Maryland Small Claims Court Fees

Before you file, you want to know the total damage to your wallet. Maryland's small claims fees are straightforward once you know all the line items — but people regularly underestimate the cost because they only look at the filing fee.

Filing Fee

A small claims complaint (up to $5,000) costs $44 to file. That includes the base fee plus an $8 Real Property Improvement Fund surcharge and a $28 MLSC Fund surcharge. If your claim is between $5,001 and $30,000, the filing fee jumps to $56.

Payment options depend on how you file. At the clerk's counter: cash, check, money order, or credit card. By mail: check or money order payable to "District Court." Through MDEC e-filing: credit card or e-check.

Service of Process Fees

After filing, you have to get the defendant officially notified. These costs are per defendant:

• Clerk certified mail: $20. The clerk sends the complaint via Restricted Delivery mail. The defendant must personally sign for it.
• Sheriff or constable: $60. A deputy physically delivers the papers to the defendant.
• Private process server: Market rate, typically $50–$100. Any competent adult who is not a party to the case can serve.

If certified mail comes back unclaimed or unsigned, you'll need to re-serve via sheriff or private process — so budget for the possibility of paying for service twice.

Other Court Costs

• Counterclaim filing: $18 if the defendant files a counterclaim against you.
• Subpoena issuance: $10 per witness, plus $60 for sheriff service of the subpoena.
• Summons reissue: $2–$5 if the original summons expires after 60 days without service.
• Document copies: $0.50 per page.
• Certified document: $5 per request.
• Audio recording fee: $10–$15. Transcript deposit is $75.

Appeal Costs

If you or the defendant appeals to the Circuit Court, the bill is $175 — a $10 District Court processing fee plus a $165 Circuit Court docketing fee. For small claims, the appeal is a full retrial (de novo), so you're effectively starting over with all the preparation that entails.

Total Realistic Budget

For a typical small claims case with one defendant served by certified mail:

If you need sheriff service instead, that climbs to $104. Add a subpoena for a witness and you're looking at $174. These costs can be recovered if you win — the judge can order the losing party to pay court costs on top of the judgment amount.

Fee Waivers

If you can't afford the fees, file Form CC-DC-089 (Request for Waiver of Costs) along with your complaint and, unless your case is a restricted case type, Form MDJ-008 (Notice Regarding Restricted Information). You'll need to disclose household income, assets, and debts. A prepayment waiver does not cover third-party costs like private process servers or automatically waive costs assessed at the end of the case; you can request a final waiver of open costs on CC-DC-089 or CC-DC-090. If the prepayment waiver is denied, you have 10 days from the date of the order to pay the unwaived costs, and your filing date still relates back to when you originally submitted.

The Maryland small claims filing guide includes a fee budget worksheet so you can total your expected costs before you walk into the courthouse.

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