How to ask a court to waive its fees

Filing a case, an answer or an appeal usually costs a fee, and copies, service and transcripts can cost more. Every court system has a way for a person who cannot afford those fees to ask the court to waive them.

In federal court

Federal law lets any court of the United States allow a person to sue, defend or appeal without prepaying fees if they file an affidavit, a sworn statement, listing their assets and saying they cannot pay (28 U.S.C. 1915). The Latin name is in forma pauperis, "in the manner of a pauper." Each federal court has an application form for it; the clerk's office or the court's website has the one it uses. Prisoners have additional requirements under the same statute and may still owe the fee in installments.

The court may still dismiss a case filed this way if it finds the claim frivolous or the statement of poverty untrue.

In state court

Every state has its own fee waiver process and form, and the names differ: fee waiver, application to sue as an indigent person, affidavit of indigency. Most ask about income, household size, public benefits and regular expenses, and many grant a waiver automatically to people receiving certain public benefits. The clerk's office and the state court system's self-help pages have the forms.

What to bring

• Proof of income: pay stubs, a benefits letter, a tax return.
• Your regular monthly bills.
• The case number, if the case already exists.

What a waiver does and does not cover

A waiver usually covers the court's own fees and sometimes costs like service by the sheriff. It does not usually cover fines, which are a penalty, not a fee; for those, read what happens if you cannot pay a court fine.