Missouri Court Filing Fee Schedule 2026

Because the exact dollar figure depends on your county, your case type, and whatever the legislature or your local circuit has most recently adjusted, treat everything below as orientation. Before you file, confirm the current, exact amount with the circuit clerk in the county where your case will be filed. That clerk's office is the only authoritative source for what you will actually pay this year.

How Missouri sets court costs (Chapter 488)

Court costs and filing fees in Missouri are governed by Chapter 488 RSMo. The structure is deliberately layered: there is a statutory base associated with opening a case, and then a series of additional charges that the legislature and local courts attach on top of it. When you hand money to the clerk to file a petition, you are usually paying the base plus several of these add-ons folded into one total.

The components commonly include things like a court automation fund charge, a law library fee, sheriff or crime-victims compensation (CVC) surcharges, and various clerk fees. Each piece is modest on its own, but together they move the total well above the bare base figure. Because Chapter 488 RSMo authorizes this layered approach rather than fixing one flat number, the "filing fee" is really a sum of parts — and the parts are not identical everywhere.

Why there is no single statewide fee (local surcharges)

The reason you cannot find one definitive 2026 schedule is that counties and circuits are permitted to add their own surcharges within the statutory framework. Two people filing the same kind of case in two different Missouri counties can pay different totals, because the local mix of automation, law library, and other surcharges is not the same in both places.

This local variation is a feature of how the system is built, not an error. It also means the figure changes more often than people expect. Fees move when the legislature adjusts a statutory component, and they move when a county changes one of its local surcharges. A number that was accurate in one county last year may be off this year — and may never have applied to the county next door. That is precisely why a published statewide "schedule" would mislead more than it helps.

Typical fee ranges by case type (hedged, verify locally)

The figures below are rough, general ranges only. They are not quotes, they exclude service and later costs, and they shift by county and over time. Verify locally with the circuit clerk before relying on any of them.

• General civil petition in circuit court. Opening an ordinary civil lawsuit tends to land in the low-to-mid hundreds of dollars once local surcharges are added, depending on the county. Verify locally.
• Small claims. Designed to be cheaper and simpler than a full civil suit, so the fee is usually lower — often a modest amount, but still varying by county. Verify locally.
• Landlord-tenant (rent-and-possession or unlawful detainer). These housing matters generally sit in a lower range similar to other associate-level cases, with the total depending on the county and on serving the tenant. Verify locally.
• Dissolution of marriage. Filing for divorce typically runs in the low-to-mid hundreds of dollars in filing fees, varying by county, with service and contested proceedings adding cost beyond the fee. Verify locally.
• Probate. Probate costs can vary more than most, because some charges are tied to the size or type of the estate rather than a flat filing figure. Verify locally.

Read these as starting points for budgeting, never as the amount you will be charged. Only the clerk can give you the real number.

Fee waivers for those who can't pay (RSMo § 514.040)

A filing fee should not be the reason a person with a genuine claim is shut out of court. Missouri law provides a path for those who cannot afford to prepay costs. Under RSMo § 514.040, an indigent party may ask the court for permission to proceed without prepaying costs — the relief historically known as proceeding in forma pauperis.

In practice, this means filing a request, usually accompanied by a sworn statement about your finances, and the court then decides whether you qualify. If granted, it lets the case move forward without the upfront fee standing in the way. If you believe you may qualify, ask the circuit clerk how to request a waiver under RSMo § 514.040, and do it at the time you file rather than after.

How to get the current, exact fee

Because the total depends on your county's surcharges and the current statutory components, the only reliable way to learn your exact 2026 filing fee is to ask the circuit clerk's office in the county where you will file. The clerk can tell you the current amount for your specific case type, what forms of payment are accepted, and what service of process will cost on top of the filing fee.

When you call or visit, be specific about the kind of case you are opening, since the figure differs by case type. Ask whether the amount you are quoted already includes the local surcharges, and ask separately about service costs, which are usually charged apart from the filing fee. Getting the number directly from the court — rather than from any schedule you find online, including this one — is the only way to be confident it is current and correct for your county.

When to talk to a lawyer

Filing fees are usually a small piece of what a case involves, and the harder questions are often about whether and how to file at all. If you are unsure which case type fits your situation, whether a deadline is approaching, or how a fee waiver request should be presented, those are good moments to get advice from a qualified Missouri attorney. A lawyer can also tell you when the cost of litigating — separate from and usually far larger than the filing fee — makes a different approach worth considering.