Indigent Status in Ohio: Income Limits, Filing, and Recoupment

To qualify for indigent status in Ohio, your gross household income generally has to fall at or below 187.5% of the federal poverty guidelines, which for a single person in 2026 works out to about $29,925 a year.¹ Meeting that threshold triggers a fee waiver in civil cases and the appointment of a public defender in criminal cases. People who earn more than 187.5% can still qualify when high expenses leave them without the real means to pay a lawyer or filing fee.

Who Qualifies

Ohio uses the same 187.5% income line in both criminal and civil cases, but the authority is different. In criminal matters, Ohio Administrative Code 120-1-03 presumes a defendant indigent and entitled to appointed counsel if gross household income is at or below 187.5% of the federal poverty guidelines.¹ In civil matters, Ohio Revised Code 2323.311 lets you file without paying the deposit by submitting an affidavit of indigency, and a judge or magistrate approves it when gross income is at or below 187.5% and your monthly expenses equal or exceed your liquid assets.²

Earning above 187.5% is not an automatic disqualification. On the criminal side, a defendant whose gross income exceeds that line can still qualify if basic living expenses push net income down to 125% of the poverty level or below. The court also weighs the number and complexity of the charges, since serious felonies demand more legal work than a single misdemeanor. And if a defendant outside the income thresholds has genuinely tried but failed to hire a qualified attorney, the court must appoint one anyway.¹ On the civil side, the statute explicitly allows courts to approve applications from people above 187.5% when the circumstances warrant it.²

2026 Income Thresholds by Household Size

Because the eligibility rule points at the federal poverty guidelines, the real question is how 187.5% translates into dollars for your household. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publishes updated numbers each year. For 2026, in the 48 contiguous states:³

1 person: $15,960 (100%) · $19,950 at 125% · $29,925 at 187.5%
2 people: $21,640 (100%) · $27,050 at 125% · $40,575 at 187.5%
3 people: $27,320 (100%) · $34,150 at 125% · $51,225 at 187.5%
4 people: $33,000 (100%) · $41,250 at 125% · $61,875 at 187.5%
5 people: $38,680 (100%) · $48,350 at 125% · $72,525 at 187.5%
6 people: $44,360 (100%) · $55,450 at 125% · $83,175 at 187.5%
7 people: $50,040 (100%) · $62,550 at 125% · $93,825 at 187.5%
8 people: $55,720 (100%) · $69,650 at 125% · $104,475 at 187.5%

The 187.5% column is the presumptive eligibility line for both criminal and civil cases. The 125% column matters in two places: it is the net-income floor that lets a higher-earning criminal defendant still qualify, and it is the threshold above which the county may seek to recoup part of an appointed attorney’s cost.

What the Court Looks At Beyond Income

Income is the headline, but the full financial picture decides borderline cases. The court looks at gross monthly income from all sources, including wages, Social Security, unemployment compensation, child support received, and public benefits, counting anyone in the household whose income is available to the applicant.

Liquid assets count against you: cash, checking and savings balances, certificates of deposit, and commonly traded stocks and bonds. Available credit does not count as a liquid asset, and property you need in order to work, such as a car for commuting, is excluded.¹

Basic living expenses reduce the income figure the court actually uses. The rule specifically lists rent or mortgage, child support actually paid, child care, health insurance, medical and dental costs, work transportation, utilities, food, taxes withheld, and loan payments. Court-imposed obligations such as expected fines, restitution, supervision fees, and electronic monitoring are also factored in.¹ The number and ages of dependents you are legally obligated to support determine which household-size row applies.

This expense analysis is what lets people above 187.5% qualify. A single person earning $35,000 looks ineligible on paper, but after $800 a month in child support, $400 in medical bills, and normal living costs, there may be nothing left for a lawyer. The court is supposed to see that.

