About LegalCostCalculator.org
Independent legal fee research for every US state — who we are, how we work, and why accuracy is the only thing we care about.
Our Mission
Legal costs in the United States vary dramatically by state — and finding accurate, up-to-date fee information typically means digging through dozens of government websites, court clerk PDFs, and statutory code lookups. A small claims filing fee that costs $30 in one state can cost $200 in another. LLC formation fees range from $50 to $500. Divorce filing fees span $80 to $435 across the country. None of this information is in one place.
We built LegalCostCalculator.org in 2026 to fix that. Our mission is straightforward: give every person — regardless of income, legal experience, or location — clear, verified information about what it actually costs to navigate common legal processes in their state. No paywalls. No law firm referrals. No guesswork.
We are not a law firm. We do not give legal advice. We research, verify, and publish government-sourced cost data so that pro se filers, small business owners, researchers, and journalists have a reliable starting point.
Who We Are
LegalCostCalculator.org is run by an independent editorial team with backgrounds spanning legal research, public records journalism, data engineering, and consumer advocacy. We do not have financial relationships with any court system, law firm, or government agency. Our data and editorial content are produced independently.
Our researchers have personally navigated small claims, LLC formation, divorce filings, and notary processes across multiple states — we understand what questions people actually need answered.
We verify every fee against primary government sources — court fee schedules, Secretary of State portals, state statutes — the same way investigative journalists verify public records.
Every page is written for the person about to walk into a courthouse, not for attorneys. Plain language, specific numbers, and direct links to official sources.
We are headquartered in the United States and focus exclusively on US legal cost data. Our team monitors state legislative sessions, court administrator announcements, and Secretary of State fee schedule updates to catch changes as they happen.
What We Cover
Maximum claim limits ($2,500–$25,000) and filing fees for small claims court in all 50 states — including tiered fee structures and statute of limitations.
State filing fees, annual report costs, publication requirements, franchise taxes, and estimated year-1 totals for forming an LLC in every state.
Divorce court filing fees, process service costs, and children's surcharges — plus fee waiver eligibility guides for low-income filers in every state.
Maximum notary fees per acknowledgment, jurat, and oath in every state, including remote online notarization (RON) availability and fee caps.
Beyond the five calculators, we publish how-to guides, entity-specific small claims guides (how to sue a landlord, contractor, employer, etc.), defendant guides, judgment collection guides, and fee waiver eligibility guides — covering 2,900+ pages across all 50 states and 197+ counties.
Our Editorial Standards
Every piece of content published on LegalCostCalculator.org follows the same process:
For full details on our sourcing process, see our Methodology page and Data Sources page.
Data Accuracy & Updates
Legal fees change. States update their fee schedules, courts revise their filing costs, and legislatures adjust statutory limits. Our last full review was completed in May 2026. Individual pages display their last-reviewed date via the author bar below.
Affiliate Disclosure
Some pages on this site contain links to third-party legal service providers — LLC formation services, online divorce platforms, notary services, and document preparation tools. These are affiliate links: if you make a purchase through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Affiliate relationships are disclosed on every page where they appear. Our fee data, editorial content, and calculator results are never influenced by whether a service provider has an affiliate relationship with us. We link to services we believe are genuinely useful — not because of commission rates.
Contact Us
Found an error in our data? Have a question about a specific state's fees? Want to suggest a calculator or guide we should build? We respond to every email.