California Government Code 6103 exempts the state, counties, cities, districts, other political subdivisions, and public officers acting in an official capacity from paying fees to file documents, obtain official services, or appear in court proceedings.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103 The waiver is broad but not absolute. Civil jury fees, sheriff and marshal levy fees, matters involving private assets, and any fee another statute specifically imposes all stay payable, and when a public agency wins its case, the fees waived upfront get added to the judgment and collected from the losing side.
What Section 6103 Waives
Three categories of charges fall under the exemption:
- Fees for filing any document or paper with a court or other government office.
- Fees for performing any official duty imposed by law.
- Fees for filing any stipulation or agreement that could constitute an appearance in court by another party.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103
Two additional charges are handled separately in the same statute. No fee is charged to a qualifying public agency for court reporter services, and the exemption extends to probate referees, so a government entity involved in probate in its official capacity pays no probate referee fee.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103
Who Qualifies
The statute covers the state, any county, city, or district, any other political subdivision, and any public officer or body acting in an official capacity for one of those entities.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103 “District” is broad enough to pick up school districts, water districts, fire protection districts, and other special districts.
The qualifier that does real work is “official capacity.” A district attorney filing a criminal case and a city attorney suing to enforce a municipal code violation both qualify. The exemption falls away when a public officer is handling private assets or obligations that came under their control through the office rather than performing a core governmental function. A public administrator handling a decedent’s estate, for instance, holds private assets by virtue of the office, and fees in those proceedings are not waived.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103
Where the Exemption Does Not Reach
Several exceptions catch agencies and attorneys who assume the waiver covers everything:
- Civil jury fees and jury deposits. The statute says expressly that government entities must pay them like any other litigant. A city attorney pays no filing fee to open a case, but the moment the matter goes to a jury, the city posts jury fees on the same footing as a private party.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103
- The State Compensation Insurance Fund. It is treated differently from other government entities and does not receive the exemption.
- Private-asset matters, as described above.
- Sheriff and marshal levy fees. Section 6103.2 excludes fees for services rendered by a sheriff or marshal when levying writs.2California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103.2
- Fees imposed by another statute. The exemption does not apply where a different statute specifically provides otherwise, and the Legislature does not have to name Section 6103 for the override to count.3California Attorney General. Opinion No. 13-1101
Recovery When the Agency Wins
Section 6103.5 turns the upfront waiver into something closer to a deferral for prevailing agencies. When a qualifying public agency obtains a judgment, the court clerk adds the filing fees and service-of-process fees that would have been paid but for Section 6103 into the judgment, and the losing party pays those amounts along with the rest. Once collected, the fiscal officer of the agency remits the clerk’s and serving officer’s shares within 45 days. If the entire judgment is just the filing fee amount, the agency can decide whether to pursue collection and notify the clerk if it will not.4California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103.5
Court reporter costs waived under Section 6103 similarly become recoverable from a losing opponent as part of the agency’s costs.
How Courts Read the Statute
Three decisions set the practical outer edges of the exemption. In City of Pasadena v. Fox (1936), the Court of Appeal held that “official service” means a duty imposed by law, not every task a government office happens to perform, so an agency cannot invoke the waiver for work that sits outside the office’s legal obligations. In Hayward Lumber & Investment Co. v. Biscailuz (1957), the California Supreme Court held that making and certifying copies of court records does qualify as an official service of the clerk, which is why government agencies do not pay for certified copies of court documents. In Anaheim City School District v. County of Orange (1985), the Court of Appeal confirmed that the Legislature can carve out exceptions without referencing Section 6103, so a specific fee statute aimed at government entities will stand even though 6103 would otherwise waive the charge.3California Attorney General. Opinion No. 13-1101
The lesson from the case law and the statute together is to look at each charge on its own facts. The exemption applies when a qualifying entity or officer is performing a core governmental function and no other statute says otherwise. Any other situation, and the fee is probably payable.