The numbers we have verified
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.
The statewide part of the fee
Small claims in Kentucky are heard by the small claims division of the District Court, for claims that do not exceed "two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) exclusive of interest and costs" (KRS 24A.230). The statute ties the fee to the District Court: the small claims filing fee "shall be the same as the filing fee for claims of five hundred dollars ($500) or less filed in the District Court" (KRS 24A.270).
The amounts themselves are set by the Supreme Court of Kentucky in its civil rules. Under Supreme Court Order 2026-15, effective July 1, 2026, CR 3.03(1)(a) sets the small claims filing fee and adds a court technology fee, with "any other required fees (e.g., court facility fee, library fee)" paid on top. That statewide figure is the one our Kentucky calculator shows.
What a county can add
Two local fees sit on top of the statewide amount. The first is a court facility fee. According to the Administrative Office of the Courts' accounting manual for circuit court clerks, the fiscal court sets it by ordinance, up to $10 for a small claims case.
The second is a county law library fee, and a county only charges it if it has adopted that way of funding its law library. Where it applies, the clerk taxes it on civil actions at "a sum not to exceed one dollar ($1)," or up to $3 in counties containing a city of the first class, an urban-county government, or a city of 20,000 or more people (KRS 172.180).
Together these add at most $13 to the statewide amount, so Kentucky's county-to-county differences are small compared with states where each county sets the whole fee.
Service is a separate cost
Serving the defendant is not part of the filing fee. Where personal service is not required, the statute says "the sheriff's fee and mileage cost shall not be charged" (KRS 24A.270); service by certified mail is charged separately. Ask the clerk which method your court uses and what it costs.
What this means if you are filing in Kentucky
Start with the statewide figure, then ask the District Court clerk in your county whether it charges a court facility fee or a law library fee and how much. Our Kentucky county pages show the statewide fee and say plainly that local add-ons may apply; we have not yet verified the add-ons county by county, and we do not estimate them.
If the fee is a hardship, see our Kentucky fee waiver guide for how to ask the court to waive it.
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Sources
- Supreme Court of Kentucky, Order 2026-15 amending CR 3.03 (filing fees, effective July 1, 2026) (read October 2026)
- Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts, Circuit Court Clerks' Accounting Manual (rev. September 9, 2025) (read October 2026)
- KRS 24A.230, Small claims jurisdiction (effective June 8, 2011) (read October 2026)
- KRS 24A.270, Filing fee (effective July 15, 1980) (read October 2026)
- KRS 172.180, County law library fee (effective January 1, 2015) (read October 2026)
The Kentucky Court of Justice site blocks our location, so the Supreme Court order and the clerks' accounting manual were read through a third-party page reader (Exa) on the date shown. The statutes were read directly on the Kentucky Legislature's site.
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.