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How much does it cost to file probate in California?

The court charges $435 to file the petition that opens a California probate — the same in all 58 counties under the Statewide Civil Fee Schedule. The filing fee is the small part: California pays both the executor and the attorney a statutory percentage of the gross estate, which is $23,000 each on a $1 million estate.

California probate court fees at a glance

Every figure in the table is from the Judicial Council's Statewide Civil Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2025: line 121 sets the first-filed petition for letters at $435 under Government Code §§70650(a), 70602.5 and 70602.6, and the same $435 recurs for will contests, competing petitions and the later petitions that punctuate a California case. That last point matters for budgeting: a California probate is not one $435 payment but usually at least two — the opening petition and the final petition for distribution under §70658 — with any mid-case petition (to sell real property, settle a disputed account, or adjudicate a claim to property) adding another $435 each. Publication of the notice of petition in a newspaper, the probate referee's appraisal, and any bond premium are paid outside the clerk's schedule. Compare the flat-fee structures in Texas probate costs and Florida probate costs, or the national hub at probate court costs.

The statutory fee: why estate value, not the filing, drives the cost

California is one of the few states that fixes the pay of the personal representative and the probate attorney by statute, on the gross value of the estate accounted for — before debts. Probate Code §10800 (representative) and §10810 (attorney) set identical ordinary-compensation scales: 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9 million, and 0.5% of the next $15 million, with a reasonable fee set by the court above $25 million. Worked examples make the structure concrete: on a $500,000 estate the statutory fee is $13,000 for the attorney and another $13,000 for the representative; on a $1 million estate it is $23,000 each, or $46,000 combined, before court fees, the referee and publication. Extraordinary services — selling real estate, running a business, litigating claims — are compensated separately on court approval under §§10801 and 10811. The probate referee who appraises non-cash assets takes a statutory commission of one-tenth of one percent of the appraised value under §8963, subject to statutory minimum and maximum limits. A representative who is also a beneficiary commonly waives the fee; the attorney's fee is waived far less often.

How the case runs

1. File the Petition for Probate (Form DE-111) in the superior court of the county where the decedent lived, with the original will $435
2. Publish the notice of petition in a newspaper of general circulation under Prob. Code §8120 and mail notice to heirs and beneficiaries; the hearing is typically set 15–30 days out or later.
3. Attend the hearing; if the petition is granted, pay for and post any required bond, and the clerk issues Letters (Form DE-150).
4. Open the creditor-claim period (four months from letters), have the probate referee appraise non-cash assets, and file the inventory and appraisal within four months.
5. File the final account and petition for distribution once the claim period and administration are complete $435 — most California probates take 12 to 18 months end to end.

When California probate is not required at all

Two thresholds keep smaller estates out of the $435-and-percentages system entirely. Under Probate Code §13100, successors can collect a decedent's personal property by small-estate affidavit — no filing, no court — where the gross value of California real and personal property does not exceed $208,850, the amount adjusted effective April 1, 2025, and at least 40 days have passed since death. Real property of modest value has its own summary route: a petition to determine succession to property under §13150 for real property valued up to $750,000 under the 2025 adjustments, which still carries a filing fee but avoids full administration and statutory percentage fees on the whole estate. Assets held in a living trust, in joint tenancy, or with beneficiary designations pass outside probate regardless of value. Filers comparing states should note the asymmetry: California's court fees are unremarkable — $435 is in line with New York's value-based Surrogate's Court fees — it is the statutory compensation scale that makes California probate expensive, and it never appears on the clerk's receipt. The statewide context is in the California court costs guide.

Can't afford the fee?

California's fee waiver (Government Code §68631; Judicial Council forms FW-001 and FW-003) is available to the petitioner personally, and courts grant it where the filer receives means-tested benefits or household income falls within the published guidelines. In practice most probate filing fees are advanced by the petitioner and reimbursed from the estate as an administration expense before any distribution. See the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Judicial Council of California — Statewide Civil Fee Schedule, eff. January 1, 2025 (probate lines 121–127: first petition $435, Gov. Code §70650; post-letters petitions $435, §70658; special letters without general powers $200, §70657.5(a)(3)) · Cal. Prob. Code §§8120 (publication), 8963 (referee commission), 10800 and 10810 (statutory compensation scale), 13100 ($208,850 small-estate affidavit threshold, eff. April 1, 2025), 13150 (succession to real property). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with the superior court clerk.