Can You Get an Arizona Court Filing Fee Waived?

Can you get an Arizona court filing fee waived if you can't afford it?

Often, yes. Arizona law requires the court to postpone your filing fee if you show you receive TANF, food stamps, or SSI, or that your gross monthly income is 150 percent or less of the federal poverty level. Cancelling the fee outright takes more: proof that you are permanently unable to pay.

That gap between postponing and cancelling is the thing most people get wrong, and it is the difference between owing nothing and owing several hundred dollars after the case closes. Arizona calls the first a deferral and the second a waiver, and they are granted at different points in a case for different reasons. Both come from the same statute, A.R.S. § 12-302, and both start with the same one-page application.

What do Arizona court filing fees cost?

Enough that they stop people filing. In Maricopa County Superior Court, checked in August 2026, filing a complaint or petition costs $367, a petition for dissolution of marriage costs $376 whether or not there are children involved, and responding to one costs $287. Filing an answer or initial appearance in a civil case costs $263.

Fees differ by county and by court. The base amounts are set under A.R.S. § 12-284 and Supreme Court administrative order, then each county adds its own charges on top, so the number your clerk quotes is the one that matters.

One fee that does not exist anywhere in Arizona: under A.R.S. § 12-301(D), no court may impose or collect a fee for filing an answer to a complaint for forcible entry or detainer. If you are a tenant answering an eviction, that filing is free by statute.

What is the difference between a fee deferral and a fee waiver?

A deferral moves the bill. A waiver deletes it.

The statute defines "deferral" as either postponing the obligation to pay or setting up a payment schedule. The money is still owed. A waiver, granted under subsection D, applies when you are permanently unable to pay, defined as income and liquid assets that are insufficient or barely sufficient to meet the daily essentials of life and unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

Bottom line: most people who apply at filing get a deferral, not a waiver. The Maricopa County Clerk of Superior Court says directly that waivers, which excuse payment completely, are rarely granted at the beginning of a case. The Superior Court of Arizona in Pima County puts it the same way in its self-help packet: usually the court only grants waivers at the end of a case, and if you receive a deferral at the beginning you can still ask for a waiver later.

That is the sequence to expect. Deferral now, ask again at the end.

Who qualifies for a fee deferral or waiver in Arizona?

There are three routes, and any one of them is enough.

You receive certain benefits. The court must grant a deferral if you establish by affidavit that you receive benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the food stamp program, or Supplemental Security Income. Attach proof showing your name as the recipient and the agency paying the benefit, and you do not have to fill in the financial questionnaire.

One trap worth knowing: the statewide form flags that SSI is not the same thing as regular Social Security retirement benefits or Social Security Disability Insurance. Only SSI counts for this route.

Your income is at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. The court may treat gross monthly income at or under that line as evidence of insufficient income. Gross monthly income includes your share of community property income. Using the 2026 federal poverty guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 150 percent works out to:

These figures change every January when HHS updates the guidelines, and courts work from the current chart rather than the one printed on an older form. Count household as the related people living with you whom you support financially, including yourself.

Extraordinary expenses bring you under the line. If your income is above 150 percent but you can document medical expenses, costs of caring for elderly family members or family members with disabilities, or comparable expenses that reduce your gross monthly income to at or below the threshold, the statute lets the court treat that as insufficient income too. You list those expenses and their amounts on the form.

There is also a fourth path that is not really a test: the application lets you say simply that you do not have the money now but can pay later, and explain why. Courts also retain discretion under subsection L to defer or waive fees as appropriate.

Who cannot get a fee waiver in Arizona

The statute rules out a waiver in three situations, though a case involving dissolution of marriage, legal separation, annulment, or child support is carved out of the last two:

• Matters filed as class actions under Rule 23 of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure
• Civil actions filed by someone incarcerated on a felony conviction in an out-of-state facility, or in jail awaiting transport to a state Department of Corrections facility
• Civil actions filed by a self-represented litigant previously declared a vexatious litigant by any court

Separately, a state prison inmate who starts a civil action is responsible for the full fees, collected as an initial 20 percent payment and then 20 percent of deposits into their spendable account. Even so, the statute is explicit that this does not stop them filing the case when they cannot pay.

Which court fees can be deferred or waived?

