Courts are required by law to collect a filing fee for most civil cases to support Ohio’s legal aids. The law directs these fees to the Legal Aid Fund, which provides critical revenue for civil legal services that strengthen communities and help Ohioans lead safe, stable, and financially secure lives.

Filing fees include:

$26 Civil actions and proceedings R.C. §§1901.26, 1907.24, 2303.201
$15 Transfer cases from small claims to municipal R.C. §2303.201
$15 Juvenile court actions involving custody, visitation, and parentage. R.C. §2303.201
$11 Small claims R.C. §§1901.26, 1907.24

The court shall not waive the payment of the additional filing fees in a new civil action or proceeding unless the court waives the advanced payment of all filing fees in the action or proceeding.

The legal aid filing fee is payable to the clerk and shall be collected when an action or proceeding is filed. The clerk shall remit the filing fee to the Treasurer of State’s office by the 20th of the month following its collection.

The court may retain up to 1% of this fee to cover administrative costs. However, if the court remits the fee after the 20th, it will forfeit the 1% administration fee.

Filing fees are submitted through the Treasurer of State’s (TOS) website (https://touchpoint.tos.ohio.gov) and deposited into the Legal Aid Fund. Per Ohio Adm. Code 113-1-06, all payments must be made by electronic funds transfer through the TOS online payment processing system. Information required for filing fee remittances includes the number of cases filed for small claims, civil, domestic relations, juvenile, probate, cases moving from small claims to civil, and no fee cases.

Section 1901.26 Costs (Municipal Court)
Section 1907.24 Schedule of Fees and Costs (County Court)
Section 2303.201 Additional Fees (Court of Common Pleas)

Contact Us

If your court has questions regarding the payment processing system, please contact the Office of the Treasurer of State at 614-466-2160 or via email at [email protected] (“Reprot” refers to the Reparations Rotary system). For inquiries related to the legal aid filing fee, please call the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation at 614-715-8560 or toll-free at (800) 877-9772.