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How much does probate cost in Arizona?

Opening a probate case in an Arizona superior court costs a $149 state base filing fee under A.R.S. §12-284, Class C — the same line prices an application for informal probate or informal appointment, a petition in a formal testacy or appointment proceeding, a petition for supervised administration, and petitions to appoint a guardian or conservator. A person opposing a probate petition pays the same $149, and postjudgment activities in probate cases are $74 under Class D. Counties add their own authorised surcharges on top of the state base, so the clerk's collected total is higher than $149 — this page prices the state schedule exactly and says plainly where the county layer begins.

Arizona probate fees at a glance

Section 12-284 is Arizona's master clerk's-fee statute: it classifies every superior court filing fee from A to G, and probate lives in Class C alongside annulment and dissolution petitions, which pay the identical $149. A companion statute, A.R.S. §12-313, confirms which probate filings pay the §12-284 fee — formal testacy and appointment petitions, informal probate and appointment applications, supervised administration, guardianship and conservatorship petitions — and adds two rules filers miss: a person who petitions for special letters and general letters in a single estate pays only one fee, and a combined guardianship-and-conservatorship petition pays one fee, not two. The statute also lets the Arizona Supreme Court raise the class fees by up to the change in the consumer price index, which is why the Class C figure has moved over the years and why the date on this page matters. Counties then add surcharges their own fee charts itemise — Maricopa County's clerk, for example, publishes multi-column charts building each filing's total from the §12-284 base plus court, automation, mediation and document charges — so budget on the clerk's county total, with $149 as the state floor every county shares. The national comparison is on the probate court costs hub and the state picture is on the Arizona court costs guide.

Informal, formal and supervised: one price

Arizona follows the Uniform Probate Code's three tracks. Informal probate is a clerk-level (registrar) process for uncontested estates with a valid will or clear intestacy; formal probate is a judicial proceeding that settles testacy or appointment with notice and a hearing; supervised administration keeps the court involved throughout. In many states those tracks carry different fees. Arizona prices the door identically — $149 in Class C for the informal application, the formal petition and the supervised-administration petition alike — so the choice of track can be made on the estate's needs (a disputed will, a minor's interest, a contested appointment) rather than on the filing fee. What does change the clerk's bill is opposition: a person opposing a testacy or appointment petition pays their own $149 Class C fee, and later postjudgment activity in the case is $74 under Class D.

Guardianship and conservatorship share the line

The same Class C line prices the protective side of the probate court: a petition to appoint a guardian is $149, and a petition to appoint a conservator or make another protective order is $149, with §12-313 confirming that a single petition asking for both pays one fee. That matters for families filing for an incapacitated parent, who often need both appointments at once. The public fiduciary is exempt from paying the fee at filing under §12-313, paying it instead from the estate's assets before discharge. Everyday clerk services inside any of these cases sit in Class E at $30 — certifications, subpoenas, research in locating a document, exemplification and authentication — and copies are $0.50 per page under Class F, the cheapest per-page price among the states in this series.

How probate runs

1. Confirm the county where the deceased resided and whether the estate belongs on the informal, formal or supervised track
2. Complete the application or petition for that track (Arizona courts publish probate form sets), with the death certificate and the original will where there is one
3. File with the clerk of the superior court and pay the state base fee $149 plus your county's surcharges
4. Receive letters, give the required notice to heirs, devisees and creditors, and inventory the estate
5. Administer and close the estate, paying the $74 Class D fee only where postjudgment probate activity is filed, and the $149 opposing-petition fee only if a contest appears

What probate really costs beyond the clerk

Beyond the clerk, an Arizona estate meets publication of the notice to creditors, priced by the newspaper; a bond for the personal representative where required, priced by the surety; and professional fees — Arizona allows the personal representative and attorneys reasonable compensation rather than a statutory percentage, so this page does not estimate them. The honest summary of the court side is two-layered: the state guarantees the $149 Class C base and the $74 and $30 companion fees everywhere, and your county's chart states the collected total, which in large counties is materially higher than the base. Read both layers before comparing Arizona with a neighbour: Utah and Colorado publish their own structures on this site, and the eviction side of Arizona practice is on the Arizona eviction costs page.

Can't afford the fee?

Arizona superior courts can defer or waive clerk's fees for a filer who shows inability to pay, on application with a financial statement; a deferral lets the case open and makes the fee payable later or from the estate, which is the usual pattern in probate, where the fee is an administration cost reimbursed from estate funds once the representative controls them. Ask the clerk for the deferral/waiver application when you collect the probate forms, and file it with the application or petition so the case is not held at the counter. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: A.R.S. §12-284, official text at azleg.gov, read directly at build time — Class C $149 (informal probate, formal testacy, supervised administration, guardianship, conservatorship, opposing petitions); Class D $74 (postjudgment probate activities); Class E $30 minimum clerk fees; Class F copies $0.50/page · A.R.S. §12-313 (which probate filings pay the §12-284 fee; one fee for combined petitions). County surcharges are additional — see your clerk of superior court's fee chart. Last verified: October 2026.