In short
Court fees — what people call “the stamps” — are set by the Supreme Court in Resolución ER-2015-1 of 9 March 2015, in force since 30 August 2015 under Ley 47-2009. A single payment applies at each party’s first appearance before the court: you do not pay again for every motion. The most-asked amounts are $90.00 for a contested civil complaint in the Superior Court, $60.00 in the Municipal Court, $78.00 for divorce by mutual consent or a declaration of heirs, $102.00 for a civil appeal, $6.00 for the first page of a copy and $20.00 to hold a wedding. Marshal’s work is paid separately, starting at $30.00 per service of process.
What is it?
Court fees are the payment the law requires to process a matter before the courts. They are normally paid in internal revenue stamps affixed to the filing, although some items — transcripts, re-recordings and courthouse weddings in the Court of First Instance — are paid to the court collector in cash, certified check or money order payable to the Clerk of the Court. There are four separate tables: the Supreme Court’s, the Court of Appeals’, the Court of First Instance clerks’, and the marshals’, who charge for service and execution work. The Supreme and Appeals tables carry an exemptions column: certain documents are processed free of charge.
Who can do it?
Fees are paid by anyone filing before the court, with or without a lawyer. The Judiciary’s page identifies the exemptions carried in the table itself: at the Court of First Instance, a complaint in which the custodian of minors claims support only, a petition for ex-spouse support and a petition for support between relatives; in stipulations, the party claiming support is exempt; and the defendant’s first pleading is exempt in eminent-domain cases. In all three tables, Habeas Corpus is exempt from the extraordinary-remedy fees. Beyond these table exemptions, someone who cannot pay can request an indigency waiver by sworn declaration.
Requirements
- The single-payment system applies: one payment at each party’s first appearance before the court.Verified against the official source
- Transcripts, re-recordings and courthouse weddings at the Court of First Instance are paid to the court collector in cash, certified check, or bank or postal money order payable to the Clerk of the Court.Verified against the official source
- Marshal’s work is paid separately from the Clerk’s Office fees.Verified against the official source
- Fees for miscellaneous procedures in force that are not set out in Resolución ER-2015-1 remain valid: the table does not exhaust everything the court may charge.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Court of First Instance (Clerk’s Office): contested civil complaint $90.00 Superior / $60.00 Municipal; defendant’s first pleading $90.00 Superior / $60.00 Municipal; divorce by mutual consent $78.00; declaration of heirs $78.00; voluntary jurisdiction proceeding $78.00 (same for intervention or opposition); eviction for non-payment $60.00; repossession of personal property $90.00; extraordinary remedies $90.00 per petition and $90.00 per opposition; review of Traffic Act administrative fines $6.00; swearing the return on each service of process $5.00; holding a wedding $20.00; copy of a document $6.00 for the first page and $0.60 each additional page; transcripts $6.00 per page; re-recordings $12.00 per hour or fraction, up to $24.00. Court of Appeals: civil appeal or certiorari $102.00; appellee’s or respondent’s first pleading $102.00; review of administrative decisions $102.00; appeal or certiorari in extraordinary remedies $102.00. Supreme Court: appeal, certiorari or any other review in civil cases, including certification, $102.00; appeal or certiorari in extraordinary remedies $120.00; translation by the Translations Bureau $25.00 for the first page and $5.00 each additional page, and $5.00 to certify the translation. Marshals: $30.00 per service of process; $30.00 to notify, serve or execute an attachment, order, writ or judicial requirement; $24.00 to carry out a writ of possession or restitution or serve an eviction order; $30.00 to sign and grant a deed; $12.00 to draft or certify a Judicial Sale Record; up to $3.00 per mile for travel expenses.
Verified against the official source · August 14, 2026
Step by step
Step 1: Identify the forum and the type of filing
The fee depends on two things: which court you file in — First Instance, Appeals or Supreme — and what the filing is. Within the Court of First Instance it also changes by courtroom: a contested civil complaint costs $90.00 in a Superior courtroom and $60.00 in a Municipal one.
