2026 ranking · Avg Min Fee
Cheapest States for Civil Filings
States ranked by lowest average minimum filing fees, where access to the court system costs the least. According to PlainCivil's compiled state court fee schedules, updated September 2026 -- these are indexed figures, not a live clerk quote.
Fee rank is not wait rank
Michigan leads this list at $86; the #10 cutoff is $248 (California); a $162 spread across the 10 ranked entries.
- $86
- #1 Michigan
- $248
- #10 cutoff
- 10
- entries ranked
This list and the counterpart fee/wait board both read stored court-schedule fields. County charges, waivers, and current local rules can differ.
Across PlainCivil's indexed coverage, 20 of 120 process-state combinations are free ($0) and fee-charging filings run $20–$1,435 in the 10 states we track. Rankings spot outliers; they are not legal advice. Verify current figures with the clerk where you plan to file, and read the linked state or process record for fee waivers and local rules.
| # | Name | Avg Min Fee |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan | $86 |
| 2 | Ohio | $87 |
| 3 | North Carolina | $99 |
| 4 | Georgia | $105 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | $110 |
| 6 | New York | $118 |
| 7 | Illinois | $147 |
| 8 | Texas | $149 |
| 9 | Florida | $208 |
| 10 | California | $248 |
Source: State court filing fee schedules and legal aid organizations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are cheap states worse for legal outcomes?
No. Filing fee levels have no demonstrated correlation with case outcomes or judicial quality. Lower-fee states simply fund their courts differently, typically through greater reliance on state general funds rather than user fees. Access to justice research suggests lower fees may actually improve outcomes by enabling more people to seek legal remedies early.
Do some civil processes have no filing fee?
Yes. Restraining orders and domestic violence protective orders are typically free in all states. Some states also waive fees for certain actions by military personnel, crime victims, or in cases involving government agencies. Fee waiver programs further reduce or eliminate costs for low-income filers.
Explore More Rankings
Read our methodology . How this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Source: Published state court fee schedules (compiled) PlainCivil state-process filing-fee database · 2026
Take this with you
Where to go next from cheapest states for civil filings.
- See the flip side: which states charge the most for the same civil filings View most expensive states
- Check where a specific fee amount sits against every indexed state Use the fee percentile tool
- Every state also offers fee waivers for filers who cannot afford even the lowest listed fee Browse guides
Filing fees and waiting periods change; verify current figures with your local court before filing.
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. Ranking values are aggregates of database filing-fee fields, not a separate federal disposition series. 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 |