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How much does it cost to file an eviction?

There is rarely a separate "eviction fee" on a court's schedule: an eviction filing usually rides on the court's civil or small claims filing fee, plus a service charge for delivering the summons. Budget the filing fee for your state from the table on the index page, plus service.

The verified anchor we can print

Some schedules do price eviction directly. Maine's Judicial Branch fee schedule (Administrative Order JB-05-26) lists forcible entry and detainer — the Maine name for an eviction action — at $100, on the same schedule that prices general civil actions at $175 and small claims at $70. Where your state's schedule has no eviction line, the filing is charged as a civil case (or, in states that route possession cases through small claims, at the small claims fee — that side of the line is covered at smallclaimscost.com).

The full cost stack

• Filing fee — the civil/small claims fee for your court; see your state guide.
• Service — eviction summonses usually must be served by a sheriff, constable, or process server; statutory service is often the cheapest compliant route.
• Writ of possession / execution — if the tenant does not leave after judgment, the writ that authorises the sheriff to remove them is a second, smaller court-and-sheriff charge.
• Not court costs: pre-filing notice printing and postage, lock changes, and any attorney fees are real costs of an eviction but are not paid to the court.

Sources: Maine Judicial Branch — Fee Schedule, Admin. Order JB-05-26. Researched October 2026 — confirm current figures with the court clerk.