Data · Filing fees
What it costs to open a probate case
The filing fee is the first cheque an estate writes. In six of the ten states Probatly covers, that fee is set statewide — one statute or one published schedule, the same in every county. In the other four it is not, and this page treats those four differently on purpose.
Six states set the fee statewide; four are county-shaped. Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Alabama each leave some or all of the opening cost to counties — Texas through county add-ons on top of a statewide base, the other three through county schedules of their own. For those states this page publishes the mechanism, the statutory base where one exists, and worked examples from published county schedules — never an invented county-by-county table, and never a single precise figure presented as statewide when it is not.
The cleanest systems
Three states make the opening cost genuinely predictable. North Carolina uses a formula — $120 to open, plus 0.4% of the gross estate — capped at $6,000 — the same in every county, with no county schedules to chase. New York publishes a statutory scale under SCPA §2402 — $45 to $1,250, on a statutory scale — that rises in bands with the value of the estate. California charges one flat statewide fee for the first petition — $435 — with only three counties adding a local courthouse surcharge. If every state worked one of these three ways, this page would be a single line long.
| State | Cost to open | How the fee works | Statute | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $435 | The first petition for letters costs $435 statewide under the Statewide Civil Fee Schedule (effective Jan 1, 2026). Only three counties — Riverside, San Bernardino and San Francisco — add a local courthouse surcharge. The probate referee's appraisal commission is separate: 0.1% of appraised value, minimum $75, maximum $10,000. | Cal. Gov. Code §70650(a); Prob. Code §§8961, 8963 (referee) | Verified Nov 7, 2026 |
| Texas | $360 base, plus county add-ons | The base filing fee is statutory and identical in all 254 counties: $360 ($223 local consolidated fee + $137 state consolidated fee, effective Jan 1, 2024). County totals rise with service and posting — Montgomery County's published total is $445 including a $75 constable posting fee. Later filings in the case are typically $120. | Tex. Loc. Gov't Code §135.102(a)(1); §133.151(a)(1) | Verified Nov 7, 2026 |
| Florida | About $400 to open a formal administration | Clerk fees are capped statewide, so county totals are near-identical: formal administration about $400–$401; summary administration about $346 (estate of $1,000 or more) or $236 (under $1,000); disposition without administration about $232. | Fla. Stat. §28.2401 (statewide fee caps) | Verified Nov 7, 2026 |
| New York | $45 to $1,250, on a statutory scale | New York's probate filing fee is a statewide statutory scale based on the value of the estate: $45 for an estate under $10,000, rising through bands to $1,250 for an estate of $500,000 or more. It is the cleanest fee table in the country alongside North Carolina's. | SCPA §2402 | Verified Nov 7, 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | Set by each county — typically about $200–$500 to open | Pennsylvania has no statewide probate fee schedule. Each county's Register of Wills (67 counties) sets its own fees, and many price probate on a sliding scale based on the value of the estate. Secondary sources put typical opening costs around $200–$500. The honest way to get your number is your county Register of Wills' published schedule. County-set. We publish the mechanism and the typical range rather than a made-up statewide figure. | County Register of Wills fee schedules (no statewide schedule) | Verified Nov 7, 2026 |
| Illinois | Set by each county's circuit clerk — roughly $250–$450 | There is no statewide probate filing fee in Illinois; each circuit clerk publishes its own schedule. Cook County is about $379; secondary sources put the working range across counties at roughly $250–$450. County-set. We publish the range and the Cook County figure rather than a false statewide number. | County circuit clerk fee schedules (no statewide probate fee) | Verified Nov 7, 2026 |
| Ohio | A statewide statutory fee schedule, plus small county add-ons | Ohio's probate court fees are set by statute in one statewide schedule covering most line items; counties add smaller local charges such as computerisation fees, so totals are mostly uniform and citable. | ORC §2101.16 | Verified Nov 7, 2026 |
| Georgia | $175 base per petition — about $205–$210 all-in for a first petition | The statutory base filing fee is $175 per petition (effective Jan 1, 2025), plus mandatory add-ons (indigent defence, ADR, Children's Trust Fund, law library). Unusually, Georgia publishes one statewide Schedule of Costs and Fees — typical first-petition totals run about $205–$210 in most counties (Chatham County's schedule: $205). Publishing the creditor notice costs extra, about $65. | O.C.G.A. §15-9-60; Council of Probate Court Judges statewide Schedule of Costs and Fees (eff. Jan 1, 2025) | Verified Nov 7, 2026 |
| North Carolina | $120 to open, plus 0.4% of the gross estate — capped at $6,000 | The most predictable fee in this index: fully statutory, identical in every county, with no county schedules to chase. A $500,000 estate pays $120 plus $2,000 — $2,120 in total court costs under the formula. | N.C.G.S. §7A-307 | Verified Nov 7, 2026 |
| Alabama | Statutory base exists, but local laws change it — roughly $50–$400 to open | Alabama has a statewide statutory fee schedule ($45 to probate a will of up to 5 pages, including three certified copies of letters; $3 per additional page; $3 per petition) — but the statute does not repeal local fee laws, so actual charges vary by county. Autauga County's official schedule, for example, charges $55 for the same filing the statute prices at $45. Secondary sources put opening costs at roughly $50–$400. County-varying. We publish the statutory base, a worked county example, and the range — never a single invented figure. | Ala. Code §12-19-90 (base schedule; local fee laws not repealed) | Verified Nov 7, 2026 |
Filing fees are only the court’s charge. Publication of creditor notices, bond premiums, appraisal or referee fees, and certified copies are separate, and several states itemise them in the detail column where the statute does. Where a fee is county-set, your county clerk’s or Register of Wills’ published schedule is the source that controls — confirm the total there before you file.