Court Fee Waivers in Riverside County: Who Qualifies, Form FW-001, and What Happens at the End of the Case

Form FW-001 (Request to Waive Court Fees, revised March 1, 2026) gives three grounds, and any one is enough¹. Riverside’s version of the form is in the court’s fee waiver packet, with the court’s name already filled in¹.

Ground 1: public benefits (item 5a)

The listed programs are Food Stamps (CalFresh, SNAP or the California Food Assistance Program), SSI (not Social Security), SSP, Medi-Cal, County Relief or General Assistance, IHSS, CalWORKs or Tribal TANF, CAPI, WIC, and unemployment¹. The California Courts self-help guide lists the same ten programs².

Ground 2: the income table (item 5b)

The table below is printed on the form revised March 1, 2026¹. It is gross monthly household income, and item 9 on the form requires the income of other people living in the home who depend on the applicant or on whom the applicant depends¹.

Source: Riverside’s fee waiver packet, form FW-001 revised March 1, 2026¹.

Good to know The form prints no separate effective date for the table; it carries the form’s own revision date, March 1, 2026¹. The statute behind it sets the limit at 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and has the Judicial Council publish the table (Government Code section 68632, text updated January 1, 2026)⁴.

Ground 3: cannot meet basic needs and pay court fees (item 5c)

Anyone who fits neither of the first two grounds can complete the whole second page of the form: income, money and property, and monthly deductions and expenses¹. On this ground the applicant can ask the court to waive all fees, waive some of them, or allow payment over time².

Two other items on the form matter. A lawyer who has agreed to advance fees or costs must sign, and if that lawyer is not providing legal-aid-style services based on low income, the applicant may have to go to a hearing (item 3)¹. And item 6 asks whether a waiver was requested for this case in the last six months¹.

1. Complete FW-001 and the top of FW-003. Pick ground 5a, 5b or 5c and sign under penalty of perjury; FW-003 is the order form the judge uses¹².
2. Make one copy of FW-001. The Judicial Council’s steps call for one copy².
3. File it with the clerk. It can go in with the other papers or by itself. By mail, include a self-addressed stamped envelope or plan to pick up copies in person².
4. For eSubmit, send it with the papers. Riverside’s Request for Order packet says the fee waiver “will be required at the time of submission”⁶.

A waiver can be requested with the petition, with the response, or later in the case if finances change, in a divorce, legal separation or nullity case. It covers court fees only, not money disputes between the spouses². The fee waiver forms are not among the papers served on the other spouse⁷.

If both spouses in a joint filing need a waiver, each files their own. If only one qualifies, the other must pay the full fee on a summary dissolution, and the Judicial Council’s joint-petition page tells filers to ask the clerk how the court handles a case where only one spouse qualifies⁸⁹.

The court’s own words The summons (form FL-110) tells a respondent that “the court may order you to pay back all or part of the fees” it waived, for either spouse⁵.

The court answers on form FW-003, which grants the waiver or denies it. A denial has one of three reasons, and the other papers in the case are on hold until the fees are resolved³.

The self-help guide states that the judge’s decision at a fee waiver hearing is final³.

The information sheet (FW-001-INFO) lists these court costs as covered once a waiver is granted¹:

• filing papers in superior court;
• making and certifying copies;
• the sheriff’s fee to give notice;
• the court fee for a telephone hearing;
• a court reporter’s fee for attending a hearing or trial, if the court is not electronically recording and an official reporter is requested on form FW-020;
• giving notice and certificates, and sending papers to another court department.

Extra costs such as jury fees, court-appointed experts, a court-appointed interpreter for a witness, and fees for a peace officer to testify need form FW-002 (Request to Waive Additional Court Fees), filed with the top of a blank FW-003¹¹⁰.

A waiver does not cover court reporter transcripts (paid to the reporter), lawyer fees, private mediation, court-ordered fines, or newspaper fees for service by publication, and the Judicial Council’s publication page says the order “will not waive the newspaper fee”²¹¹.

The waiver “expires 60 days after the judgment, dismissal, or other final disposition of the case,” or earlier if a court finds the person is not eligible¹². A person whose finances improve is to tell the court within five days on form FW-010 (Notice to Court of Improved Financial Situation or Settlement)¹².

Family law has its own repayment rule. The information sheet says a person who receives a judgment or support order in a family law matter “may be ordered to pay all or part” of the waived fees and costs if the court finds that circumstances have changed so the person can afford them, and that the person will have the opportunity to ask the court for a hearing if it makes that decision¹. If the court orders repayment and it is not paid, collection proceedings can start and a $25 fee plus costs can be added¹¹².

The sheet also says that if a person wins in the trial court, the other side is in most circumstances ordered to pay the waived fees, and that special rules apply in family law cases (Government Code section 68637(d) and (e), California Rule of Court 7.5)¹.