How Do You Waive Court Fees in New York?

The New York rule in one table

| Law | CPLR 1101, Article 11, retitled in 2024 from poor persons to Waiver of Costs, Fees, and Expenses | | Form | No official form. A Notice of Motion and a sworn Affidavit explaining the applicant's finances. Different judges may require different information | | Who decides | The court, on motion. The court may require an attorney's certificate of merit | | Eligibility test | Insufficient means to pay the costs, fees, and expenses. No income figure or percentage is stated in the statute | | Affidavit contents | Amount and sources of income and assets, any real property owned with its value, lack of sufficient means, the nature of the action, facts showing the merit of the contentions, and whether any other person is beneficially interested in any recovery | | Commencing-plaintiff track | A plaintiff may commence without paying the filing fee by filing the form affidavit available in the clerk's office. If the court denies it, the case will be dismissed if the fee is not paid within 120 days of the order | | Legal-aid track | No motion is needed where a legal aid society, legal services, or other nonprofit organization, or private counsel under its auspices, has determined the party is unable to pay and files an attorney certification | | Payback | If the applicant wins a judgment or a settlement, the judge may require repayment of the fees waived |

What makes New York different

New York has no form and no number. The statute sets the test as insufficient means, and the affidavit carries the proof: income, assets, real property, merit facts, and any beneficial interest in a recovery. The second difference is the two tracks that bypass the motion entirely: the commencing plaintiff's form affidavit from the clerk's office, and the legal-aid certification track, where fees are waived without a motion once the organization has determined inability to pay and the attorney certification is filed.

The third difference is the e-filing order. On paper, a fee waiver request for a new case does not need to be served before submission to the judge. In e-filing, the fee waiver must be obtained and the waiver order uploaded before the papers can be submitted. If the case has already started, the motion must be served on all parties, plus Corporation Counsel in New York City or the County Attorney elsewhere. No hearing procedure is stated on the official CourtHelp page read for this guide, and none is asserted here.

The process, step by step

1. Prepare a Notice of Motion and a sworn Affidavit covering the affidavit contents above. Call the clerk or visit a Court Help Center for local instructions, since judges may require different information.
2. If starting the case on paper, submit the papers to the judge without serving the fee waiver request first. In e-filing, obtain the fee waiver and upload the waiver order before submitting the papers. Or use the clerk's-office form affidavit track for commencing plaintiffs, or the legal-aid certification track where it applies.
3. If the case has already started, serve the motion on all parties, plus Corporation Counsel in New York City or the County Attorney outside the city.
4. The court decides. If denied, pay the fee for starting the case within 120 days of the decision or the case will be dismissed. If the applicant later wins a judgment or settlement, the judge may require repayment of the waived fees.

Related guides

The same process in the other states in this family: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Washington, Oregon, Colorado. Compare all seven at Court Fee Waivers by State.

Source

The statute text, the affidavit contents, the form-affidavit track with the 120-day rule, and the legal-aid certification track on this page come from CPLR 1101 as published by the New York State Senate, and the fee-waiver procedure on this page comes from the New York Courts CourtHelp fee-waiver page. Facts verified 2026-10-27.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to a lawyer or your government agency.