How Much Are Court Costs in Kentucky: Filing, Service, and Waivers

Court costs in Kentucky Circuit Court start at $150 for a civil filing and $100 for a criminal conviction, but those are only the base numbers. What you actually pay depends on the type of case, the services you use, whether a sheriff serves papers, how long the case runs, and whether you qualify for a waiver or an installment plan.

Civil Filing: The $150 Base and What Comes With It

When you open a civil case in Circuit Court, you pay the clerk a $150 filing fee. It applies to original actions, administrative agency proceedings, and cases involving special districts or boards.¹ Two exceptions: habeas corpus petitions and mental health proceedings carry no fee, and petitions under KRS 311.732 cost $10.

The $150 is not your entire day-one outlay. Kentucky also charges a $20 court technology fee, plus any other mandatory add-ons your county requires, such as a court facility fee or law library fee.¹ Those local charges vary, so the same civil filing can cost somewhat more in one county than another.

Fees You Pay as the Civil Case Moves Along

Most civil litigants pay the clerk again during the case, each time they request a service.¹ Common ones:

Jury of six: $40
Jury of more than six: $70
Filing a third-party complaint: $35
Certification, including Act of Congress: $5
Document copies: $0.25 per page
Digital or video recording copy: $25 per tape, disk, or other media
Audio recording copy: $15 per tape, disk, or other media
Writs of attachment, execution orders, or post-judgment writs of possession: $25
Garnishments: $15
Certified mail: postal rate
Publishing a notice: newspaper’s rate

Deposition costs, including appearance fees and mileage, are folded into overall case costs rather than charged at a set rate.¹

Extra Charges for Long or Heavy Cases

Three situations trigger additional civil charges spelled out in the rules:

Reopening a domestic relations case more than six months after the decree costs $50, paid when you file the motion to modify.¹
A $50 surcharge hits each time your case crosses a 50-item filing threshold, meaning the 51st filing, the 101st, and so on. It’s collected after judgment.
A civil jury trial that runs beyond four days costs an extra $100 per additional day, also collected after judgment.

Criminal Case: A Flat $100, Almost Always

Court costs in a Kentucky Circuit Court criminal case are set at $100. Unlike civil fees paid upfront, this cost is assessed against the defendant on conviction. It is mandatory. A judge cannot waive, reduce, prorate, or suspend it as part of a plea deal or for any other reason, with one narrow exception: the court finds the defendant is a “poor person” under KRS 453.190 who cannot pay now and will not be able to in the foreseeable future.²

If you don’t clear that strict poverty bar but still can’t pay the full $100 at sentencing, the court can put you on an installment plan under KRS 534.020.² The $100 is only the base cost; specific services layered on top carry their own fees.

Getting Papers Served

Delivering documents to the other side is a separate cost. When a Kentucky sheriff handles service, the fees are set by statute: $20 for executing and returning process, $10 for serving a civil summons in a nonsupport case, and $30 for serving process or making an arrest in a misdemeanor case. An execution of a writ of possession costs $7 per tenant or defendant.³

Certified mail is billed at the postal rate. Private process servers are also allowed. Their charges are not fixed by statute and generally run higher than the sheriff’s rates.

Public Defenders Are Not Automatically Free

A court-appointed attorney in Kentucky is not the same thing as a no-cost attorney. At your first appearance the court decides whether you qualify as a “needy person” based on income, property, dependents, outstanding debts, and other factors, including federal poverty guidelines.⁴ That review continues as the case moves, so eligibility can shift.

If you’re appointed a public defender and later found not to be needy, you can be ordered to repay the cost of that representation. Even defendants who do qualify may owe a partial recoupment fee. The affidavit you sign when asking for appointed counsel warns that a judge may order payment of part of the cost after weighing your finances, what private lawyers charge for similar work, the complexity of the case, and the time your attorney put in.⁴ A bill can arrive months after sentencing.

Waiver If You Can’t Afford the Costs

Kentucky lets a person who cannot afford court costs proceed “in forma pauperis” in either a civil or criminal matter. To qualify, you must show that your income is at or below 100% of the sliding scale of indigency set by the Kentucky Supreme Court, or that paying costs would deprive you or your dependents of basic necessities like food, shelter, or clothing.⁵

You apply by motion with an affidavit explaining why you can’t pay. If the court grants it, you get assigned counsel and the necessary court services and process without fees. You’re also excused from posting bonds, except to the extent reasonable given your finances. The one cost still on the table is anything recovered from the other side if you win.⁵

Payment Plans and What Happens If You Don’t Pay

Owe court costs, fees, or fines you can’t cover at sentencing? The court can order installments. Payments are applied in a set order: court costs first, then restitution, then fees, then fines.⁶ Costs clear before anything else.

Nonpayment has real consequences. A defendant jailed for failing to pay court costs, fees, or fines receives credit at $50 per day of incarceration. Participation in a community service or labor program doubles the rate to $100 per eight-hour day, with partial credit at $12.50 per hour for shorter shifts. When enough days are served to cover the balance, the jailer must release the defendant.⁷

One limitation matters: jail-time credit does not apply to restitution. Any amount owed to a victim remains outstanding no matter how much time is served.⁷

What Tends to Push Your Total Higher

The figures above are floors. Complexity is the biggest driver. Lawsuits with multiple parties, expert witnesses, and heavy discovery generate more filings, more copies, and more court time. A civil jury trial past four days runs $100 per extra day.¹ Cases with heavy filing activity hit the $50 surcharge each time the docket crosses another 50-item mark.

Family law cases have their own cost pressure. A contested divorce or custody dispute that comes back for modification triggers the $50 reopening fee and may involve court-ordered mediation or parenting classes. Because the court technology fee and any library or facility fees vary by county, the same case can cost noticeably more in one jurisdiction than another.

Your choice of counsel matters too. Hiring private counsel means higher legal fees than a public defender, but a case that resolves faster generates fewer service fees and court appearances along the way.

1
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. CR 3.02 – Circuit Civil Fees and Costs
2
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 23A.205 – Court Costs for Criminal Cases in Circuit Court
3
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 64.090 – Fees Charged by Sheriffs
4
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 31.120 – Determination of Whether Person Needy
5
Justia Law. Kentucky Code 453.190
6
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 534.020 – Methods of Imposing Fines
7
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 534.070 – Incarceration for Failure to Pay Fine or Court Costs