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NJ Court Filing Fees Q&A

Jun 24, 2015 | Written by: Diana N. Fredericks, Esq. |

To help you better understand some of the court filing fees that you may incur when we submit documents to the court on your behalf (or if you are self-represented and attempting to handle this on your own), below is a Q&A* that explains some frequently misunderstood fees. In addition, the complete fee schedule, effective Feb. 20, 2015, can be found here.

*Excerpt from Notice to the Bar: Filing Fees Additional Clarification of Certain Rule1:43 Fees;Publication of Further Updated Complete Judiciary Fee Schedule, February 20, 2015, NJ State Judiciary:

Question 1: What is the fee for an Answer to a Cross-claim, Answer to a Counterclaim, or Answer to a Third-Party Complaint in the Superior Court?

Answer: Since these Answers are made in response to a new cause of action, there is a fee for filing the responsive pleading to those actions, The fee for each of these document types is $175.00.

Question 2: What is the fee for an Order to Show Cause with a Verified Complaint?

Answer: The fee is $300.00. Of this, $250 is allocated to the Complaint and $50 is allocated to the Order to Show Cause. In cases, where the complaint has been filed, there is a $50 fee for filing an Order to Show Cause.

Question 3: What is the fee to file a Warrant of Satisfaction?

Answer: The fee associated with a Warrant of Satisfaction depends upon whether there is a docketed judgment associated with the matter. The fee to file a Warrant of Satisfaction on a case without a docketed judgment is $35.00. The fee to file a Warrant of Satisfaction on a case that has a docketed judgment is $50.00.

Question 4: What is the appropriate fee for a counterclaim, cross claim, claim for contribution, or third party complaint?

Answer: Since these actions institute a new claim against one or more parties, for fee purposes they are treated similarly to complaints. The fee for counterclaims, cross claims, claims for contribution, or third party complaints is $250 if submitted as an independent, responsive pleading in Civil or in General Equity (including Foreclosure).

When an answer has been filed and the filing party subsequently seeks to file a counterclaim, cross claim, claim for contribution, or third party complaint in Civil or in General Equity, the filing fee is an additional $75, which represents the differential between the already-paid answer fee of $175 and the initial pleading fee of $250. In Special Civil Part (Small Claims section only), the filing fee for a counterclaim is $30.

Question 5: Where do judgment creditors submit applications for wage executions?

Answer: For a docketed judgment filed on a Law Division Civil Part, Chancery Division Family Part, or Chancery Division General Equity matter, the wage application is to be submitted to the vicinage. For a docketed judgment filed on a Special Civil Part matter, the wage application is to be submitted to the Judgment Processing Services Unit of the Superior Court Clerk's Office.

If you need assistance with a NJ civil court matter, the attorneys at Gebhardt & Kiefer, PC are available to help. Contact us at 908-735-5161.