The numbers we have verified
The lowest figure we verified is $65 (Freeborn County District Court (Conciliation Court), Freeborn County) and the highest is $80 (Washington County District Court (Conciliation Court), Washington 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.
The base fee is the same everywhere
State law fixes the base fee. "The court administrator in every county shall charge and collect a filing fee of $65 from every plaintiff and from every defendant when the first paper for that party is filed in any conciliation court action" (Minn. Stat. 357.022). There is no county discretion in that part of the fee.
Note who pays it. The fee is charged to each side, not only the person who starts the case, so a defendant who files a paper in the case pays it too.
The law library fee is set county by county
On top of the base fee, each county collects a law library fee from the plaintiff when the first paper is filed and from each defendant who appears. In Hennepin and Ramsey counties the rule is in Minn. Stat. 134A.09; in every other county it is in Minn. Stat. 134A.10.
The amount is local. Each county's law library board of trustees sets it "with the approval of the board of commissioners" (Minn. Stat. 134A.10, subd. 4), and the fee "shall be set on July 1 each year and remain in effect until changed." Some counties charge none at all, which is why a few Minnesota county pages show the base fee alone.
The tables below are generated from the totals the Minnesota Judicial Branch publishes for each county.
| Hennepin County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Hennepin County small claims court | $70 |
| Ramsey County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Ramsey County District Court (Conciliation Court) | $80 |
| Stearns County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Stearns County District Court (Conciliation Court) | $79 |
| Steele County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Steele County District Court (Conciliation Court) | $65 |
The claim limit is the same statewide
Conciliation court hears claims for money or property worth up to $20,000, or up to $4,000 if the claim involves a consumer credit transaction (Minn. Stat. 491A.01, subd. 3a). A consumer credit transaction is, broadly, a seller or lender suing a person over credit for a personal or household purchase. The fee does not change with the amount you claim, so a $500 claim and a $15,000 claim cost the same to file in the same county.
What this means if you are filing in Minnesota
Look up the county where you will file. Our Minnesota county pages show each county's total, how much of it is the law library fee, and a link to the Judicial Branch's own fee page. Because the law library fee can change each July, check the court's page before you file.
If the fee is a hardship, see our Minnesota fee waiver guide for how to ask the court to waive it.
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Sources
- Minnesota Statutes 357.022, Conciliation court fee (2025 Minnesota Statutes) (read October 2026)
- Minnesota Statutes 134A.09, Hennepin and Ramsey counties; fees for law libraries (2025 Minnesota Statutes) (read October 2026)
- Minnesota Statutes 134A.10, Library fees collected in all other counties (2025 Minnesota Statutes) (read October 2026)
- Minnesota Statutes 491A.01, Conciliation court jurisdiction (2025 Minnesota Statutes) (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.