Florida’s Civil Indigent Status Application: Filing and Fee Waivers

Florida’s civil indigent status application is a one-page financial questionnaire you file with the clerk of court to have filing and summons fees waived and other litigation costs deferred to a payment plan. The form is approved by the Florida Supreme Court, and you file it with the clerk in the county where your case is pending.¹ Pick up a blank copy at any Clerk of the Circuit Court office or download the PDF from the Florida Courts website.²

Do You Qualify

Florida Statutes § 57.082 sets two tests, and you have to pass both.¹

The first is income. Your household’s net income has to be at or below 200 percent of the current federal poverty guidelines. Net income means total salary, wages, and other payments minus deductions required by law and any court-ordered support you pay, like child support. Household size is the number of dependents you claim on your federal tax return, plus yourself. For 2026, the 200-percent thresholds are:

1 person: $31,920 per year
2 people: $43,280
3 people: $54,640
4 people: $66,000
5 people: $77,360
6 people: $88,720

Add $11,360 for each additional household member.³

The second test is assets. There is a presumption that you are not indigent if you own property with a net equity value of $2,500 or more after subtracting what you owe on it. Two things are excluded from that calculation: your primary home and one vehicle worth up to $5,000 in net equity. A second vehicle, a boat, investment accounts, or non-homestead real estate all count. If the combined net equity of those non-exempt assets reaches $2,500, expect a denial.¹

What the Form Asks

The application has six sections, and the clerk runs your numbers straight through the statutory tests. Leaving a line blank or estimating slows things down or triggers a denial. Gather the following before you sit down with the form.²

Dependents and marital status. The number of dependents you claim on your federal income tax return sets your household size. Report whether you are married, whether your spouse works, and your spouse’s annual income. Spouse income counts even if your spouse is not a party to the case.

Net income. Report total salary, wages, bonuses, commissions, overtime, tips, and similar payments, minus deductions required by law and court-ordered support payments. Pick the pay frequency that matches your paychecks — weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly, or yearly. The clerk annualizes whatever you enter.

Other income. Every non-wage dollar coming in gets its own line: second-job earnings, Social Security benefits (for you and any children), unemployment, union payments, retirement or pensions, trusts, veterans’ benefits, workers’ compensation, income from absent family members, stock and bond income, rental income, dividends or interest, and gifts. Anything that doesn’t fit goes under “other kinds of income.” Clerks cross-reference public records during review, so omitting a source you actually receive is the quickest route to a denial.

Assets. Circle yes or no for each type and enter the value: cash on hand, bank accounts, CDs or money market accounts, savings accounts, stocks and bonds, boats, motor vehicles, homestead real property, and non-homestead real estate. For boats, vehicles, and both categories of real property, you also enter what you owe, so the clerk can calculate net equity. The form also asks whether you expect to receive additional assets soon, such as an inheritance or an insurance payout.

Liabilities and debts. Enter what you owe on your vehicle, home, boat, and non-homestead property, plus direct-pay child support, credit cards, medical bills, monthly cost of medicines, and anything else. Substantial debt against modest assets strengthens the picture.

Legal representation. The last field asks whether you have a private lawyer in the case. If a judge later reviews a denial, the court weighs whether you have retained counsel and what you are paying.¹

Signing the Application

Your signature at the bottom attests that everything you reported is true. Knowingly providing false information is a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida law, punishable by up to one year in jail.¹⁴ The warning appears directly above the signature line.

Where and How to File

File with the clerk of court in the county where your case is pending. You have two options:

In person at the clerk’s office. Staff can review it on the spot.
Through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. First-time users create an account and select “Self-Represented Litigant” as the filer role. Sign the document before you upload it.⁵

You can file the application at the same time as your initial complaint or answer, or at any point during the case. Filing early avoids owing fees that have already accrued.

What Actually Gets Waived

Approval does not erase every cost. Under Florida Statutes § 57.081, an indigent party is excused from prepaying costs and is not required to pay filing fees or charges for issuance of a summons.⁶ The statute also covers service of process, certified copies of orders or final judgments, subpoena fees, mediation fees, and other costs arising from the litigation. The form states it plainly: “filing and summons fees are waived; other costs and fees are not waived.”²

The practical difference is that filing fees and summons charges go away entirely, while other costs still accrue but cannot block your case from moving forward. No fee or cost owed by an indigent person can delay filing, any hearing, or the final order.¹

The Payment Plan

Every person approved as indigent is enrolled in a payment plan and charged a one-time administrative processing fee. The monthly payment is presumed to match your ability to pay as long as it does not exceed 2 percent of your annual net income divided by 12.¹ At $24,000 in annual net income, that ceiling works out to roughly $40 per month. Filing fees waived under § 57.081 are excluded from the payment plan calculation, so you are only repaying deferred costs and the processing charge.

If the payment amount is too high, you can ask the judge assigned to your case to review it. Nonpayment does not stall the case.

If the Clerk Denies It

A denial is not the end. You can file a petition asking the judge in your case to review the clerk’s decision, and there is no fee for that review.² The judge looks at the same financial information but can weigh factors the clerk cannot:

Whether paying the fees would create substantial financial hardship for you or your family.
Whether you are self-represented, have pro bono counsel, or retained a private attorney, and if retained, when and for how much.
Other financial circumstances the checkboxes don’t capture, like a recent medical expense or job loss.¹

A judicial finding of indigency overrides the clerk’s denial and triggers the same fee waivers and payment plan. The statute sets no deadline for filing the petition, but filing promptly avoids piling up costs that might otherwise have been waived.

One Case at a Time

Approval applies only to the case you filed the application in. It stays active through post-judgment motions in that case, but it does not carry over to a new lawsuit or a separate proceeding. If you have multiple pending cases, you need a separate application for each one.

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 57.082 – Determination of Civil Indigent Status
2
Florida Courts. Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status
3
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – Detailed Guidelines
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties, Applicability of Sentencing Structures, Notification to Department of Revenue
5
Florida Courts. Filing Your Forms
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 57.081 – Indigent Persons, Costs and Service