Alberta Small Claims Court Fees: Filing Costs, Fee Waivers and Recoverable Expenses

Filing a civil claim in Alberta costs less than most people expect. The actual court fees are set by the Court of Justice Fees Regulation and have not changed since the May 2025 update. Here is every cost you are likely to encounter, whether you can recover it, and how to file for free if you qualify.

Court Filing Fees

The filing fee depends on how much you are claiming:

• Claims up to $7,500: $100
• Claims from $7,500.01 to $100,000: $200

Filing a Dispute Note without a counterclaim costs $50. A Dispute Note with a counterclaim costs $100 for counterclaims valued at $7,500 or less, or $150 for counterclaims valued over $7,500. A Third-Party Claim costs $50.

A Notice of Application during a case costs $100. A civil registry search costs $25 per party name or per file number. Certified copies of court documents cost $20 each. If you file digitally through the Civil Filing Digital Service, there is an additional $1 per page print fee.

Fee Waivers for Low-Income Claimants

If you cannot afford the filing fee, the court offers a fee waiver. You apply using the Application for Fee Waiver and Statement of Finances (Form CJS-FW-1, revised July 2026).

You automatically qualify if you receive government financial assistance: Alberta Works, Income Support, AISH, Employment Insurance, CPP Disability Benefits, or the Guaranteed Income Supplement.

If you are not on assistance, eligibility is based on total gross family income over the previous three months:

A Senior Judicial Clerk reviews the application at the registry. If approved, the waiver is valid for six months and covers filing fees, search fees, and transcript fees. It does not cover private costs like hiring a process server or a translator.

Fee waivers are only available to individuals. Corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships cannot apply.

Costs You Pay Out of Pocket

Beyond the filing fee, these are common expenses that the court does not charge but you may need to pay privately:

• Corporate Registry (CORES) search: $10-$25 per search, needed if you are suing a business
• Process server: typically over $50, if you hire someone to serve the defendant instead of doing it yourself
• Recorded mail: typically $10-$20, depending on the method
• Commissioner for Oaths: some charge $10-$25 to swear your affidavits (court clerks may do it free)
• Interpreter: the court does not provide interpreters for civil cases — you must hire and pay for one privately if needed
• Witness allowance: $25 per day for a lay witness, $50 for an expert, plus reasonable travel costs — paid when you serve the witness summons

What You Can Recover If You Win

Practice Note 3 (effective August 1, 2023) governs costs in the Alberta Court of Justice Civil Division. If you win, the Justice has discretion to order the losing side to pay your reasonable disbursements:

• Court filing fees actually paid
• Costs of service (registered mail, process server, courier)
• Registry search fees (CORES, civil registry)
• Statutory witness allowances
• Document certification fees

Legal representation costs, if a lawyer or agent represented you, follow a fixed tariff scale set out in Practice Note 3 based on the claim amount. The amounts are modest — they are meant to offset costs, not fully cover legal bills.

The Justice is not required to award costs, and the amounts awarded are at their discretion. You are more likely to recover costs if you can show you acted reasonably, sent a demand letter, and tried to settle before going to trial.

The Alberta Civil Claim Guide includes a cost tracking worksheet so you can log every expense and present a clean disbursement claim at trial.

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