source. Pull filing fees, waiting periods, and residency requirements directly from each state’s official court system website.
- Verify. Each figure is cross-checked against the issuing state court’s published fee schedule so it traces back to an official public record.
- Publish. Compile a per-process, per-state reference with fees, timelines, and requirements, so readers can compare options before filing.
Editorial independence & corrections
PlainCivil accepts no payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from any court system or legal service. Found an error or an outdated fee? File a correction via the contact page; we review corrections and publish updates with a visible revision note. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
Take this with you
Where to go next with a specific legal process, a state comparison, or your own filing fee.
- See a step-by-step guide for a specific legal process (divorce, eviction, name change, and more) Browse guides
- Compare filing fees for one process across every covered state View rankings
- Check where your own filing fee sits against other states Use the fee percentile tool
Filing fees and requirements change; verify current figures with your local court before filing.
Download the court filing-fee registry cited on this page: civil-process-filing-fees.csv (CC0).
Fee and timeline figures on PlainCivil are rendered from the portal's state-process database compiled from published court schedules, no fee is invented for a ranking. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-09-01. PlainCivil does not rate, rank-recommend, or advise on legal strategy, it reports what published schedules and court materials contain.
| Publisher | PlainCivil |
| Sources | Public state court datasets and federal civil-justice records |