The numbers we have verified
The lowest figure we verified is $46 (Coffee County Magistrate Court, Coffee County) and the highest is $120 (Worth County Magistrate Court, Worth County).
Counts and ranges are generated from our verified data when this page is built. A county without a verified fee says so on its own page and never gets an estimated number.
What state law sets
Georgia's fee rule for magistrate courts is O.C.G.A. 15-10-80, rewritten by House Bill 999 effective July 1, 2026. When you file a civil action, "the plaintiff shall pay a filing deposit as established by local court rule not to exceed $22.00 which shall cover all costs of the action except service of process" (15-10-80(a)). The plaintiff also pays "the actual cost of serving each party required to be served", but no more than the sheriff's fee for each party (15-10-80(b)).
The statute then adds that "all other sums required by law shall be in addition to the fees provided for in this Code section" (15-10-80(e)). Those other sums are why Georgia totals are much larger than the deposit itself.
What the other charges look like
Lanier County's magistrate court publishes one of the clearest breakdowns. Its total for one defendant is made up of a $22 filing fee, a $10 ADR surcharge, $50 for service on each defendant, $15 for indigent defense, $3 for a retirement fund, $5 for sheriff retirement and $5 for the law library. Each court lists these other charges in its own way, and some courts list items that others fold into a single figure.
The tables below are generated from the fees we verified on each court's own page.
| Fulton County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Magistrate Court of Fulton County | $60 |
| DeKalb County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Magistrate Court of DeKalb County | $104 |
| Lanier County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Lanier County Magistrate Court | $110 |
| Coffee County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Coffee County Magistrate Court | $46 |
Some figures include service and some do not
The biggest single difference between Georgia figures is whether the court quotes them with service on one defendant. Many courts publish one combined figure that includes sheriff's or marshal's service; others list the filing cost and add service separately, often $50 per defendant. Our county pages show what each court's figure covers, and where a court publishes only a combined figure we say so instead of splitting it ourselves.
Several courts also changed their fees on July 1, 2024 or July 1, 2026, and some pages give no date at all. Each county page shows the date the court's own page gives, if any.
The claim limit is rising
Magistrate courts hear civil claims where "the amount demanded or the value of the property claimed does not exceed" $15,000. House Bill 999 raises that to $25,000 for "any actions filed on or after" January 1, 2027 (O.C.G.A. 15-10-2(5), as amended).
What this means if you are filing in Georgia
Check the magistrate court in the county where you will file, and ask whether its figure includes service and how much each extra defendant adds. Many Georgia counties do not publish their fees online; for those, our calculator shows the range of the fees we verified and tells you to confirm with the clerk.
If the fee is a hardship, see our Georgia fee waiver guide for how to ask the court to let you file without paying costs up front.
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Sources
- Georgia House Bill 999 (2026), as passed and signed, amending O.C.G.A. 15-10-80 (effective July 1, 2026) and 15-10-2 (effective January 1, 2027) (read October 2026)
- Magistrate Court of Fulton County, Filing Fees (read September 2026)
- Lanier County, Magistrate Court Filing Fee (read October 2026)
This is general information, not legal advice. Fees change; confirm the current amount with the court before you file. How we check our data: methodology.