The numbers we have verified
The lowest figure we verified is $46 (Fairfax County General District Court, Fairfax County) and the highest is $52 (Virginia Beach General District Court, Virginia Beach city). The Virginia list includes 38 independent cities alongside the counties.
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 state publishes a calculator, not a single fee
The Virginia Judicial System's filing fee guidance says general district court fees depend on the locality, and its civil filing fee calculator is the only complete source for the exact amount in a given court. For that reason we show Virginia as a verified range, not a single fee, and we label every county page that has no verified fee of its own.
In the localities where we read the court's own published fee, small claims filings run from the lowest to the highest amount shown below.
| Fairfax County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Fairfax County General District Court | $46 |
| Prince William County court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Prince William County General District Court | $50 |
| Virginia Beach city court | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Virginia Beach General District Court | $52 |
The spread is small, but the extras are separate
Among the three localities with a fee we verified, the filing fee differs by only a few dollars. Service is a separate charge: Fairfax, Prince William and Virginia Beach each publish a $12 sheriff's service fee per person served, on top of the filing fee. Prince William also publishes that small claims of $5,000 or less must be filed in person at the civil clerk's office.
These are the figures from each court's own page at the time we read it. Fees can change by local ordinance, which is why the state sends people to its calculator.
Counties and independent cities
Virginia's independent cities are localities in their own right, not part of any county, so a lookup by county alone misses them. Our Virginia pages cover every county and independent city in the Census list we use, and say plainly when a locality's fee is not verified.
What this means if you are filing in Virginia
Use the state's calculator for the exact amount in your court, then add sheriff's service for each person you need to serve. Our county pages show the localities we have verified, link to each court's own page where we have it, and list the questions to ask the clerk where we do not.
If the fee is a hardship, Virginia courts accept fee waiver requests. See our Virginia fee waiver guide.
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Sources
- Virginia Judicial System, Filing Fees & Waivers (self-help) (read September 2026)
- Fairfax County General District Court, civil forms and fees (read September 2026)
- Prince William County General District Court, filing civil suits (read September 2026)
- Virginia Beach General District Court, civil division (read September 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.