Federal Court Filing Fees and Fee Waivers

Federal court filing fees are mandatory charges assessed at the time a civil, bankruptcy, or appellate document is submitted to a federal tribunal. This page covers the statutory basis for those fees, the mechanisms through which indigent litigants may seek a waiver or deferral, the procedural standards courts apply when evaluating fee waiver requests, and the key distinctions between in forma pauperis status, fee deferrals, and bankruptcy filing fee installment plans.

Definition and scope

Filing fees in the federal court system are established by Congress under 28 U.S.C. § 1914, which directs district court clerks to collect fees "as prescribed by the Judicial Conference of the United States." The Judicial Conference of the United States sets the fee schedules, which are published and periodically revised by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

As of the schedule in effect for district courts, the standard civil case filing fee is $405, which consists of a $350 statutory fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) and a $55 administrative fee set by the Judicial Conference (U.S. Courts District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule). Appellate filing fees differ: a notice of appeal in a civil case carries a $605 fee (U.S. Courts Courts of Appeals Miscellaneous Fee Schedule). Bankruptcy petitions carry their own schedule — a Chapter 7 petition is $338, a Chapter 13 petition is $313, and a Chapter 11 petition is $1,738 (U.S. Courts Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule).

The fee system applies across the 94 federal judicial districts that handle civil and criminal matters, as well as the specialized bankruptcy courts. The broad how federal cases are filed process begins with payment — or a formal request for relief from that payment — at the clerk's office.

How it works

The primary mechanism for fee relief is in forma pauperis (IFP) status, governed by 28 U.S.C. § 1915. Under § 1915(a)(1), any person who submits an affidavit stating that he or she is unable to pay the fees or give security for them may proceed without prepayment. The affidavit must describe the applicant's assets and affirm that the person is unable to pay.

The IFP determination follows a two-step process:

1. Financial eligibility review — The court examines the affidavit or sworn financial disclosure. No fixed income threshold is written into § 1915 itself; individual courts often use federal poverty guidelines published annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a benchmark, though judges retain discretion.
2. Merits screening — Under § 1915(e)(2), the court must dismiss a case filed IFP if it is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant with immunity. This screening occurs even before service of process.

A separate mechanism applies in bankruptcy: 11 U.S.C. § 1930(f) permits waiver of the Chapter 7 filing fee for debtors whose income is below 150 percent of the federal poverty line and who are unable to pay the fee in installments. Alternatively, under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1006(b), any debtor except a Chapter 7 applicant qualifying for a waiver may apply to pay the filing fee in up to 4 installments.

IFP status in civil cases is distinct from fee waivers in bankruptcy, and the two systems should not be conflated. Civil IFP under § 1915 waives the fee entirely upon judicial approval; bankruptcy installment plans defer but do not eliminate the obligation.

Common scenarios

Prisoner civil rights litigation represents the largest volume of IFP filings. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b), prisoners granted IFP status are not excused from the fee altogether — they must pay the full $405 over time through automatic deductions from their prison trust accounts, beginning with an initial partial payment of 20 percent of the greater of the average monthly deposits or the average monthly balance.

Non-prisoner civil litigants seeking IFP status face no automatic payment obligation if the application is granted; the fee is waived entirely for that filing. Individuals representing themselves in federal court constitute a significant portion of this group.

Appellate fee waivers follow a parallel track. A litigant who obtained IFP status in the district court may proceed IFP on appeal by filing a motion in the court of appeals, or may rely on a district court certification under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 24(a).

Bankruptcy fee waivers apply only to Chapter 7 individual consumer debtors at the 150-percent-of-poverty threshold. Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 filers are not eligible for waiver, only installment payment arrangements.

Decision boundaries

The critical distinctions governing fee relief eligibility are:

Courts also distinguish between fee waivers and fee deferrals. A waiver eliminates the obligation; a deferral postpones it. Failure to pay installment fees in a bankruptcy case can result in dismissal of the petition under FRBP 1006(b)(4).

The federal court records and PACER system charges separate per-page access fees for electronic dockets, which are not covered by IFP status granted for a filing — PACER fee waivers require a distinct application through the PACER Service Center. For litigants navigating these thresholds, the full scope of federal court structure is covered at the Federal Courts Authority home.