The filing fee is what the court charges to accept a claim. It is calculated on the amount claimed, not on the difficulty of the case, and the claimant pays it up front; on winning, the court can order the other side to reimburse it.
This calculates the filing fee only. The other costs of a case are listed below.
Result
An estimate for guidance, not advice on your matter.
What is not included
- Service of the summons and the claim on each defendant, charged by distance and by the number of defendants.
- Newspaper publication, where ordinary service is not possible.
- Fees for motions, copies and court certifications.
- Witness expenses and the cost of a court inspection, if any.
If you cannot afford the fee
A party without sufficient means may apply to proceed as a pauper, by petition and oath before the court. Where the court is satisfied that the claim has substance and the means are genuinely lacking, it may waive the fees in whole or in part.
Appeals
The fee on appeal and on further appeal is charged at the same rate as at first instance, calculated on the amount still in dispute at that stage — which is not always the original amount. Appealing on part of the case reduces the base accordingly.
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This is an estimate against the court fee schedule. The court decides whether a claim has a monetary value and what that value is, which can differ from what the claimant states. Some proceedings are exempt: consumer claims brought by a consumer, and labour claims brought by an employee.
Sources
- Table 1 annexed to the Civil Procedure Code, as amended by the Civil Procedure Code Amendment Act (No. 24) B.E. 2551 (2008): 2 per cent of the amount claimed, capped at 200,000 Baht on the portion up to 50 million Baht, and 0.1 per cent on the excess; small claims 2 per cent capped at 1,000 Baht; claims with no monetary value 200 Baht each.
- Civil Procedure Code, section 189 (a small claim is one not exceeding 300,000 Baht) and sections 155 to 157 (proceeding as a pauper).
- Office of the Judiciary