Waiver of cost application

Waiver of the cost is available if the party is not able to afford to pay the fees which will be incurred. The waiver of cost can be done in any area. Waiver of cost takes place in the court fees, in loan payment, in paying fees, etc.

Section 15(2) of the Court Procedure Act, 2004 authorises “the registrars of the Supreme Court and Magistrates Court to waive payment of a court fee by a person, in full or in part, where the registrar considers that payment of the fees, or part of the fee, would impose hardship on the person.”

A copy of the transcript saying without paying the fee issued by the external transcript provider should be sent to the Registrar by the applicant. On receiving the copy of the transcript, the Registrar will go through the hardship faced by the applicant and being convinced that the applicant can’t pay the fees, agree to provide a free transcript or audio recording on the ground of hardship.

Procedure for the filing the application

STEP 1: Filling out the Application to Waive Filing Fees and Costs

• Print your name, address and telephone number in the upper left corner.
• Fill in the heading of your case just as it appears on the other documents you want to file. If you are filing the documents under a case that already has a number and department assigned to it, fill in that information. If you are filing a new case, leave the Case No. and Department No. blank. If you have questions regarding what information to include on your Application, see a private attorney.

The Application must either be signed in front of a Notary Public or taken to the Court Clerk’s office and signed in front of a Clerk.

STEP 2: Filling out the Order Regarding Waiver of Filing Fees and Costs

• Fill in the heading just as it appears on your other documents.
• Fill in your name where indicated on the form and fill in your name, address and telephone number on the last page.
• Do not fill in the date. The judge will fill that information in when he/she signs the Order.

STEP 3: Copying and filing the documents

• Take the original and copies of the other documents you are filing and the original and copies of the Application and Order to the Court Clerk’s office to turn them in.
• The Court Clerk will then forward your documents to the judge for consideration.
• When the court decides on the fee waiver, a copy of the Order will be mailed to you.
• If your fee waiver is granted, you will receive a copy of the Order Waiving Fees and the file-stamped copies of your other documents.

If your fee waiver is denied and you still want to pursue your case, pay the filing fee at the Clerk’s office.