§1914. District court; filing and miscellaneous fees; rules of court

(a) The clerk of each district court shall require the parties instituting any civil action, suit or proceeding in such court, whether by original process, removal or otherwise, to pay a filing fee of $150, except that on application for a writ of habeas corpus the filing fee shall be $5.

(b) The clerk shall collect from the parties such additional fees only as are prescribed by the Judicial Conference of the United States.

(c) Each district court by rule or standing order may require advance payment of fees.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 954 ; Pub. L. 95–598, title II, §244, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2671 ; Pub. L. 99–336, §4(a), June 19, 1986, 100 Stat. 637 ; Pub. L. 99–500, §101(b) [title IV, §407(a)], Oct. 18, 1986, 100 Stat. 1783–39 , 1783-64, and Pub. L. 99–591, §101(b) [title IV, §407(a)], Oct. 30, 1986, 100 Stat. 3341–39 , 3341-64; Pub. L. 104–317, title IV, §401(a), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3853 .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §§549, 553 and 555 (R.S. §828; June 28, 1902, ch. 1301, §1, 32 Stat. 476 ; Feb. 11, 1925, ch. 204, §§2, 6, 8, 43 Stat. 857 , 858; Jan. 22, 1927, ch. 50, §2, 44 Stat. 1023 ; Jan. 31, 1928, ch. 14, §1, 45 Stat. 54 ; Mar. 3, 1942, ch. 124, §2, 56 Stat. 122 ; Sept. 27, 1944, ch. 414, §§1, 4, 5, 58 Stat. 743 , 744).

Section consolidates sections 549, 553, and 555 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., as amended with necessary changes of phraseology.

The phrase "filing fee" was substituted for the inconsistent and misleading words of sections 549 and 553 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., "as full payment for all services to be rendered by the clerk" etc. thus removing the necessity for including exceptions and referring to other sections containing provisions for additional fees.

The provision in section 549 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., for payment of fees by the parties instituting criminal proceedings by indictment or information, was omitted. Such proceedings are instituted only by the United States from which costs cannot be exacted.

The provision in section 549 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., for taxation of fees as costs, was omitted as covered by section 1920 of this title.

Words "or appeal from a deportation order of a United States Commissioner" in section 553 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., were omitted as obsolete since repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act by act Dec. 17, 1943, ch. 344, §1, 57 Stat. 600 . Appeal was formerly conferred by section 282 of title 8, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Aliens and Nationality.

Subsection (d) excepting the District of Columbia, was added to preserve the existing schedule of fees prescribed by section 11–1509 of the District of Columbia Code, 1940 ed.

Codification

Pub. L. 99–591 is a corrected version of Pub. L. 99–500.

Amendments

1996-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–317 substituted "$150" for "$120".

1986-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–500 and Pub. L. 99–591 substituted "$120" for "$60".

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99–336 struck out subsec. (d) which provided that section was not applicable to District of Columbia.

1978-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95–598 substituted "$60" for "$15".

Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

Section 401(c) of Pub. L. 104–317 provided that: "This section [amending this section and section 1931 of this title] shall take effect 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 19, 1996]."

Effective Date of 1986 Amendment

Section 4(c) of Pub. L. 99–336 provided that: "The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall apply with respect to any civil action, suit, or proceeding instituted on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [June 19, 1986]."

Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 95–598 effective Oct. 1, 1979, see section 402(c) of Pub. L. 95–598, set out as an Effective Date note preceding section 101 of Title 11, Bankruptcy.

Court Fees for Electronic Access to Information

Judicial Conference to prescribe reasonable fees for collection by courts under this section for access to information available through automatic data processing equipment and fees to be deposited in Judiciary Automation Fund, see section 303 of Pub. L. 102–140, set out as a note under section 1913 of this title.

District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule

(Effective October 1, 1999)

Following are fees to be charged for services to be performed by clerks of the district courts. No fees are to be charged for services rendered on behalf of the United States, with the exception of those specifically prescribed in items 2, 4, and 14. No fees under this schedule shall be charged to federal agencies or programs which are funded from judiciary appropriations, including, but not limited to, agencies, organizations, and individuals providing services authorized by the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. §3006A, and Bankruptcy Administrator programs.

(1) For filing or indexing any paper not in a case or proceeding for which a case filing fee has been paid, $20. This fee is applicable to the filing of a petition to perpetuate testimony, Rule 27(a), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the filing of papers by trustees under 28 U.S.C. §754, the filing of letters rogatory or letters of request, and registering of a judgment from another district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1963.

(2) For every search of the records of the district court conducted by the clerk of the district court or a deputy clerk, $15 per name or item searched. This fee shall apply to services rendered on behalf of the United States if the information requested is available through electronic access.

(3) For certification of any document or paper, whether the certification is made directly on the document or by separate instrument, $5. For exemplification of any document or paper, twice the amount of the fee for certification.

(4) For reproducing any record or paper, $.50 per page. This fee shall apply to paper copies made from either: (1) original documents; or (2) microfiche or microfilm reproductions of the original records. This fee shall apply to services rendered on behalf of the United States if the record or paper requested is available through electronic access.

(5) For reproduction of magnetic tape recordings, either cassette or reel-to-reel, $15 including the cost of materials.

(6) Repealed.

(7) For each microfiche sheet of film or microfilm jacket copy of any court record, where available, $3.

(8) For retrieval of a record from a Federal Records Center, National Archives, or other storage location removed from the place of business of the court, $25.

(9) For a check paid into the court which is returned for lack of funds, $25.

(10) For an appeal to a district judge from a judgment of conviction by a magistrate in a misdemeanor case, $25.

(11) For original admission of attorneys to practice, $50 each, including a certificate of admission. For a duplicate certificate of admission or certificate of good standing, $15.

(12) The court may charge and collect fees, commensurate with the cost of printing, for copies of the local rules of court. The court may also distribute copies of the local rules without charge.

(13) The clerk shall assess a charge for the handling of registry funds deposited with the court, to be assessed from interest earnings and in accordance with the detailed fee schedule issued by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

(14) For usage of electronic access to court data: $.60 per minute of usage via dial up service, and $.07 per page for public users obtaining information through a federal judiciary Internet site [provided the court may, for good cause, exempt persons or classes of persons from the fees, in order to avoid unreasonable burdens and to promote public access to such information]. All such fees collected shall be deposited to the Judiciary Information Technology Fund. These fees shall apply to the United States. (The Judicial Conference has approved an advisory note clarifying the judiciary's policy with respect to exemptions from the fees for usage of electronic access to court data. The Conference has also approved an advisory note defining information that may be provided to the public at no cost.)

(15) For filing an action brought under Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, P.L. 104–114, 110 Stat. 785 (1996), $4180. (This fee is in addition to the filing fee prescribed in 28 U.S.C. 1914(a) for instituting any civil action other than a writ of habeas corpus.)

Cross References

Advance payment of fees, see local rules of the various district courts.

Appeal of certiorari, fee on filing notice of or petition, or upon receipt of order allowing, or notice of allowance of, see section 1917 of this title.

Exemption of United States from payment of fees, see section 2412 of this title.

Payment by clerk into Treasury of all fees, costs and other moneys collected, see section 751 of this title.

Power of Judicial Conference of the United States, see section 331 of this title.

Reporter's fee for copy of transcript, see section 753 of this title.

Taxation of costs, see section 1920 of this title.

In admiralty and maritime cases, see section 1925 of this title.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 1930, 1931, 2412 of this title; title 11 section 330.