The filing fee is based on the amount of money you are claiming
The court filing fee is based on the amount of money you are claiming. The court asks for this information because if you win your case, the judge will award your filing fee back to you.
To see how much your filing fee will be, use this chart:
Money Claimed --> Filing Fee
- $0 to $99.99 --> $55.00
- $100 to $500 --> $80.00
- $500.01 to $2,500.00 --> $175.00
- $2,500.01 to $8,000.00 --> $300.00
When the form asks you how much your filing fee was, you can just look up the amount of the fee from the table above based on how much money you claimed, and enter the number on the right.
Other fees
There are other the court can charge you. If you choose to serve the case through the court Sheriff, they'll charge you a fee for that. In Lake County, the fee to serve through the Sheriff is $40.00 per defendant. The court does not take personal checks or credit cards as payment for this.
The court will also charge you a $10 fee to issue a citation (for each citation issued). The citation is the document that must be served on the defendant.
Why so many fees
These fees are payment to the government for the services you are using from the court, the sheriff, the court clerk, and so on. These fees are you responsibility to pay upfront if you are initiating the lawsuit. But, if you win your lawsuit, the court will order the defendant who lost to pay you back for these fees.
Contact someone for help
If you need additional help on calculating the court fees, figuring out citation or defendant service fees, or anything else related to the court process, you can contact the Clerk of the Court for Lake County Civil Division at this phone number: (352) 742-4172.
