Form JS-44: Civil Cover Sheet Sections, Fees, and Filing

The JS-44 civil cover sheet is a one-page administrative form that must accompany every civil complaint filed in a United States district court. It does not make legal arguments and does not bind you to anything you write on it. Its job is to give the clerk’s office what it needs to open a case file, assign a judge, and log the case in the federal judiciary’s tracking system. Errors on the sheet won’t lose your case, but they will delay it, sometimes by weeks, before a judge ever sees your complaint.1United States Courts. JS 44 Civil Cover Sheet

When You Have to File One

A completed JS-44 goes in with every civil complaint filed in any federal district court. The same requirement applies when a defendant files a notice of removal to transfer a case from state court to federal court.1United States Courts. JS 44 Civil Cover Sheet

One boundary worth flagging up front: family law disputes like divorce, custody, and property division almost never belong in federal court, no matter where the parties live. If that’s your situation, you are almost certainly in the wrong court and reaching for the wrong form.

Filling Out Each Section

The form has eight sections. A few take seconds. Others require judgment calls that affect how the court classifies and routes your case.

Section I: Parties, Counties, and Attorneys

List the full names of every plaintiff and defendant. Use full agency names rather than abbreviations for government parties, and when an individual official is a party, list the agency first, then the official’s name and title.1United States Courts. JS 44 Civil Cover Sheet

Enter the county of residence for the first-listed plaintiff and the first-listed defendant. When the U.S. government is the plaintiff, enter the county where the first-listed defendant lives instead. A separate field captures the filing attorney’s name, firm, address, and phone number.

Section II: Basis of Jurisdiction

Check exactly one box explaining why the case belongs in federal court:

  • U.S. Government Plaintiff — the federal government is bringing the case.
  • U.S. Government Defendant — someone is suing the federal government.
  • Federal Question — the case arises under the Constitution, a federal statute, or a treaty.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1331 – Federal Question
  • Diversity — the parties are citizens of different states and more than $75,000 is at stake.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1332 – Diversity of Citizenship

Federal question jurisdiction is the most common basis. Civil rights claims, patent disputes, and federal employment statutes all belong here. Diversity jurisdiction exists so an out-of-state party isn’t forced to litigate in the other side’s home-state court, but the $75,000 threshold filters out smaller disputes.

Section III: Citizenship of Principal Parties

This section only applies if you checked diversity in Section II. You identify whether each side is a citizen of the filing state, a citizen of another state, a citizen of a foreign country, or a corporation. For corporate parties, specify whether the company is incorporated in the filing state or has its principal place of business there. The court uses this to confirm that complete diversity actually exists.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1332 – Diversity of Citizenship

Section IV: Nature of Suit

You classify your lawsuit using one of dozens of standardized codes, grouped under headings like Contract, Torts, Civil Rights, Labor, Property Rights, Bankruptcy, Social Security, Federal Tax Suits, and Immigration. Check exactly one box that best describes the core of your case.4United States Courts. Civil Nature of Suit Code Descriptions

Some commonly used codes:

  • 110 (Insurance) — breach of an insurance contract and related claims.
  • 190 (Other Contract) — general contract disputes with no more specific category.
  • 350 (Motor Vehicle) — personal injury from a car accident based on negligence.
  • 362 (Medical Malpractice) — personal injury from negligent medical care.
  • 440 (Other Civil Rights) — civil rights violations not covered by a more specific code.
  • 442 (Employment) — workplace discrimination under Title VII, the ADEA, and similar statutes.

Picking the right code matters more than people realize. Many courts use it to route cases to judges or divisions with relevant expertise. The wrong code won’t get your case dismissed, but it can land you in front of a judge whose docket is geared toward a different area of law, or trigger administrative shuffling that slows things down.

Section V: Origin

How the case arrived in federal court. The options:

  • Original Proceeding (1) — the case started here in federal court.
  • Removed from State Court (2) — a defendant moved the case from state to federal court.
  • Remanded from Appellate Court (3) — an appeals court sent it back.
  • Reinstated or Reopened (4) — a previously closed case is being reopened.
  • Transferred from Another District (5) — moved from a different federal district.
  • Multidistrict Litigation Transfer (6) — consolidated with related cases in another district.
  • Multidistrict Litigation Direct File (8) — filed directly in the district handling the consolidated litigation.

