Fees to be set by the court

(a) Authority

Under Government Code section 70631, a superior court may charge a reasonable fee for a service or product not to exceed the costs of providing the service or product, if the Judicial Council approves the fee.

(b) Approved fees

The Judicial Council authorizes courts to charge a reasonable fee not to exceed costs for the following products and services unless courts are prohibited by law from charging a fee for, or providing, the product or service:

(1) Forms:

(2) Packages of forms;

(3) Information materials;

(4) Publications, including books, pamphlets, and local rules;

(5) Compact discs;

(6) DVDs;

(7) Audiotapes;

(8) Videotapes;

(9) Microfiches;

(10) Envelopes;

(11) Postage;

(12) Shipping;

(13) Off-site retrieval of documents;

(14) Direct fax filing under rule 2.304 (fee per page);

(15) Returning filed-stamped copies of documents by fax to persons who request that a faxed copy be sent to them;

(16) Training programs for attorneys who serve as court-appointed temporary judges, including the materials and food provided to the participants;

(17) Other training programs or events, including materials and food provided to the participants; and

(18) Telephone appearance services.

(c) Guidelines for determining costs

The fee charged for any product or service listed in (b) may not exceed the court's cost in providing the product or service. In determining the costs of a product or service, the court must:

(1) Identify the specific product or service; and

(2) Prepare an analysis of the direct and indirect costs on which the fee is based.

(d) Reasonableness

In deciding what specific fee or fees, if any, to charge for a product or service under (b), the court must determine that the fee charged is reasonable considering relevant factors such as the benefits to the court and the public from providing the product or service and the effects of charging the fee on public access to the court.

(e) Reporting requirement

Each court that charges a fee under this rule must provide Judicial Council staff with a description of the fee, how the amount of the fee was determined, and how the fee is applied.

(f) Public notice

The court must notify the public of any fee that it charges under this rule by providing information concerning the fee in a conspicuous place such as the court's fee schedule.

(g) Procedure for adoption of fee

If a court proposes to change any fee authorized under (b) that it is already charging or to charge any new fee authorized under (b), the court must follow the procedures for adopting or amending a local rule under rule 10.613 of the California Rules of Court.