Filing Fees And Waivers
Learn about the fees the court charges and how those fees might be waived for people who cannot afford them.
Filing Fees
When you start a court case or file a document with the court, you may be required to pay a fee to the court clerk, known as a "filing fee." Whether you have to pay a fee – and the amount of fee you are required to pay – depends on what type of case you are starting or what type of document you are filing.
For a list of filing fees, click on the appropriate court below:
- Eighth Judicial District Court
- Henderson Justice Court
- Las Vegas Justice Court
- North Las Vegas Justice Court
If the court you are looking for is not listed above, click to visit our Courts and Case Lookup page to find your court, and contact that court directly.
Fee Waivers
If you are unable to prosecute or defend an action because (based upon your income, property, and other resources) you are unable to pay the required filing fees, you can file an "Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis," also known as a "fee waiver application." If your application is granted, you can then prosecute or defend your case without paying the normally required filing fees and certain other costs. (NRS 12.015.)
To submit a fee waiver application, prepare the appropriate application form and submit it to the court clerk, along with the other documents you need to file. The court clerk will forward your fee application to the judge for review. If the judge approves your application, the clerk will file the documents you submitted.
TIP! If you submit a fee waiver application to the district court, call the court clerk in a week or so at (702) 671-4554 to see whether your application has been approved. If it has, you can pick up your filed documents at the clerk's office. If the judge has not returned your paperwork to the court clerk, you will need to contact the judicial department to find out if there is missing information.
Click below to access the fee waiver application form for the court in which your case is pending or in which you intend to file your case:
DISTRICT COURT APPLICATION TO WAIVE FILING FEE
AUTOMATED FORMS INTERVIEW AVAILABLE!
There is an automated interview for applicants filling out the District Court Fee Waiver. This interview will complete the fee waiver forms for you after you answer a series of questions. To use the interview, click here and select the "Clark County District Court Fee Waiver" interview. At the end of the interview, you will have to print your forms, sign them, and file them. This interview will only generate the District Court Fee Waiver forms.
JUSTICE COURT APPLICATION TO WAIVE FILING FEES (OTHER THAN LAS VEGAS)
PDF Fillable
LAS VEGAS JUSTICE COURT APPLICATION TO WAIVE FILING FEE
PDF Fillable
FYI! If you are submitting a fee waiver application to waive the filing fee for your answer to a complaint that was filed against you, your twenty-day period to answer is "tolled" (paused) from the time you submit your application until the time the judge makes a decision on your fee waiver application. (NRS 12.015(5).)
- Costs that are waived. If your fee waiver is granted, the charges assessed by the court clerk to start a case or file documents are waived. Additionally, the sheriff must serve your documents without charge. Fees for a court reporter and transcripts of hearings can also be waived at the court’s discretion. In the district court, there can be no charge for available court interpreters. (EDCR 7.80(a).) Neither bonds nor deposits for jurors’ fees are waived by virtue of the fee waiver.
- Recovery of costs that are waived. If you have not paid any of the costs in your case because they were waived, you cannot then try to recover costs at the end of your case. However, the court is required to make the losing party pay the prevailing party's waived court costs directly to the court within five days. (NRS 12.015(4).)
- Denial of fee waiver applications. Each court has its own process for dealing with denied applications, so you should verify the process with the court clerk when you file your application. In the Las Vegas Justice Court, for example, if a fee waiver application is denied, the court will contact the party filing the fee waiver by phone to inform the party of the ruling and to request payment of the filing fees if that party desires to proceed. The party must pay the applicable fee no later than 5 p.m. on the second judicial day following contact by the court or any documents relating to the fee waiver request will be returned to that party by mail. (JCRLV 35 & 44.)
If your fee waiver application is denied, you cannot appeal the denial to a higher court. (NRS 12.015(7).)
