Fees and Fee Waiver
Filing fee
There is a filing fee for nearly all complaints and petitions and for many other documents as well. Filing fees are established by Utah Code Section 78A-2-301. For summary of filing fees, see our webpage on Fees. If you do not ask that the fee be waived, you must pay the fee when you file your papers. You can pay by cash, check, money order, or credit card. If you file by mail, include a check or money order for the filing fee. Do not send cash by mail.
Return to TopFee Waiver
If you cannot afford the filing fees, you can ask the judge to waive them. To have fees waived, you must prove to the court that you are unable to pay them. That means you must file a detailed description of your income, property, and debts.
If you file a Motion and Affidavit to Waive Fees with your complaint or petition, the judicial services representative will accept the filing without fee payment. But that does not mean the fee is waived. A judge will review your financial information later and decide whether you have to pay the fees. The judge might waive the fees totally, in part or not at all. If the judge does not waive the entire fee, you must pay the fee within the time allowed by the judicial services representative, or your case might be dismissed.
There are fees other than court filing fees, which might not be waived or cannot be waived. For example, if the judge waives the fee for serving papers, the county sheriff or constable must serve the papers for free, but a private process server may still charge a fee. The county recorder will charge a fee to record a judgment. If you subpoena a witness to appear at the trial, you will have to pay the witness fee. There are other fees.
You must report changes in your financial circumstances that might affect a fee waiver. If you win your case and collect a judgment from the other party, the court and others who provided services without charge can collect the fee out of the judgment. Utah Code Section 78A-2-309
Use the correct forms
The Legislature has created a special process for considering a Motion and Affidavit to Waive Fees filed by prisoners: inmates of jails and prisons. Some of the forms are the same, but some are different. The forms below are divided between those for prisoners and those for the public.
Financial Affidavit
The Financial Affidavit Supporting Motion to Waive Fees is a detailed description of your income, property and debts. The Board of District Court Judges has decided that if you have completed a financial statement to qualify for representation by Utah Legal Services or The Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake, you may use that financial statement with your Motion and Affidavit to Waive Fees, rather than completing the court form. Likewise, if you have completed a financial statement to qualify for public assistance, you may use that form.
If you are filing a domestic case, such as a petition for divorce, parentage, temporary separation or separate maintenance, in which you have to file an even more detailed Financial Declaration as part of the case (generally, any domestic case involving a final or temporary order for alimony, child support, debt division, property division, attorney fees paid by the other party, or modification of those orders), the Board of District Court Judges has decided that you may use that more detailed Financial Declaration as part of your motion to waive fees.
Forms
Forms for prisoners
- Checklist -
PDF |
Word - Motion and Affidavit to Waive Fees -
PDF |
Word
- Financial Affidavit Supporting Motion to Waive Fees -
PDF |
Word
- Certificate Regarding Inmate Account -
PDF |
Word
- Proposed Order on Motion to Waive Fees -
PDF |
Word
- Memorandum Demonstrating Inability to Pay Fees -
PDF |
Word
Forms for public
- Checklist -
PDF |
Word
- Motion and Affidavit to Waive Fees -
PDF |
Word
- Financial Affidavit Supporting Motion to Waive Fees -
PDF |
Word
- Proposed Order on Motion to Waive Fees -
PDF |
Word