Estimate the court fee on a suit, slab by slab
Most civil suits for money in India pay an ad valorem court fee — a fee that grows with the amount claimed or the value of the suit, set by each state’s Court Fees Act. This free court fee calculator works it out and shows every slab of the working, so you can see exactly where the number comes from.
Maharashtra’s schedule is built in from the state government’s printed Act: Article 1 for plaints, appeals and cross-objections, half-fee Articles 2 and 3A, and Article 18 for cheque bounce complaints, at both the 2018 rates and the earlier 2002 rates. For any other state, enter its flat percentage or type its slabs, and the calculator applies them the same way. It runs in your browser; it is an estimate, not legal advice.
How to use the Court Fee Calculator
- Choose the schedule: Maharashtra, or another state as a flat percentage or as slabs.
- Enter the amount you claim, or the value of the suit as your state’s valuation rules require.
- For Maharashtra, pick what you are filing — a plaint or appeal, a possession suit, an arbitration challenge or a cheque bounce complaint.
- For another state, type its rate, minimum and maximum, or its slabs in the form “up to 5,000: 12 per 100”.
- Read the fee and the slab-by-slab table, copy the result, and confirm the figure with the court’s filing section.
Court Fee Calculator features
Maharashtra built in
Articles 1, 2, 3A and 18 of Schedule I, at the 2018 and the 2002 rates, with each maximum.
Checked against the official table
The 2018 slabs reproduce the table of rates printed with the amending Act, from ₹1,000 to ₹40 lakh.
Any state, your figures
A flat percentage with a minimum and maximum, or your own slabs.
Every slab shown
Each band’s amount, rate, number of steps and fee, with the total and any cap.
“Or part thereof” handled
A part of a step counts as a whole step, as the schedules say.
Maharashtra Article 1 — 2018 rates (as of 30 October 2026)
Sources: the Maharashtra Court-fees (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Mah. Act X of 2018), published in the Maharashtra Government Gazette on 16 January 2018, and the Maharashtra Court-fees Act, 1959 as modified up to 4 March 2016 — both Government of Maharashtra Law and Judiciary Department texts. The 2017 Act comes into force on a date the state notifies; we could not find that notification. News reports in 2026 treat the ₹10 lakh maximum as in force, while some court pages still show the ₹3 lakh scale, so both are offered here. Ask the court’s filing section which applies to you.
| Amount or value of the claim | Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹1,000 | ₹200 |
| ₹1,000 – ₹5,000 | + ₹12 for every ₹100 or part |
| ₹5,000 – ₹10,000 | + ₹15 for every ₹100 or part |
| ₹10,000 – ₹20,000 | + ₹75 for every ₹500 or part |
| ₹20,000 – ₹30,000 | + ₹100 for every ₹1,000 or part |
| ₹30,000 – ₹50,000 | + ₹100 for every ₹2,000 or part |
| ₹50,000 – ₹1 lakh | + ₹200 for every ₹5,000 or part (₹150 at the 2002 rates) |
| ₹1 lakh – ₹10 lakh | + ₹400 for every ₹10,000 or part (2002: ₹200, up to ₹11 lakh) |
| ₹10 lakh – ₹25 lakh | + ₹4,500 for every ₹1 lakh or part (2002: ₹1,200 per lakh above ₹11 lakh) |
| Above ₹25 lakh | + ₹5,000 for every ₹1 lakh or part; maximum ₹10 lakh (2002: ₹3 lakh) |
Other states, and what the calculator does not do
Each state has its own Court Fees Act and has changed its rates over the years; some charge a flat percentage of the claim, others use slabs, some with a maximum and some without. Their schedules are not built in, because we could not confirm the current figures from official sources — take them from your state’s Act or the court and enter them here. The calculator also does not value the suit for you: for land, partition or injunction suits, the Suits Valuation Act and the state’s rules decide the figure to enter.
Before filing, check the deadline with the limitation period calculator; a demand letter from the legal notice generator or the cheque bounce notice generator usually comes first.
Court Fee Calculator FAQ
How is court fee calculated on a money suit?
On the amount claimed, using the slabs in Schedule I of your state’s Court Fees Act: a fixed fee for the first slab, then a set amount for every step (or part of a step) above it, up to any maximum. This court fee calculator shows each slab.
What is the court fee for a ₹10 lakh suit in Maharashtra?
At the 2018 rates, ₹42,930 for a plaint under Article 1; at the earlier 2002 rates, ₹24,430.
What is the court fee for a cheque bounce case?
It depends on the state. In Maharashtra, Article 18 charges ₹400 for a cheque up to ₹10,000; for a larger cheque, ₹300 for every ₹10,000 or part of its amount, to a maximum of ₹3 lakh (2018 rates; ₹200 a step and a ₹1.5 lakh maximum at the 2002 rates). That is how this calculator reads the article — confirm it with the court.
Is court fee refunded if the case settles?
Many states refund some or all of it when a case is settled through mediation, Lok Adalat or another route under section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure; Maharashtra’s 2017 amendment added a full refund in such cases. Ask the court.
How do I pay court fee?
Usually by e-stamping or court-fee stamps bought from authorised vendors or banks, or online where the court allows it. The filing section will tell you the accepted mode.
Is the result exact?
It is an estimate from the schedule you choose and the value you enter. The court decides the correct valuation and fee, so confirm before you pay.