Judicial Council of California · United States

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Form FW-001: Request to Waive Court Fees

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JustFill fills the FW-001 PDF for you. It does not decide whether your fees will be waived, does not file the request and does not give legal advice. The form is confidential — you submit it to the court yourself.JustFill is not affiliated with Judicial Council of California. This is an independent third-party tool to help you complete FW-001. Always download the current blank form from the official source and verify your completed copy before signing or submitting. Official FW-001 from Judicial Council of California

Quick answer

Form FW-001 is the Request to Waive Court Fees, a confidential mandatory Judicial Council form. You may use it if you receive public benefits, are a low-income person, or do not have enough income to cover your household’s basic needs and your court fees. The court may order you to answer questions about your finances, and a waiver is not always permanent — you may have to pay later if you cannot prove eligibility, if your finances improve, or if you settle a civil case for $10,000 or more. With JustFill you upload the blank FW-001 PDF, the AI auto-detects every field, and you download it free.

Form
FW-001
Issued by
Judicial Council of California
Country
United States
Cost to fill
Free

What is FW-001?

Court fees standing between you and filing? Form FW-001 asks a California court to waive them, and JustFill turns the official Judicial Council PDF into a fillable form in your browser. The form is marked CONFIDENTIAL and rests on Government Code section 68633 and California Rules of Court rules 3.51, 8.26 and 8.818. You give your own details, your job if you have one, and your lawyer if you have one — including whether that lawyer has agreed to advance your fees, which they must sign to confirm. Then you state the basis for the waiver, and depending on which one you pick you either stop there, answer three financial questions, or complete a full page of income detail.

Who fills out FW-001?

  • People receiving public benefits who cannot afford California court filing fees
  • Low-income litigants in civil, family or probate matters
  • Anyone whose income does not cover household basic needs plus court fees
  • Self-represented parties filing a petition, response or appeal who need the fee waived

Field-by-field breakdown

What each section of FW-001 asks for. JustFill’s AI will detect these fields automatically when you upload the PDF — review the breakdown below so you know what to enter.

Court and case

The Superior Court of California county and street address, and the case number and case name where a case already exists.

Items 1–2 — you and your job

Your name, street or mailing address, city, state, ZIP and phone; then your job title, employer name and employer address if you are working.

Item 3 — your lawyer

Name, firm or affiliation, address, phone and State Bar number, plus whether the lawyer has agreed to advance all or part of your fees or costs. If yes, the lawyer signs the form. Where the lawyer is not providing legal-aid type services based on low income, you may have to attend a hearing to explain the request.

Item 4 — which fees

Which court’s fees or costs you are asking to be waived; the Superior Court option points to the information sheet, form FW-001-INFO.

Item 5 — basis for the waiver

The branch you select decides how much of page two you complete: one basis needs nothing further, another needs only questions 7, 8 and 9, and the third needs the entire financial page.

Items 7–9 — financial information

A box to tick when your income varies a lot month to month, in which case you use your average over the past twelve months; your gross monthly income listed by source; and the income of other people living with you who depend on you or on whom you depend.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • 1Filling in the whole financial page regardless. Which parts you complete depends on the basis you selected in item 5 — one option requires nothing below, another only questions 7 to 9.
  • 2Reporting wages after deductions. Item 8 asks for income from work BEFORE deductions, alongside support, retirement, social security, disability, unemployment, veterans payments, dividends, interest, business or rental income and more.
  • 3Using a single month when income is irregular. Tick the box in item 7 and use your average over the past twelve months instead.
  • 4Forgetting the lawyer’s signature. If your lawyer has agreed to advance fees or costs, the form requires them to sign.
  • 5Treating a waiver as final. The form warns you may still have to pay if you cannot prove eligibility, if your finances improve during the case, or if you settle a civil case for $10,000 or more — the court then has a lien on that settlement for the waived fees, plus possible collection costs.
  • 6Running out of space and improvising. The form directs you to attach form MC-025 or a sheet headed “Financial Information” with your name and case number.

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Frequently asked questions

People getting public benefits, low-income people, and anyone whose income does not cover their household’s basic needs plus the court fees.
It depends on the basis you select in item 5 — one option requires nothing further, one requires only questions 7, 8 and 9, and one requires the entire page.
Yes. If you cannot prove eligibility, if your financial situation improves during the case, or if you settle a civil case for $10,000 or more — in which case the court has a lien on the settlement for the waived fees and may add collection costs.
Tick the box in item 7 and complete the form using your average income over the past twelve months.
The form is marked CONFIDENTIAL. The court may still order you to answer questions about your finances.

Official source: FW-001 on Judicial Council of California’s website

Form FW-001 is published by the Judicial Council of California. JustFill is not affiliated with the Judicial Council or any California court.

JustFill is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Judicial Council of California or any government agency. Always verify your completed form on the official version before signing or submitting.