# What a Pennsylvania divorce costs to file

> What it costs to file for divorce in Pennsylvania: real county fee schedules, why every count adds money, the fee waiver, and how counsel fees get shifted.

There is no such thing as the Pennsylvania divorce filing fee. Every county sets its own, the state adds statutory charges on top, and the total moves depending on how many claims you put in the complaint. The Unified Judicial System's own [guidance](https://www.pacourts.us/learn/representing-yourself/divorce-proceedings) says only that costs vary by the type of document and by county, and that some court filing costs may be in the hundreds of dollars.

That is true and unhelpful, so here are real numbers from two counties, plus the rules that explain why yours will look different.

## How much does it cost to file for divorce in Pennsylvania?

Somewhere in the three to six hundred dollar range for the complaint, depending on the county and on what you claim in it.

Bucks County's [family court fee schedule](https://buckscounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1282/2026-Court-of-Common-Pleas-Family-Court-Fee-Schedule-PDF), effective January 1, 2026, charges:

- $398.00 for a complaint in divorce
- $90.50 for an equitable distribution count incorporated in the divorce complaint, or $271.50 as a separate complaint
- $100.25 for a custody count incorporated in the divorce complaint, or $281.25 as a separate complaint
- $91.00 for a petition for special relief incorporated in the divorce complaint
- $6.25 for a certified divorce decree, and $10.25 to retake a maiden name

Dauphin County's [filing fee schedule](https://www.dauphincounty.gov/docs/default-source/prothonotary/filing-fees---effective-01-01-26-revised-12-19-25.pdf), also effective January 1, 2026, prices the same case by counting the claims:

- $345.75 for a divorce
- $433.25 for a divorce plus one additional count
- $521.00 plus two counts, and $609.00 plus three
- $592.15 for a divorce with custody

Neither number includes anything a lawyer charges you.

### Why does every count add money to a Pennsylvania divorce?

Because a state regulation says it does. Under [204 Pa. Code section 29.351(b)](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/204/chapter29/s29.351.html), a $20 statutory fee is imposed when a civil action is initiated in the Court of Common Pleas, and in divorce actions a separate statutory fee is imposed for each count in the complaint in addition to the count requesting the divorce.

The statutory charge funds the Judicial Computer Project, the Access to Justice account, criminal justice enhancement and the Attorney General's operations, and counties collect it on top of their own local fee. So a divorce complaint that also claims equitable distribution, alimony and custody is four filings as far as the fee schedule is concerned.

The practical read is not "claim less." It is that the small extra cost of raising a claim is nothing against the cost of waiving it, because [Rule 1920.31(c)](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/231/chapter1920/s1920.31.html) kills alimony, alimony pendente lite and counsel fee claims that are not raised before the decree. The [filing chapter](https://www.counselpro.ai/divorce-guide/pennsylvania/filing-guide) covers which claims belong where.

## What else costs money in a Pennsylvania divorce?

- **Serving your spouse.** The sheriff charges for personal service, and certified mail with restricted delivery and a return receipt costs postage. Getting your spouse to accept service costs nothing at all, which the chapter on [serving divorce papers](https://www.counselpro.ai/divorce-guide/pennsylvania/serving-divorce-papers) explains.
- **The hearing officer.** If the economic claims go to an appointed officer, the county bills for the appointment. Dauphin County charges $198.75 to appoint a divorce hearing officer before the decree and $123.75 for a discovery-only or post-decree appointment.
- **Mediation.** Under [section 3902(a)](https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=23&div=0&chapter=39), a county running a mediation program may impose an extra filing fee of up to $20 on divorce and custody complaints to fund it, and the court may assess the actual costs of mediation on either party.
- **Experts.** A business appraisal, a pension valuation or a vocational evaluation is not a court fee, and in a case with real assets it is usually the largest line item after counsel fees.

### What does child support cost to file in Pennsylvania?

Nothing. [Rule 1910.4(c)](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/231/chapter1910/s1910.4.html) says the domestic relations section may not require payment of a filing fee to commence or modify an action for child support, spousal support or alimony pendente lite, and subdivision (d) bars a judicial district from adding fees of its own unless a statute authorizes them.

That is a genuinely useful asymmetry. The claims most likely to matter to a household with no money are the ones that cost nothing to bring.

## What if you cannot afford the filing fee in Pennsylvania?

File an In Forma Pauperis petition. The court's [divorce page](https://www.pacourts.us/learn/representing-yourself/divorce-proceedings) explains that you complete the form with your income and expense statements and take it to the records office in your county courthouse, which is the prothonotary or, in Philadelphia, the Office of Judicial Records.

The court may decide on the form alone or may require you to appear at a hearing. Instructions come with the form itself.

## Can you make your spouse pay your legal fees in Pennsylvania?

Sometimes, and the mechanism is a claim rather than a motion at the end.

[Section 3702(a)](https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=23&div=0&chapter=37) lets the court, on petition and in proper cases, allow a spouse reasonable alimony pendente lite, spousal support, and reasonable counsel fees and expenses. Counsel fees may be allowed while the case is pending, and the court can also direct that adequate health and hospitalization insurance be maintained for the dependent spouse during it.

The point of a pendente lite fee award is to level the field, not to punish. It exists so the spouse with less access to money can actually litigate, which is why it is decided early rather than at the end.

Claiming it takes paperwork. Under [Rule 1920.31(a)(1)](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/231/chapter1920/s1920.31.html), a party raising a claim for alimony, counsel fees, or costs and expenses files their most recent federal income tax return, pay stubs for the preceding six months, an Income Statement and an Expense Statement, and cannot move for a hearing officer on those claims for 30 days after filing them. The other party has 20 days from service to file the same package.

If the fee claim is going to trial, [Rule 1920.33(b)(7)](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/231/chapter1920/s1920.33.html) adds one more requirement to the pre-trial statement: the amount of fees to be charged, the basis for the charge, and a detailed itemization of the services rendered. A fee claim without that itemization is a fee claim you can be barred from proving, and the [disclosure chapter](https://www.counselpro.ai/divorce-guide/pennsylvania/financial-disclosure-and-discovery) covers how that sanction works.

Source: https://www.counselpro.ai/divorce-guide/pennsylvania/divorce-costs