Publishing & accountability

Every figure on PlainCivil traces back to a named public source and documented pipeline. The portal Organization is accountable for the data framing, methodology, and corrections process.

Every figure published on PlainCivil is traced back to its official public source and computed by deterministic pipelines, not hand-entered. Across 10 states, our database tracks 120 records: 20 filings are free ($0) and fee-charging filings run $20–$1,435, each last verified against its source in 2026-03. Our methodology sets out exactly how each dataset is sourced, computed, and refreshed, and the about page explains how we handle corrections when a reader flags something. PlainCivil is the accountable Organization for that data framing, methodology, and corrections process.

PlainCivil is a data-journalism publisher: we compile public datasets, verify them against their official sources, and present them in plain language. Editorial standards, sourcing, and how we handle corrections are described on our about and methodology pages.

Download the court filing-fee registry cited on this page: civil-process-filing-fees.csv (CC0).