How to Apply

Criminal defendants complete the Financial Disclosure / Affidavit of Indigency, a standardized form prescribed by the Ohio Public Defender. Civil litigants use Supreme Court Form 20, the Civil Fee Waiver Affidavit and Order. Both are available from the Ohio Supreme Court’s website and from local Clerks of Courts.⁴

Either form will ask for the same core information: gross monthly income, employer name and contact, any public benefits, monthly expenses, bank balances, the value of any real property, the number and ages of dependents, and any court-imposed financial obligations. Bringing recent pay stubs or benefit statements helps substantiate the numbers and avoids delay during the clerk’s review.

Both affidavits must be sworn. The civil form must be sworn before someone authorized to administer oaths, and the Ohio Supreme Court’s Form 20 notes that an authorized person at the Clerk of Court’s office will administer the oath at no cost.⁵ File the completed affidavit with the Clerk of Courts in the county where your case is pending.

What Happens After You File

In civil cases, the clerk must accept your filing immediately on receipt of the affidavit, even before a judge rules on it.² You do not have to wait for approval before your case moves forward. A judge or magistrate then reviews the affidavit. Straightforward applications can come back in a few business days; inconsistent figures may trigger a brief clarifying hearing. Criminal cases usually move faster because counsel has to be in place before proceedings advance.

Approval in a civil case means the clerk waives the advance deposit and the case proceeds. The court may also grant a partial waiver, defer payment, or set up an installment plan rather than a full waiver.⁶ One distinction to keep in mind: the civil waiver covers prepayment of costs and deposits, not necessarily all court costs at the end of the case.

If a civil application is denied, the court gives you 30 days to pay the required deposit, and failure to pay within that window can result in dismissal of your filing.⁵ In a criminal case, if the initial determination seemed cursory or left out your actual expenses, you can request a redetermination; Ohio courts have a duty to conduct a full inquiry into the circumstances affecting a defendant’s claimed inability to obtain counsel.⁷ Do not wait until after sentencing to raise it. Failing to submit an affidavit of indigency before the sentencing entry is filed can waive your right to later challenge fines and costs based on inability to pay.

Recoupment: You May Be Billed Later

Qualifying as indigent does not always mean the representation is free. Under ORC 2941.51, if the person represented “has, or reasonably may be expected to have, the means to meet some part of the cost of the services rendered,” they must pay the county what they can “reasonably be expected to pay.”⁸ The administrative code adds that when an appointed defendant’s gross income exceeds 125% of the federal poverty level, the county may recoup part of the cost.¹ ORC 120.03 directs the Ohio Public Defender Commission to set the procedures for assessing and collecting those costs.⁹

If you receive a recoupment bill you cannot afford, raise indigency with the court. The Ohio Supreme Court has held that a motion to waive costs on the basis of indigency must be made at sentencing to preserve the right to challenge it later.⁷

Telling the Truth on the Affidavit

The affidavit is a sworn document, and false information on it carries real criminal exposure. Ohio’s perjury statute, ORC 2921.11, makes it a third-degree felony to knowingly make a false statement under oath in an official proceeding, which can carry up to 36 months in prison.¹⁰ Even without a perjury charge, Ohio’s falsification statute reaches knowingly swearing to a false statement before a notary or other person empowered to administer oaths, as a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to 180 days in jail.¹¹ A false affidavit would also mean immediate revocation of indigent status.

If you are unsure whether to disclose a source of income or an asset, disclose it. An honest number that lands slightly above the threshold still leaves room for approval based on expenses and hardship. A dishonest one that gets caught eliminates that option and creates a new case against you.

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 120-1-03 – Standards of Indigence
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2323.311 – Indigent Litigants
3
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
4
The Supreme Court of Ohio. Affidavits of Indigency
5
Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 20 – Civil Fee Waiver Affidavit and Order
6
Court News Ohio. Court Enacts Deposit Waiver Form for Indigent Civil Litigants
7
Ohio Public Defender. Indigency – Criminal Law Casebook
8
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2941-51 – Counsel for Indigents
9
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 120.03
10
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2921.11 – Perjury
11
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2921.13 – Falsification