A civil court case can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars in small claims to well over $100,000 per side when a full lawsuit goes to trial. Attorney fees drive most of that total, but filing fees, service of process, depositions, expert witnesses, and trial preparation stack up faster than most people plan for. And under the default rule in American courts, even the winning side usually pays its own lawyer.
Court Filing Fees
Every civil case starts with a filing fee paid to the court clerk. In federal district court, opening a new civil action costs $405. State filing fees range from roughly $50 for small-dollar disputes to $400 or more for larger claims, and many states use tiered schedules tied to the amount in controversy. A lawsuit over a $500 debt costs less to file than one seeking $50,000.
Smaller administrative charges add up as the case moves. Individual motions typically run $25 to $75. Requesting a jury trial adds another $50 to $150 in most courts. Certified copies, subpoena issuances, and similar paperwork usually cost $10 to $50 per item. If you demand a jury, you may also have to deposit daily juror fees; in federal court, jurors receive $50 per day, with the judge authorized to add up to $10 per day after the first ten days of a single case.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1871 – Fees State juror fees vary and are often lower.
Serving the Other Party
Before the case moves forward, the defendant has to be formally notified. A professional process server typically charges $20 to $100 for a standard job, more if the defendant is hard to locate. Sheriff’s departments offer an alternative, usually $40 to $75 per attempt.
Where courts allow it, certified mail with return receipt is cheapest. USPS charges $5.30 for certified mail, plus $4.40 for a physical return receipt or $2.82 for an electronic one.2USPS. Insurance and Extra Services With postage, the total usually stays under $15. Multiple defendants or failed delivery attempts multiply the cost, and some cases require personal service regardless.
Attorney Fees
Attorney fees are almost always the largest expense in a civil case. What you pay depends on the type of case and your fee agreement.
Hourly Billing and Retainers
Hourly billing is standard for most civil litigation outside personal injury. A general civil litigator might charge $200 to $400 per hour. Attorneys at large firms or handling specialized commercial matters regularly bill $500 to $1,000 or more. Most attorneys require a retainer upfront, commonly $2,000 to $5,000 for a standard civil matter and more for complex cases. The lawyer bills against the retainer and asks you to replenish it as the balance drops.
The hours add up fast. A contested case that reaches discovery and motions practice can consume dozens or hundreds of attorney hours before anyone walks into a courtroom. A case that settles after six months of moderate activity might generate $15,000 to $30,000 in fees. One that goes to trial can easily reach $50,000 to $100,000 or more in attorney time alone.
Contingency Fees
In personal injury and certain other plaintiff-side cases, attorneys work on contingency. You pay nothing upfront, and the lawyer collects a percentage of any recovery, typically 33% if the case settles before trial and up to 40% at verdict. If you lose, the attorney collects no fee. That does not mean the case is free to you: out-of-pocket expenses like filing fees, deposition costs, and expert witness charges are still yours. The attorney may advance them and either deduct them from the recovery or bill you.
Flat Fees
Flat fees work best for predictable, bounded tasks such as drafting a demand letter, filing an uncontested motion, or handling a small claims matter. Because the scope of contested litigation is too unpredictable, flat billing is uncommon once a case is actually being fought.
Discovery Costs
Discovery is the phase where both sides exchange evidence, and it’s where budgets most often blow up.
Depositions
A deposition involves a witness answering questions under oath while a court reporter transcribes every word. Reporters charge an appearance fee of roughly $50 to $500 per day plus a per-page rate of $3 to $7 for the transcript. A full day of testimony can produce 200 or more pages. Between the reporter, the transcript, and your attorney’s preparation and attendance time, a single deposition typically runs $1,000 to $3,000. Complex cases can involve a dozen or more.
Expert Witnesses
Many civil cases require experts to analyze medical records, accident reconstruction, financial documents, or other specialized evidence. Experts bill for reviewing files, writing reports, sitting for depositions, and testifying. Average hourly rates run roughly $350 to $500, with highly specialized fields charging considerably more. A single expert’s total on a case that goes to trial can reach $10,000 to $50,000.
Electronic Discovery
When a case involves large volumes of digital records, electronic discovery adds a separate layer of expense. Data has to be collected, processed, hosted on a review platform, and reviewed. Processing costs often run $25 to $150 per gigabyte, with monthly hosting fees of $10 to $25 per gigabyte on top. A commercial dispute involving several employees’ email accounts can push e-discovery costs into the tens of thousands before anyone reads a document.