Most filers check box 1. A defendant removing a case checks box 2 and files the JS-44 with the notice of removal.1United States Courts. JS 44 Civil Cover Sheet

Section VI: Cause of Action

Cite the specific federal statute your claim arises under, and add a brief plain-language description. A Title VII case cites 42 U.S.C. § 2000e. A Section 1983 civil rights case cites 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The instructions specifically say not to cite jurisdictional statutes like 28 U.S.C. § 1331 or § 1332 here unless diversity is your only basis for jurisdiction.1United States Courts. JS 44 Civil Cover Sheet

Section VII: Requested in Complaint

Three parts. Check the box if your case is a class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. Enter the dollar amount you are seeking, or describe non-monetary relief like an injunction. Indicate whether you are demanding a jury trial.

The jury demand checkbox is one of the most commonly botched fields on the form. What you mark has to match what your complaint says. If the complaint demands a jury, check “Yes.” If it doesn’t, check “No.” A mismatch between the cover sheet and the complaint creates confusion the court may require you to fix by amendment.

Section VIII: Related Cases

List the docket numbers and assigned judges of any pending cases in the same district that involve the same parties or closely related issues. Courts use this to avoid conflicting rulings and to consolidate related matters when appropriate.

Filing Fees

Filing a civil complaint in federal district court costs $405. That total is a $350 statutory filing fee set by Congress plus a $55 administrative fee added by the Judicial Conference.5United States District Court – Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Fees The same total applies to a notice of removal. Pay at the time of filing; the court will not open your case without it.

If you cannot afford the fee, you can ask the court for permission to proceed in forma pauperis by filing a separate sworn application detailing your income, assets, debts, and monthly expenses. Federal law lets any court waive prepayment for a person who shows they cannot afford it.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1915 – Proceedings In Forma Pauperis For prisoners, the fee is not waived entirely; it is collected in installments from the prisoner’s institutional account.

How to Submit the Form

Attorneys file electronically through the CM/ECF (Case Management/Electronic Case Files) system. You register for a PACER account first, then apply for filing credentials with each court where you intend to practice.7PACER: Federal Court Records. Attorney Filers for CM/ECF Once registered, you upload the JS-44 as a PDF alongside the complaint, pay the fee electronically, and receive a confirmation with your case number.

Self-represented litigants face a different situation. Most federal courts do not give pro se filers CM/ECF access, so you may need to file the JS-44 and complaint on paper at the clerk’s office or by mail.8Federal Judicial Center. Federal Courts Electronic Filing by Pro Se Litigants Some courts allow electronic filing for pro se parties on a case-by-case basis, but that is far from universal. Check with your district’s clerk’s office before assuming you can file electronically without a lawyer.

Mistakes That Send the Filing Back

The JS-44 is simple compared to the complaint, but a surprising number of filings get bounced over avoidable errors:

  • Blank fields. Every section needs a response. An empty “basis of jurisdiction” box means the clerk cannot open your case.
  • The wrong nature of suit code. A products liability case coded as a generic contract dispute can end up in the wrong division. Read the code descriptions instead of guessing.
  • A jury demand that doesn’t match the complaint. If the complaint asks for a jury, the JS-44 says “Yes.” If it doesn’t, “No.”
  • Citing a jurisdictional statute in Section VI. That section wants the substantive statute creating your claim, not 28 U.S.C. § 1331 or § 1332.
  • No signature or date. The bottom of the form requires the filing attorney’s signature and the date. Unsigned is incomplete.

None of these will kill your case, but each one creates a delay while the clerk returns the filing with instructions to fix it. Your case does not officially begin until the corrected version is accepted, and if a statute of limitations is about to expire, a lost week matters.

Where to Get the Current Version

The official JS-44 is available as a fillable PDF from the United States Courts website.9United States Courts. Civil Cover Sheet The most recent version took effect in March 2024. Download the form from uscourts.gov or your district court’s website rather than a third-party template, which may be outdated or modified in ways that trigger rejection at the clerk’s office. Some district courts publish local supplements or addenda addressing court-specific information like divisional assignment, so check your filing court’s local rules before submitting.