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Family law

Fee waiver

Court permission to file papers without paying the usual court fees, for people who can't afford them.[1]

In more detail

California's courts explain that a fee waiver can cover filing and response fees, copies, sheriff's fees for serving papers and some other costs, and that the information you give is kept confidential.[1] Court mediation programs have their own fee rules for low-income parties.[2]

Varies by state

Each state has its own fee waiver forms and income limits. Find your state’s rules.

Related terms

  • Indigent partyA party a court finds unable to pay court costs or fees.
  • Sliding fee scaleA fee that goes down for people with lower incomes.
  • Pro seRepresenting yourself in a court case without a lawyer.

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Sources

The official documents this definition is based on, with the date we last read each one. Definitions are in our own words.

  1. Ask for a fee waiver if you can't afford court feesselfhelp.courts.ca.govchecked ↩
  2. Fla. Stat. § 44.108 (Funding of mediation and arbitration)leg.state.fl.uschecked ↩

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MediationList. (2026, October 28). Fee waiver: Definition. https://mediationlist.com/glossary/fee-waiver/

APA 7th ed. A retrieval date is included only for pages whose content changes, such as maps, data and tools.