The numbers we have verified
The lowest figure we verified is $93.75 (General Sessions Court of Davidson County (Civil), Davidson County) and the highest is $250 (General Sessions Court of Wilson County (Civil), Wilson 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 goes into a General Sessions filing fee
Tennessee clerks publish their civil costs as a cost sheet, and the sheets show the fee is a sum of parts. Davidson County's sheet lists a $50 clerk fee and $43.75 in litigation tax; Hamilton County's lists the same $50 clerk fee but $169.25 in taxes; Rutherford County's lists $50 plus $166.50 in litigation tax. The clerk's fee is often the same, and the litigation taxes are what move the total.
Some counties charge a much larger clerk's fee. Wilson County's General Sessions fee page lists a one-defendant civil warrant at a total that "includes $198 clerk fee."
The table below is generated from the fees we verified on each clerk's own cost sheet.
| Davidson County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| General Sessions Court of Davidson County (Civil) | $93.75 |
| Hamilton County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Hamilton County General Sessions Court, Civil Division | $219.25 |
| Rutherford County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Rutherford County General Sessions Court (Civil) | $216.50 |
| Wilson County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| General Sessions Court of Wilson County (Civil) | $250 |
Service is usually extra, and that changes the comparison
Most Tennessee cost sheets list sheriff's service separately, commonly $52 for each defendant served. Some sheets quote a total that already includes service for one defendant, and others quote the filing fee alone and add service on top. To compare like with like, our county pages show the filing fee without sheriff's service wherever the clerk's sheet makes that possible, and the remarks on each page say what the clerk's total with service is.
If you use a private process server instead of the sheriff, several sheets say no officer's fee is charged, so the filing fee alone is what the clerk collects.
Why most Tennessee counties show a range
Many Tennessee counties do not publish a General Sessions cost sheet online. Rather than guess, our calculator shows the range of the fees we have verified across the state for those counties and tells you to confirm the exact amount with the clerk. A county with its own verified fee shows that fee instead.
What this means if you are filing in Tennessee
Call or check the General Sessions civil clerk in the county where you will file, and ask for the cost of a civil warrant with the number of defendants you have and the service method you plan to use. Our Tennessee county pages show the verified figure, what it includes, and a link to the clerk's own sheet.
If the fee is a hardship, see our Tennessee fee waiver guide for how to ask the court to let you file without paying costs up front.
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Sources
- Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk, General Sessions civil division filing fees (effective January 1, 2026) (read September 2026)
- Hamilton County Sessions Court, civil filing fees (effective January 1, 2026) (read September 2026)
- Rutherford County, General Sessions fees (read September 2026)
- Wilson County Courts, General Sessions Court fees (read September 2026)
We could not read the Tennessee Code from an official free source (the state's code is published through a commercial site, and the Tennessee courts' site blocks our location), so this page cites only the clerks' own published fee sheets and makes no claim about the statutes behind them.
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.