There are fees for certain steps in District Court proceedings. These include fees for filing an application, scheduling a hearing date and for the hearing itself.
Some steps in District Court proceedings do not require fees.
To figure out if you need to pay a fee, check the District Courts Fees Regulations(external link)
If you are unsure, please contact your nearest District Court.
You can apply for the fee to be waived if you cannot afford to pay the fee, or if you believe the proceeding you want to start is a matter of public interest and is unlikely to be started or continued unless the fee is waived. The application for waiver of a court fee should be given to the court with the application that requires the fee. A Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the court will decide if the fee will be waived. If your application for a fee waiver is declined, you have 20 working days to apply for a Judge to review the decision – see section 234 of the District Courts Act 2016.(external link)
While you are waiting for the decision to waive the fee or review under s123A, you can apply to postpone the payment of the fee until the date on which you are told whether or not the fee will be waived. The Registrar or Deputy Registrar may allow the postponement if they think your main application would be prejudiced if it does not proceed to determination.
You can apply for a refund if you did not apply for a waiver but would have been granted one if you had, and the criteria for a waiver are still met.
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