How to Fill Out California Form FW-001: Request to Waive Court Fees

To fill out California Form FW-001, Request to Waive Court Fees, enter your name and the court information at the top, check one of three boxes in item 5 to show why you qualify, complete the financial pages that match the box you checked, and sign at the bottom under penalty of perjury. You file it with your first court papers, and the court has five court days to act or the waiver is granted automatically.¹ The blank form is free from any clerk’s office or the California Courts website.

Before You Start

Pull together your pay stubs, recent bank statements, and monthly bills. You will not attach them to the form, but you need accurate numbers on the page and the court can ask for verification later.²

Then decide which of three eligibility paths fits your situation, because that choice determines how much of the form you complete:

You currently receive certain public benefits (Medi-Cal, CalFresh/SNAP, SSI/SSP, CalWORKs or Tribal TANF, County Relief or General Assistance, IHSS, CAPI, WIC, or unemployment compensation).
Your household’s gross monthly income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. For one person the current limit on the form is $2,660.00, rising to $5,500.00 for a household of four, with $946.67 added for each additional person.³
Paying court fees would leave you unable to pay for food, rent, or other necessities, even if your income sits above the threshold.

You only need to meet one.⁴ If you are filing as a guardian or conservator, use a different form, FW-001-GC, and base eligibility on the ward’s or conservatee’s finances rather than your own.⁵

Top of Page 1: You and the Case

Print your full legal name, mailing address, and phone number in the caption at the top of page 1. Fill in the court’s name and branch address in the boxes provided.

If you already have a case number, write it in the upper right corner. You will have one if you are responding to a lawsuit someone else filed or continuing an existing matter. If you are starting a new case, leave the case number blank; the clerk assigns one when you file.

Items 1 through 4 ask basic identifying questions, including whether a lawyer is representing you and whether the lawyer is helping for free. Answer them as they apply.

Item 5: Pick One Box

Item 5 is where most mistakes happen. Check exactly one box.³

Box 5a — Public benefits. On the form itself is a list of qualifying benefit programs. Check every one you receive. If you check 5a, you are done with the financial section: skip page 2.

Box 5b — Low income. If your gross monthly household income falls at or under the threshold for your household size, check 5b. You then need to complete items 7, 8, and 9 on page 2.

Box 5c — Hardship. If your income is over the threshold but paying fees would prevent you from covering basic needs, check 5c. You need to complete all of page 2, including assets, expenses, and debts.

Checking more than one box, or checking 5b and skipping page 2, are the two errors that most often bounce a form back as incomplete.

Page 2: Financial Details

What you fill in on page 2 depends on the box you checked.

If You Checked 5b

Item 7 asks for your job or source of income. Item 8 asks who lives in your household: list each person, their age, their relationship to you, and their gross monthly income. Item 9 breaks down your own monthly income by source (wages, self-employment, benefits, support, and so on). The court adds everyone’s income together and compares the total against the threshold for a household of your size.

If You Checked 5c

You complete items 7 through 12. Beyond the household and income questions from 5b, item 10 asks for your liquid assets: cash on hand, every bank account with the bank’s name and current balance, and any investments. It also asks about vehicles you own (with fair market value and loan balance) and real estate (with fair market value and mortgage balance).

Item 11 is your monthly expenses: rent or mortgage, food and household supplies, utilities and telephone, clothing, laundry and cleaning, medical and dental, insurance, school and child care, transportation, and any court-ordered support. Item 12 covers installment debts, including credit cards and loans, with the total owed and the monthly payment.

The 5c review is about the gap between what comes in and what goes out. Concrete numbers, filled in on every line that applies to you, give the judge what they need to grant the waiver without a hearing.

Signing the Form

At the bottom of page 1, print your name, sign, and date. Your signature is a declaration under penalty of perjury that everything on the form is true.³ You do not need a notary. The financial information you provide stays confidential; the other party in your case does not see it.²

Filing It With the Court

File the completed FW-001 at the same time you file your first court papers, whether that is a complaint, petition, answer, or response. You can hand it to the clerk at the filing window or, if your court accepts electronic filing, submit it that way. The clerk cannot require you to appear in person just to file the fee waiver request. You also do not need to bring proof of your public benefits to file; the court may request verification later.⁶

Once you file, the court has five court days to act. If it does not act within that window, your waiver is granted automatically by operation of law.¹ When the judge grants your request, you receive form FW-003, the order stating which fees are waived.⁷ Keep that order; you may need to show it later for sheriff service, certified copies, or a court reporter.

If the Court Wants More Information or Denies the Request

If the judge finds your form incomplete or has questions about your finances, the court can set a hearing. You will get written notice with the date and a list of what to bring.

If the request is denied, you have 10 days to pay the filing fee or provide additional financial information.⁸ To challenge the denial, file form FW-006 (Request for Hearing About Court Fee Waiver Order) with the top portion of form FW-007. Bring benefit letters, pay stubs, bank statements, and bills to the hearing so the judge can see your full picture.

What You Owe the Court After a Waiver

A waiver is not a one-time filing you can forget. If your financial situation improves during the case, you have five days to tell the court by filing form FW-010.⁵ If you do not report a change and the court finds out, it can withdraw the waiver retroactively and order you to repay every fee that was waived.⁹

If you settle a civil case for $10,000 or more, the waived fees come out of the settlement before you get the rest. The court holds a lien on the settlement for that amount.⁵

The waiver itself stays in effect through your case and expires 60 days after judgment, dismissal, or final decision.² For any court action after that, file a new FW-001 if you still cannot afford the fees. And if new fees come up mid-case that are not already covered, you can request those separately using form FW-002.⁵

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code GOV 68634
2
California Courts. Ask for a Fee Waiver
3
Judicial Council of California. Request to Waive Court Fees
4
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 68632 – Waiver of Court Fees and Costs
5
Judicial Council of California. Information Sheet on Waiver of Superior Court Fees and Costs
6
California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code GOV 68633
7
Judicial Council of California. FW-003 Order on Court Fee Waiver (Superior Court)
8
California Courts. If Your Fee Waiver Isn’t Granted
9
California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code GOV 68636