More than the filing fee, though not everything. Subsection H lists what is eligible:

• Filing fees, at trial level and on appeal, including photocopy fees for preparing the record on appeal
• Fees for issuing a summons or subpoena
• One certified copy of a temporary order in a family court case, and one certified copy of a final order, judgment, or decree in any civil proceeding
• The divorce education program required in dissolution and legal separation cases
• Court accountant and court investigator fees, which come up in probate
• Court reporter or transcriber fees for preparing transcripts, where that reporter is employed by the court
• Service of process fees and service by publication, but only on extra proof

Those last two are the ones people miss. To have a sheriff, marshal, constable, or law enforcement service fee covered, you have to show you tried without success to get voluntary acceptance of service, that trying would be futile or dangerous, or that you hold an enforceable order of protection or injunction against harassment against the person being served. Service by publication requires an affidavit showing specific facts about the diligence you used trying to find them. Both need a separate form, the Affidavit in Support of Application for Deferral or Waiver of Service of Process Fee.

How do you apply for a fee deferral or waiver in Arizona?

One form, filed with your case. The Arizona Supreme Court adopted the current forms in Administrative Directive 2022-06, and they are mandatory in every Arizona court, so the process looks the same in Yuma as it does in Phoenix.

1. Get the form. It is the Application for Deferral or Waiver of Court Fees or Costs and Consent to Entry of Judgment, form number AOCDFGF1F, published free by the Arizona Judicial Branch and stocked by county clerks and self-service centers.
2. Say which fees you cannot pay. Section 3 is a checklist. Tick service of process or publication only if you are also filing the supporting affidavit.
3. Pick your ground and attach the proof. Benefits, income at or below 150 percent, extraordinary expenses, permanent inability to pay, or receiving help from a non-profit legal aid program. Proof has to show your name and the agency or provider.
4. Fill in the financial questionnaire if you have no proof to attach. It asks for household size, employer, gross and take-home monthly income, other income sources, accessible account balances, and total monthly expenses.
5. Initial the consent to judgment and sign under oath. You are signing under penalty of perjury, and you are agreeing that a judgment can be entered against you for deferred fees left unpaid.
6. File it with the clerk. File it at the same time as your petition or response where you can. Pima County warns that when you are opening a brand-new case you may need to allow five to seven business days for the application to be processed before the petition itself is filed, so ask your clerk how they handle it.

The clerk stamps the forms and sends them to a judicial officer, who signs an Order Regarding Deferral or Waiver of Court Fees and Costs granting or denying each category of fee.

In Maricopa County there is a cost to the deferral itself. The Clerk of Superior Court adds a one-time charge of $35.00 to your deferred fees when a deferral is granted. Whether other counties do the same is worth asking the clerk before you file.

What happens after the court grants a deferral?

The case proceeds, and a bill arrives later.

Depending on what you reported, you will either be told nothing is due until further notice, given a payment plan, or given a due date for a service of process fee. When the case ends you receive a Notice of Court Fees and Costs Due, stating what you owe and how to avoid a judgment. You can ask for an itemised statement at no cost.

From there, three deadlines matter:

• 30 calendar days after the final judgment, decree, or order, a consent judgment can be entered against you for anything deferred and still unpaid
• A supplemental application for a waiver or further deferral, form AOCDFGF9F, blocks that judgment while it is pending and is how you convert a deferral into a waiver
• 20 days from a denial of that supplemental application to either pay or request a hearing. If you request one, the court cannot enter the judgment unless the hearing is held, further deferral or waiver is denied, and you still have not paid within the time the court set

Four other things are worth knowing before you sign. If your case is dismissed for any reason, the fees are still due. If you are granted a deferral or waiver and your finances improve during the case, you have a duty to tell the court promptly, and the court can order you to pay. If you appeal, the original deferral or waiver carries over unless your circumstances changed, though the appellate court may ask for a new application. And if a consent judgment is entered and left unpaid, the court's own notice warns it may be reported to credit bureaus, collected by wage garnishment or tax refund intercept, or handed to a collection agency.

What can you do if the court denies your application?

Ask a judicial officer to look at it again, within 20 days.

If the court denies your application or sets a payment plan you cannot meet, you can file a Request and Order for Hearing, form AOCDFGF12F, within 20 days of the date the order was mailed or delivered to you. When the denial was a payment plan, no payments are due while that request is pending, and the court reviews it as soon as reasonably possible.

Denials are often about paperwork rather than eligibility. The order form the judge signs has check boxes for an incomplete application and for missing proof of benefits, missing documentation of legal aid services, and missing documentation of insufficient income, and it tells the applicant they are encouraged to submit a complete application. If that is why you were denied, fixing the attachments and refiling is usually the shorter route than a hearing.

