See whether you may qualify to have your California court filing fees waived under Form FW-001, based on public benefits, household income, or inability to pay. This is a planning tool, not a court decision.
California superior court filing fees for a divorce petition or response generally run from $435 to $450 depending on the county, and a response costs the same as the initial filing. A request for a domestic violence restraining order has no filing fee at all, so no waiver is needed for that filing.
Check any benefit that you or someone in your household receives.
Enter your household size and gross (before tax) monthly household income. This compares your income to 125% of the federal poverty guideline, effective March 1, 2026.
Current threshold for a household of 1: $2,660.00 per month
Even if the above does not apply, the court can still grant a waiver if paying court fees would keep you from covering your household's basic needs, such as food, rent, or utilities. There is no income formula for this path; it is decided by the judge based on your full financial picture.
Your result
Answer the questions above to see your results
Check any public benefits you receive, or enter your household size and monthly income, to get a read on which path fits your situation.
Next step
Whichever path fits, the form you file is the same: our FW-001 filing guide walks through each section. The court's response comes back on Form FW-003, and our FW-003 order guide explains how to read it, including what to do if it is granted in part or denied.
This checker is for planning only and is not legal advice or an official determination. Only the court can grant or deny a fee waiver, and it may ask for proof of your eligibility or order you to appear and answer questions about your finances. The income figures used here come from Judicial Council of California, Form FW-001 (Rev. March 1, 2026), item 5b and can change; confirm the current amounts on the official Form FW-001 before you file. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed California attorney. Virdix is a document preparation service, not a law firm.
A fee waiver lets someone who cannot afford court fees ask the court to waive them instead of paying at the time of filing. It is requested on Form FW-001, Request to Waive Court Fees, and is commonly filed together with a Petition or a Response in a divorce, custody, or support case. The court replies on Form FW-003, either granting the waiver in full, granting a partial waiver with a payment plan, or denying it. There are three separate ways to qualify, and you only need to meet one of them.
Path 1 is receiving certain public benefits, listed above. Path 2 is household income at or below 125% of the current federal poverty guideline for your household size. Path 3 has no income cutoff at all: it asks whether paying court fees would prevent you from covering your household's basic needs, and it is decided by a judge on the specific facts of your finances, not a table.
Effective March 1, 2026, per Judicial Council of California, Form FW-001 (Rev. March 1, 2026), item 5b. These are gross (before tax) monthly household income amounts. Confirm the current figures on the official form before filing, since they update periodically.
| Household size | Monthly gross income at or below |
|---|---|
| 1 | $2,660.00 |
| 2 | $3,606.67 |
| 3 | $4,553.33 |
| 4 | $5,500.00 |
| 5 | $6,446.67 |
| 6 | $7,393.33 |
| Each additional person beyond 6 | add $946.67 |
This tool only compares your inputs to the income table and the public benefits list. It cannot evaluate Path 3, since that path depends on your full income, expenses, cash, and property as filled out on page 2 of Form FW-001, and the outcome is a judge's decision. To document your income for a real filing, see how to fill out Form FW-001, and to understand the court's written response, see how to read Form FW-003.
A granted fee waiver covers the superior court's filing fee, making and certifying copies, the sheriff's fee to give notice, the court fee for a telephone hearing, and several other listed court costs. It does not automatically cover every expense in your case, such as a private process server or an attorney. You can also ask the court to waive additional fees, like jury fees or court appointed expert fees, using Form FW-002 later in the case.
Usually not, but there are specific situations where you could be ordered to pay some or all of it back. If you settle your case for $10,000 or more, the court has a lien on the settlement for the waived fees. In a family law matter, if you later get a judgment or support order and the court finds your circumstances have improved, you may be ordered to pay. And if you win your case, the other side may be ordered to pay the waived fees to the court instead of you. You must also notify the court within five days if your finances improve while the case is open, using Form FW-010.
The court's response comes back on Form FW-003, Order on Court Fee Waiver. A denial usually means one of three things: your request was incomplete and you have 10 days to fix it or pay, the court found you are not eligible based on what you submitted, or the court wants more information and has scheduled a hearing. In the first two situations you generally have 10 days after notice to pay the fees or file Form FW-006 to ask for a hearing.
Yes. A fee waiver only covers the person who filed it. If the petitioner qualifies and is granted a waiver, that does not extend to the respondent. Each spouse who wants their filing fees waived, whether for the Petition, the Response, or another filing, needs to submit their own Form FW-001 based on their own finances.
Form FW-001 is the request you fill out and sign to ask the court to waive your fees. Form FW-003 is the court's written order responding to that request. It tells you whether the waiver was granted in full, granted in part with a payment plan, or denied, and it is the document you may need to show the clerk when you file.
You do not need one. Filing a request for a domestic violence restraining order in California has no court fee at all, so there is nothing to waive for that filing. Fee waivers matter for filings that do carry a fee, such as a divorce petition, a response, or a request for custody or support outside of a DV case.
You are required to tell the court within five days if your financial situation improves enough that you could pay your court fees, using Form FW-010, Notice to Court of Improved Financial Situation or Settlement. The fee waiver also automatically expires 60 days after the judgment, dismissal, or other final disposition of the case.