Pennsylvania criminal court costs and surcharges are the mandatory fees layered onto every conviction, guilty plea, or diversionary program on top of any fine a judge imposes. The floor starts at $22.50 for a summary vehicle offense and climbs to $37.50 for a felony under 42 Pa. C.S. § 1725.1, then a minimum $60 victim assessment attaches to every case, then offense-specific surcharges and county fees stack on. Most defendants end up owing more in costs and surcharges than in fines.
Base Costs by Offense Grade
Section 1725.1 sets fixed base costs scaled to offense severity, and these amounts apply in every county:
- Summary offense, vehicle, no hearing: $22.50
- Summary offense, vehicle, hearing demanded: $27.50
- Summary offense, non-vehicle: $28.50
- Misdemeanor: $32.50
- Felony: $37.50
Judges cannot reduce or waive these amounts because the legislature set them, not the court. Someone entering the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program pays them as a condition of participation.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 42 – Section 1725.1 Costs
The Victim Compensation Assessment
Every person who pleads guilty, is convicted, or enters a diversionary program pays at least $60 toward victim services. Of that minimum, $25 goes to the Victim Witness Services Fund and $35 goes to the Crime Victim Services and Compensation Fund. A court can impose more, up to the statutory maximum fine for the offense.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 11.1101 Mandatory Payment of Costs
This assessment applies to every category of offense. Combined with the § 1725.1 base costs, even a simple misdemeanor starts near $92.50 in mandatory state-level charges before any county fees, offense-specific surcharges, or fines are added.
Surcharges Tied to the Type of Offense
Certain offenses carry their own additional assessments on top of the base costs and the victim fee.
Traffic and EMS
Every traffic violation except parking triggers a $20 Emergency Medical Services surcharge. It applies to all moving and non-moving vehicle offenses, not just DUI or reckless driving, and it funds the Emergency Medical Services Operating Fund.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 – Section 3121 EMS Costs
DNA Detection Fee
Felony convictions and certain misdemeanors require a mandatory payment into the DNA Detection Fund under 44 Pa. C.S. § 2322, covering collection and processing of biological samples for the state’s forensic database.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 44 – Section 2335 DNA Detection Fund
Drug Offenses
A controlled substance conviction carries a mandatory $100 cost for the Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction Fund unless the court finds payment would cause undue hardship. It is separate from any fine.5Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 7508.1 Drug Offenses Mandatory Cost
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence convictions carry a $10 surcharge. It is small, but mandatory.6Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Magisterial District Judge Cost Table
County Costs and Probation Fees
Each county’s Clerk of Courts adds its own administrative charges. Booking fees cover jail intake and fingerprinting. Filing fees apply to motions, subpoenas, and other documents. Amounts vary by county, so the same charge can generate a noticeably different bill in Philadelphia than in a rural county.
Supervised probation typically adds monthly supervision fees, commonly $25 to $50 depending on the county program. These accumulate over the full probation term. A three-year probation at $40 per month adds $1,440 in supervision fees alone. ARD participants face similar monitoring fees. County-level charges are usually where a defendant’s total climbs into the thousands.
How Payments Are Applied When You Owe Restitution
If you owe restitution along with costs and fines, state law dictates the split. At least 50% of every payment collected through the county probation department goes to restitution until the victim is fully repaid. Whatever remains covers fees, costs, fines, and other court-ordered obligations.7Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 42 – Section 9728 Collection of Restitution, Reparation, Fees, Costs, Fines and Penalties
Small monthly payments can barely reduce the costs balance for a long stretch under this rule. If you are incarcerated, the Department of Corrections deducts at least 25% of deposits into your inmate wages and personal accounts toward restitution and other court-ordered obligations.
Paying Your Court Costs
The Unified Judicial System runs PAePay, an online portal that accepts electronic payments for traffic tickets, court costs, fines, and restitution across Common Pleas and Magisterial District courts. You can search by name, date of birth, or docket number.8Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Pay Online
You can also mail a check or money order to the Clerk of Courts. Write your full docket number on the payment to avoid misapplication. Most county courthouses accept in-person payments in cash, certified check, or credit card at the cashier’s office. Keep every receipt. If a discrepancy appears later during probation review or case closing, the receipt is your only proof.
If You Cannot Afford to Pay
Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 706 prohibits courts from jailing anyone for failing to pay fines or costs unless a hearing first establishes that the person is financially able to pay. The court must consider the burden that payment imposes given your resources before granting more time, restructuring the schedule, or taking enforcement action.9Legal Information Institute. Pennsylvania Code 234 Pa. Code r. 706 – Fines or Costs
If the court finds you genuinely cannot pay under the current schedule, it can spread the balance into installments over a longer period. You can request a rehearing if your finances get worse after a plan is in place; the burden is on you to show the change. If you default and the court finds you are not indigent, it can impose jail time for nonpayment. The critical step is showing up. Ignoring a payment deadline without requesting a modification forfeits the protection Rule 706 provides.
Consequences of Unpaid Court Debt
Driver’s License Suspension
Unpaid fines and costs on Title 75 vehicle offenses can result in a PennDOT license suspension. This applies only to vehicle code violations such as speeding, registration infractions, and DUI, not to non-vehicle criminal charges. Under Act 138 of 2024, effective May 1, 2026, courts must hold an ability-to-pay hearing before requesting any license suspension for nonpayment. If the court finds you cannot pay, it cannot suspend your license; instead it can waive or reduce the balance, set up a new payment plan, or allow community service in place of payment.
Act 138 also creates a Relief from Administrative Suspension Program for drivers whose licenses were already suspended for nonpayment or failure to respond to a citation. Failing to respond to a new traffic citation or summons within 30 days still puts your license at risk regardless of ability to pay.
Private Collection and a 25% Surcharge
When court debt stays unpaid long enough, the county can refer it to a private collection agency. That referral adds a surcharge of up to 25% on top of what you already owe. If a court later determines through an ability-to-pay hearing that you cannot pay, it must waive the entire unpaid collection surcharge. Many defendants never request that hearing, and the inflated balance becomes the working figure.
Liens That Do Not Expire
Court debt creates a lien that keeps its priority indefinitely without renewal. Unlike some civil judgments that expire, this obligation follows you until it is satisfied or the court modifies it.7Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 42 – Section 9728 Collection of Restitution, Reparation, Fees, Costs, Fines and Penalties
How Costs Affect Clearing Your Record
The size of your balance can decide whether you can clear the case from your record. Pennsylvania treats expungement and Clean Slate sealing differently on this point.
For traditional expungement of summary convictions, you must have paid all fines and costs in full and remained arrest-free for five years following the conviction. Unpaid court debt blocks the expungement.
Clean Slate sealing works differently. You do not have to pay off court costs, fees, or fines for eligible records to be sealed automatically. The one exception is restitution: if a court ordered restitution to a victim, that balance must be satisfied before the record can be sealed. Many people assume any outstanding court debt prevents sealing, when only the restitution component actually does.