Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.55 · Division 2. Waiver of Fees and Costs
Court fees and costs included in all initial fee waivers
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
Court fees and costs that must be waived upon granting an application for an initial fee waiver include:
(1) Clerk's fees for filing papers;
(2) Clerk's fees for reasonably necessary certification and copying;
(3) Clerk's fees for issuance of process and certificates;
(4) Clerk's fees for transmittal of papers;
(5) Sheriff's and marshal's fees under article 7 of chapter 2 of part 3 of division 2 of title 3 of the Government Code (commencing with section 26720);
(6) Reporter's fees for attendance at hearings and trials;
(7) The court fee for a telephone appearance;
(8) Clerk's fees for preparing, copying, certifying, and transmitting the clerk's transcript on appeal to the reviewing court and the party. A party proceeding under an initial fee waiver must specify with particularity the documents to be included in the clerk's transcript on appeal;
(9) The fee under rule 8.130(b) or rule 8.834(b) for the court to hold in trust the deposit for a reporter's transcript on appeal; and
(10) The clerk's fee for preparing a transcript of an official electronic recording under rule 8.835 or a copy of such an electronic recording.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
Rule 3.55 amended effective January 1, 2023; adopted as rule 3.61 effective January 1, 2007; previously amended and renumbered as rule 3.55 effective July 1, 2009; previously amended effective January 1, 2009; July 1, 2015, and September 1, 2019.
Advisory Committee Comment
The inclusion of court reporter's fees in the fees waived upon granting an application for an initial fee waiver is intended to provide a fee waiver recipient with an official court reporter or other valid means to create an official verbatim record, for purposes of appeal, on a request. (See Jameson v. Desta (2018) 5 Cal.5th 594.) It is intended to include within a waiver all fees mandated under the Government Code for the cost of court reporting services provided by a court.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/three/rule3_55
- Text hash
- sha256 d084237d194650e9e11a29000794928e81dfa75bc63a021076885fdd59f75ff3
- Composed by
- compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Cited by 4 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.55. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
California Rules of Court
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.50Application of rulesPrinted as rule 3.55
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.51Method of applicationPrinted as rule 3.55 | rules 3.55 and 7.5
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.41Waiver of fees and costsPrinted as rule 3.55
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.818Waiver of fees and costsPrinted as rule 3.55
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.