Trial Costs
If the case does not settle, trial adds another significant layer. The attorney time spent preparing and presenting the case is usually the largest trial cost, but there are others. Witness subpoena fees are set by statute and are modest, often $10 to $50 per day plus mileage, but they apply to every fact witness you call. Expert witnesses charge their full hourly rate for trial testimony. Exhibits, demonstratives, and presentation technology can run from a few hundred dollars in a simple case to thousands when animations, medical illustrations, or detailed financial charts are involved. A two-week jury trial in a moderately complex case can easily add $20,000 to $50,000 in costs on top of attorney fees.
Mediation and Arbitration
Courts increasingly push civil cases toward mediation or arbitration before trial, and many contracts require one or the other. Both cost money, but typically far less than a full trial.
Private mediators charge by the hour, commonly $200 to $600 depending on experience and complexity. Parties usually split the fee. A one-day mediation might cost each side $2,000 to $5,000. High-stakes commercial mediations with well-known mediators can run $10,000 to $20,000 per day total.
Arbitration tends to cost more than mediation because the arbitrator functions as a private judge and the process resembles a trial. The American Arbitration Association and similar organizations charge administrative fees that scale with the amount in dispute, plus the arbitrator’s hourly or daily rate. For a mid-size commercial dispute, total arbitration costs can rival trial costs, though the process usually moves faster.
Appeals and Collecting a Judgment
Losing at trial does not end the spending. Filing an appeal in federal court costs $605, a $600 docketing fee at the court of appeals plus a $5 statutory fee.3United States Courts. Court of Appeals Miscellaneous Fee Schedule State appellate filing fees vary but typically run $100 to $500.
A larger expense is the appeal bond, sometimes called a supersedeas bond, which the losing party often has to post to delay enforcement while the appeal is pending. The bond covers the full judgment plus interest. The premium alone runs 1% to 2% of the bond amount, and you’ll need to put up collateral equal to the full bond value.4NFP. Appeal Bond On top of that, an appellate lawyer needs the trial transcript, which is priced per page and can run several thousand dollars for a two-week trial. Briefing and arguing an appeal typically adds $15,000 to $50,000 or more in attorney fees.
Winning does not automatically put money in your pocket either. If the losing party doesn’t pay voluntarily, you’ll need to enforce the judgment through writs of execution, wage garnishments, or bank levies, each with its own filing and processing fees. Recording a judgment lien involves recording fees that vary by jurisdiction. You may also need post-judgment discovery to identify the debtor’s assets and a sheriff or marshal to execute on property. Enforcement can drag on for months or years and add anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars.
Can You Make the Other Side Pay Your Fees
Under the American Rule, each side pays its own attorney fees regardless of who wins.5Department of Justice Archives. Civil Resource Manual 220 – Attorneys Fees This is the opposite of the rule in most other countries, and it catches many people off guard. Winning your case does not entitle you to bill the other side for your lawyer.
There are two major exceptions. If you signed a contract with an attorney fee provision, the prevailing party can recover fees as the contract specifies. And certain federal and state statutes shift fees in specific types of cases. Civil rights claims are the most prominent example: federal law allows courts to award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in cases brought under civil rights statutes.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1988 – Proceedings in Vindication of Civil Rights Consumer protection and employment discrimination statutes often include similar fee-shifting provisions.
Even without fee-shifting, a prevailing party can usually recover certain litigation costs. Federal law defines these taxable costs as clerk and marshal fees, transcript fees, witness fees, printing costs, and copying expenses necessarily incurred for the case.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1920 – Taxation of Costs These recoverable amounts are real but modest. They’ll cover your filing fees and deposition transcripts, not your attorney’s bill.
Ways to Spend Less
Fee Waivers
If you can’t afford court fees, you can apply for a fee waiver by filing a financial affidavit. Federal courts call this proceeding “in forma pauperis,” and it requires a sworn statement detailing your income, assets, and expenses. If the court grants the waiver, you won’t owe filing fees, service costs, or certain other court charges. The waiver covers court fees only. It does not pay for an attorney, depositions, or expert witnesses.
Small Claims Court
For disputes below a certain dollar amount, small claims court is a dramatically cheaper path. Filing fees are low, often $30 to $75. The procedures are simplified, attorneys are optional or sometimes prohibited, and cases typically resolve in a single hearing. Jurisdictional limits range from $2,500 to $25,000 depending on the state, with most caps between $5,000 and $10,000. If your dispute fits, small claims can accomplish in an afternoon what regular civil litigation takes months and tens of thousands of dollars to resolve.