Step 2: Check whether your case falls under an exemption
The table exempts a complaint in which the custodian of minors claims support only, a petition for ex-spouse support and one for support between relatives; in stipulations it exempts the party claiming support; and it exempts the defendant’s first pleading in eminent-domain cases. Habeas Corpus is exempt from the extraordinary-remedy fees in all three forums.
Step 3: Buy stamps for the exact amount
Fees are paid in internal revenue stamps affixed to the filing. Payment is once per party: at the first appearance before the court, not on every later motion in the same case.
Step 4: Count the marshal’s fees separately
If your case requires service, attachment, execution or eviction, that work is done by the marshal and paid separately: $30.00 per service of process, $30.00 to notify or execute an attachment or judicial order, $24.00 to carry out a writ of possession or an eviction order, and up to $3.00 per mile in travel expenses. When the marshal receives and pays out money under a writ of execution, a percentage applies: 3% of the first $2,387.00 and 2% of the excess, up to $955.00 with an attachment order; and 2.5% of the first $2,387.00 and 1% of the excess, up to $478.00, without an attachment order or when the attached property is not sold.
Step 5: If you cannot pay, request the waiver
Beyond the table exemptions, there is an indigency waiver of court fees: it is requested by sworn declaration before the court, and the Clerk’s Office administers the oath free of charge.
Where to do it
Stamps are affixed to the filing submitted at the Clerk’s Office of the corresponding court. Transcripts, re-recordings and Court of First Instance weddings are paid to the court collector.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If your filing is not on the table, do not assume it is free: the page itself clarifies that fees for miscellaneous procedures in force that are not in Resolución ER-2015-1 remain valid, so ask at the Clerk’s Office before filing. If the problem is that you do not have the money, the right route is not to file without stamps — the court will not accept it — but to request the indigency waiver. This guide reproduces the schedule the Judiciary publishes and gives no processing times, because that page publishes none. PRFácil neither charges nor processes court fees.
Common mistakes
- Believing a fee is due on every motion: payment is once, at the party’s first appearance.
- Using the Superior courtroom amount when the case goes to a Municipal courtroom, or vice versa: $90.00 versus $60.00.
- Forgetting that marshal’s work is paid separately from the Clerk’s Office stamps.
- Paying for a wedding or a transcript in stamps: those items are paid to the court collector.
- Assuming the table is exhaustive: miscellaneous fees not in ER-2015-1 remain in force.
Frequently asked questions
What does filing a lawsuit in Puerto Rico cost?
A contested civil complaint costs $90.00 in stamps in a Superior courtroom and $60.00 in a Municipal one. Certain suits have their own amounts: $60.00 for eviction for non-payment, $90.00 for repossession of personal property, $78.00 for divorce by mutual consent and $78.00 for a declaration of heirs.
What does an appeal cost?
At the Court of Appeals, $102.00 for a civil appeal or certiorari, and also $102.00 for the appellee’s or respondent’s first pleading and for review of administrative decisions. At the Supreme Court, $102.00 for an appeal, certiorari or any other civil review including certification, and $120.00 for an appeal or certiorari in extraordinary remedies.
What does a copy of my case file cost?
$6.00 for the first page, which includes searching and handling the case file, and $0.60 for each additional page. The amount is the same in all three forums.
Since when have these amounts applied?
Since 30 August 2015. They were set by the Supreme Court in Resolución ER-2015-1 of 9 March 2015, under Ley 47-2009, as amended. The Judiciary page publishing them shows a December 2025 revision.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
poderjudicial.pr
- Judiciary forms catalog
Poder Judicial
poderjudicial.pr
Last verified
August 14, 2026
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If you cannot pay court fees: the indigency waiver
The in forma pauperis petition. The clerk takes the sworn statement free, and if granted you litigate as if you had paid.
Summons: how a lawsuit is served and who can do it
You have 120 days and you cannot serve it yourself. The rules by age, the sworn return, and waiver of service.
How to claim money owed to you: Rule 60
The summary procedure for debts of $15,000 or less: $60 in stamps, form OAT 991 and a hearing within three months.
What you can do in the Electronic Court without a lawyer
Six procedures for self-represented litigants, including contesting a ticket for $6.00 and requesting a courthouse wedding for $20.00.