How to ask for a divorce fee waiver

Can you file for divorce without paying court fees?

A court’s fee-waiver or inability-to-pay process may let a person with financial hardship start or participate in a divorce without paying covered court charges. California, New York, and Texas have official procedures linked below. Eligibility, forms, covered costs, and the order of filing depend on the court where your case belongs.

Check the procedure before paying the filing fee. A waiver of court costs also does not settle support or property issues between spouses. This guide helps you find instructions; the court applies its own rules to your request.

Start with your court’s current form

1. Locate the divorce court. Use the official court directory by state to find your state’s court system, then find the court or clerk for your county. Search its official site for fee waiver, inability to pay, indigency, or in forma pauperis.
2. Read the current instructions. Check the form’s effective date, which fees it covers, whether you need a proposed order, and how a request is submitted with a new divorce or response.
3. Gather the requested financial information. Your form may ask about benefits, household members, income, bank balances, assets, debts, and essential expenses. Use pay records, benefit notices, and bills to answer accurately; attach documents only as the local instructions require.
4. Sign and file as directed. Follow the form’s oath or declaration requirements. Confirm the local sequence for e-filing and any service or confidentiality rules. Keep a copy and a filing receipt.
5. Track the decision and next step. Read every notice or order. Respond to requests for information, attend any required hearing, and follow the court’s payment or review deadline if it requires payment.

Official starting points: California, New York, Texas

Sources checked on October 7, 2026. These examples show why a single national eligibility test or application form would be misleading.

California

California Courts identifies three routes: specified public benefits, household income below the current form’s limit, or inability to meet basic needs and pay court fees. Read the court’s fee-waiver instructions and use FW-001, with the requested information on FW-003. The current FW-001 form page lists March 1, 2026 as its effective date.

You can request relief with your divorce petition, response, or later when your finances change. Read the court’s order for the fees it covers and any continuing obligations. The California instructions explain that private lawyer fees and mediation are excluded, and that repayment can be required in some circumstances.

New York

New York calls fee-waiver relief “poor person’s relief.” Its court guidance asks for an explanation of your finances and case. Find the official fee-waiver forms and confirm the required divorce papers with the clerk or court help center. The official guidance says a person starting an e-filed case needs the waiver order first and must upload it before submitting the case papers.

Texas

Use the Supreme Court-approved Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs (PDF). Under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145, the statement must be sworn before a notary or made under penalty of perjury. Filing a sworn statement requires the clerk to provide ordinary services; any later requirement to pay is subject to the rule’s court process. The definition of court costs includes filing, issuance and service of process, copies, and certain other charges.

Filing the statement is not a promise that every expense in your divorce will be free. Read the full rule and any notice from your court if your ability to afford costs is questioned.

Other states

Find your court through the Department of Justice’s state court directory. Ask its clerk or self-help center for the divorce-specific hardship instructions and current form. Use that court’s financial criteria instead of California’s income limits or a form from another state.

Check each expense separately

A waiver’s scope matters as much as eligibility. California lists covered court charges on the order. Texas defines court costs in Rule 145. New York’s guidance describes the relief available under its own procedure. Confirm each category with your court before marking it as waived in your budget.

• Initial filing and later filings: check whether one request covers both, or whether you need further relief.
• Service, copies, and court records: ask which court or officer charges are included and which private-provider charges remain.
• Lawyers, mediators, and experts: ask for separate assistance or a quote; do not treat private services as covered without checking.

To plan costs that remain, compare the filing-fee guide and build a budget with the divorce cost calculator.

If the court needs more information or requires payment

Read the actual notice promptly. It may explain a missing item, a hearing, a payment requirement, or a way to seek review. Deadlines and procedures differ, so do not use a date from another state’s guide. Bring the notice to a court help center or legal-aid provider if you need help understanding the next step.

Also check whether you must report improved finances or apply again after an existing waiver ends. Keep the court’s decision with your case papers so you can show which charges it addresses.

Divorce fee-waiver questions

Official sources and forms

1. California Courts: ask for a fee waiver

   Eligibility routes, application steps, covered costs, and limits for superior-court fee waivers.

2. California Courts: Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001)

   Current form page lists an effective date of March 1, 2026; use the income limits on the current form.

3. New York Courts: fee waivers (poor person’s relief)

   Financial information, local instructions, and the order-first requirement for starting an e-filed case.

4. New York Courts: fee-waiver forms

   Official application, motion, service, and order forms; confirm which apply to your divorce with the court.

5. Texas Judicial Branch: court-approved inability-to-pay form (PDF)

   Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs or an Appeal Bond.

6. Texas Judicial Branch: current Rules of Civil Procedure (PDF)

   Rule 145, printed pages 79–82, addresses costs, the sworn statement, and any order requiring payment.

7. U.S. Department of Justice: court resources by state

   Find the official court system for another state before choosing a local waiver form.