Does a fee waiver get you a free lawyer?

No. A deferral or waiver covers what the court charges you. It does nothing about what an attorney charges you, and the two are separate problems with separate solutions.

If paying privately is not realistic, the places to look are legal aid organisations, bar-run reduced-fee programs, court self-service centers, and free clinics. Our guide to free and low-cost legal help in Maricopa County lists the Arizona programs by practice area, including which ones screen by the same kind of income test the courts use.

It is also worth being clear about the limits of doing this alone. The fee application itself is short and most people complete it without help. The case underneath it is a different matter, and the court staff who hand you these forms are not permitted to tell you how your case should be argued.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay a court filing fee in Arizona if I am on food stamps?

Not up front, if you apply and attach proof. Arizona law says the court shall grant an application for deferral when the applicant establishes by affidavit that they receive benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program or the food stamp program, or under Supplemental Security Income. A deferral postpones the fee rather than cancelling it, so you may still owe the money at the end of the case unless the court later waives it.

Is a fee waiver the same as a fee deferral in Arizona?

No. Arizona law defines a deferral as either postponing the obligation to pay or setting up a payment schedule, so the debt survives. A waiver removes the obligation. The court must waive fees on proof that you are permanently unable to pay, meaning your income and liquid assets are insufficient or barely sufficient to meet the daily essentials of life and are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

What income do you need to qualify for a fee waiver in Arizona?

The statute points to gross monthly income at 150 percent or less of the current federal poverty level, which includes your share of community property income. Using the 2026 federal poverty guidelines, that threshold is $1,995 a month for a household of one, $2,705 for two, $3,415 for three, and $4,125 for four. Higher income can still qualify if documented extraordinary expenses, such as medical costs or care for an elderly or disabled family member, bring you to or below that line.

Does an Arizona fee waiver cover service of process fees too?

It can, but only on extra proof and only in specific situations. Sheriff, marshal, constable, and law enforcement service fees can be deferred or waived if you show you tried without success to get the other party to accept service voluntarily, that trying would be futile or dangerous, or that you hold an enforceable order of protection or injunction against harassment against that person. Service by publication requires an affidavit showing you exercised due diligence trying to locate the person. Both require a separate affidavit form.

What happens if my case is dismissed after my court fees were deferred?

You still owe them. The statewide application form states plainly that if your case is dismissed for any reason, the fees and costs are still due. A dismissal ends the case, not the debt.

Can I get a court fee deferred in an Arizona eviction case?

Yes, the statewide application lists eviction as one of the case types it covers. Separately, Arizona law prohibits any court from imposing or collecting a fee for filing an answer to a complaint for forcible entry or detainer, so a tenant answering an eviction complaint should not be charged a filing fee at all.

Will an unpaid deferred court fee show up on my credit report?

It can. The Notice of Court Fees and Costs Due used by Arizona courts warns that once a consent judgment is entered the court may take steps to collect it, including reporting the judgment to credit bureaus, garnishing wages, intercepting a tax refund, or turning the judgment over to a collection agency.

Sources

• A.R.S. 12-302, deferral or waiver of court fees and costs · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-09
• A.R.S. 12-301, time of payment of fees; alternative payment methods · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-09
• A.R.S. 12-284, superior court clerk fees · Arizona State Legislature · checked 2026-08-09
• Administrative Directive 2022-06, fee deferral and waiver procedures and forms · Arizona Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts · checked 2026-08-09
• Filing fees for Superior Court · Maricopa County Clerk of Superior Court · checked 2026-08-09
• Deferral and waiver of court fees · Maricopa County Clerk of Superior Court · checked 2026-08-09
• Packet 12, deferral or waiver of fees and costs · Superior Court of Arizona in Pima County · checked 2026-08-09
• 2026 poverty guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services · checked 2026-08-09
• 150% of the HHS poverty guidelines for 2026, monthly basis · Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts · checked 2026-08-09

Keep reading

• Free and low-cost legal help in Maricopa CountyA directory of public legal aid, reduced-fee programs, court self-help centers, and crisis resources across Maricopa County, Arizona.
• How Long Does an Uncontested Divorce Take in Arizona?Arizona sets a 60 day floor on every divorce, counted from service rather than filing. What the clock depends on, and what makes it run longer.
• Is an estate plan worth paying a lawyer for?What a DIY will service costs, what an attorney adds, and when the cheap option is genuinely enough. Written for Arizona, with the statutes cited.