The $35 Filing Fee in Washington Small Claims

This is one of the procedures covered in How Washington Small Claims Courts Work. The filing fee is one of the few costs Washington small claims sets by statute. The rest, including service on the defendant and any post-judgment enforcement, depends on choices the plaintiff makes once the case is filed.

The base filing fee set by statute

The statutory fee to start a Washington small claims case is $35. RCW 12.40.020 requires the fee at the time the Notice of Small Claim is filed, regardless of the amount the plaintiff is claiming. A $400 dispute and a $10,000 dispute pay the same filing fee. The same statute imposes a separate $35 fee on a defendant who files a counterclaim, on any party who brings a cross-claim, and on a party who files a third-party claim within the case.

The allocation of the fee is fixed by statute. Fifty cents of every $35 goes to the judicial stabilization trust account to support indigent defense through the Office of Public Defense. Another fifty cents goes to the crime victims’ compensation account under RCW 7.68.045. The remainder is retained by the court for general operating support of the small claims docket and the district court more broadly.

The $35 figure has been the statutory base for several legislative cycles. The legislature can change it; the fee a particular court collects today is the figure on the statute as currently enacted. The Washington Courts small claims forms page reflects the current Notice of Small Claim form (revised January 2025) that the clerk pairs with the fee at intake.

Local surcharges authorized by RCW 7.75.035

The base $35 is rarely the entire amount paid at the counter. RCW 7.75.035 authorizes each county legislative authority to add a surcharge of up to $15 on each small claims filing fee, dedicated to funding dispute resolution centers established under RCW Chapter 7.75. The same statute authorizes a smaller surcharge (up to $10) on regular district court civil filings; the small claims ceiling is the higher of the two.

Whether a county imposes the surcharge, and at what level, varies. Some counties charge the full $15. Some charge a smaller amount. Some have not adopted a surcharge at all. The surcharge is set by county ordinance, not by statewide rule, so the only authoritative source for the current amount in a specific county is that county’s district court clerk. The total filing cost at a county imposing the full surcharge is $50.

The surcharge revenue is restricted by RCW 7.75.035: each county clerk collects it and remits it to the county treasurer for deposit in a separate account used solely for dispute resolution centers under Chapter 7.75. Surcharge revenue cannot fund general court operations, and the surcharge does not affect the base $35 allocation in RCW 12.40.020 going to the statutorily designated state accounts.

Counterclaims, cross-claims, and other paid filings within the case

The plaintiff’s $35 is not always the last filing fee in a case. RCW 12.40.020 also requires a $35 fee from a defendant who files a counterclaim in response to the small claims notice. Cross-claims between co-defendants and third-party claims that bring an additional party into the case carry the same fee. Each separately filed claim is a separate filing for fee purposes.

A defendant who pays the counterclaim fee files the claim using the same Notice of Small Claim form and serves it on the opposing party. The procedure follows RCW 12.40.050. A defendant whose counterclaim exceeds the small claims dollar limit can move to transfer the entire case to the regular district court civil docket; the transfer itself does not require a separate filing fee, although filings made after transfer carry the regular district court fee schedule under RCW 3.62.060.

Amendments to an already-filed claim, motions filed before the hearing, and post-judgment paperwork such as a satisfaction of judgment do not separately carry the statutory small claims filing fee. Local courts sometimes charge nominal copy fees or fees for certified copies of judgments; those are county-level charges, not state filings.

Fee waivers for plaintiffs with limited income

A plaintiff who cannot afford the filing fee can apply for a waiver under General Rule 34, the statewide civil indigency rule for Washington courts. The rule covers waiver of filing fees, surcharges, jury demand fees, and other court costs in civil matters, including small claims.

The applicant files a sworn financial statement showing income, household size, public benefits received (if any), and an explanation of why payment would create an undue hardship. A person currently receiving means-tested public assistance, such as TANF, Supplemental Security Income, or basic food benefits, generally qualifies under the rule. Other applicants qualify based on a comparison of household income to the federal poverty guidelines.

1. Complete the financial statement under oath

   The applicant fills out the standard waiver application available at the district court clerk’s office, listing monthly income from all sources, household size, debts, and assets. The form is signed under penalty of perjury.

2. File the waiver application together with the Notice of Small Claim

   The clerk accepts both at the same time. Filing the waiver application alongside the claim prevents the case from being rejected for non-payment while the application is pending review.

3. Wait for the court's ruling

   A judge reviews the application, sometimes the same day, sometimes within a few days. If the waiver is granted, the order is entered in the case file and the case proceeds without payment. If the waiver is denied, the court sets a deadline by which the fee has to be paid for the case to move forward.

A granted waiver covers the filing fee, the RCW 7.75.035 surcharge, and most other court costs charged by the clerk. It does not pay for third-party services the plaintiff arranges, such as a private process server. A plaintiff who needs personal service by the sheriff can ask the sheriff’s office about waiving or reducing the service charge based on the same financial showing, but that decision rests with each county’s sheriff rather than with the court.

Other costs that are not the filing fee

The $35 fee starts the case but is rarely the only money a plaintiff spends to reach a judgment. Service of the Notice of Small Claim on the defendant carries a separate cost. The two methods authorized by RCW 12.40.040, personal service through a process server or sheriff and registered or certified mail with return receipt, both involve out-of-pocket expense. Sheriff service typically runs $40 to $60 per defendant; private process servers charge their own rates, often $50 to $150 depending on the number of attempts; certified mail with return receipt is a few dollars at the post office.

Informal resolution before filing avoids the fee entirely. Some consumer disputes that fit small claims also fit the Washington Attorney General’s consumer complaint program, which costs nothing to use. The AG’s office can mediate disputes between consumers and businesses without a court filing, and a successful informal resolution lets the consumer skip both the $35 fee and the time needed to bring the case to a hearing. The AG complaint route runs in parallel to small claims; filing one does not block filing the other.

A plaintiff who prevails at the hearing can request that the judgment include the recoverable costs of the case. Filing fees, statutory service fees, and certain other costs are recoverable from the losing party as part of the judgment. Costs above the statutory ceiling and amounts the plaintiff spent for convenience (premium process service, expedited mail) are typically not.

Post-judgment enforcement is a separate cost path. A judgment creditor who pursues garnishment under RCW Chapter 6.27 pays the garnishment filing fee in district court, sheriff’s fees for serving the writ, and any costs the garnishee charges to process the writ. Those costs can also be added to the judgment balance, but the creditor pays them up front and recovers them only if and when the judgment is collected.