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How much does it cost to file probate in Florida?

Florida fixes probate filing fees by statute, so the clerk's charge is predictable statewide: formal administration is $400–$401, summary administration is $345–$346 for estates of $1,000 or more, and opening a smaller estate matter costs $231. The tiers, and the $75,000 line that decides which one you need, are below.

Florida probate fees at a glance

The statutory schedule is Fla. Stat. §28.2401(1): $395 for formal administration, $340 for summary administration of an estate valued at $1,000 or more, $230 for summary administration below $1,000 and for opening an estate generally, and $40 for a caveat, with subsection (3) adding a $4 service charge on summary and formal administration petitions. Clerks publish the collected totals: the Manatee County Clerk's probate fee schedule lists formal administration at $400, summary administration at $345 (estate of $1,000 or more) or $235 (under $1,000), estate opening and disposition without administration at $231, a caveat at $41 and reopening at $50; the large South Florida clerks list formal administration at $401 and summary at $346. The one- to six-dollar differences over the statute are the subsection (3) charge and rounding in each clerk's schedule — the structure is identical everywhere. The wider state picture is in the Florida court costs guide, and the national comparison is on the probate court costs hub.

Formal or summary: the $75,000 and two-year lines

Which fee you pay is decided by Fla. Stat. §735.201. Summary administration is available where the value of the estate subject to administration in Florida, less the value of property exempt from creditors' claims, does not exceed $75,000, or where the decedent has been dead for more than two years regardless of value. It is a petition-and-order procedure: no personal representative is appointed, no letters are issued, and the court's order itself distributes the assets — which is why it is both faster and $55 cheaper at the window. Everything else is formal administration under chapters 733–735: a personal representative is appointed, letters are issued, a notice to creditors is published, and claims must be filed within three months of first publication. The smallest estates have a third door — disposition of personal property without administration under §735.301, at the $231 tier, for estates consisting only of exempt property and non-exempt property whose value does not exceed funeral expenses and two months of last-illness medical expenses.

How the case runs

1. File the petition for administration (or for summary administration) with the clerk of the circuit court, probate division, in the county where the decedent lived, with the original will and a certified death certificate $400–$401 formal; $345–$346 summary
2. In a formal case, the court issues letters of administration; the personal representative publishes a notice to creditors and serves a notice of administration on beneficiaries and the surviving spouse.
3. Creditors have three months from first publication to file claims; the inventory of estate assets is due within 60 days of letters.
4. Pay valid claims and taxes, account for the administration, and petition for discharge; distributees receive their shares and the personal representative is discharged.
5. Protect an interest before any case exists by filing a caveat $41 — the clerk must then notify the caveator before letters issue.

The percentage fees Florida does publish

Unlike Texas, Florida sets presumptive compensation for the personal representative and the estate's attorney in the statute itself. Under Fla. Stat. §733.617, a personal representative is presumed entitled to a commission computed on the compensable value of the estate: $1,500 for estates of $40,000 or less, $2,250 up to $70,000, $3,000 up to $100,000, then 3% of the value from $100,000 to $1 million, with lower percentages above that. Section 733.6171 treats the same schedule as a presumptively reasonable attorney fee for ordinary services. On a $500,000 estate that is $15,000 to the representative and a like amount in attorney fees before extraordinary services — the reason Florida probate, like California probate, costs far more in professional compensation than in clerk's fees, even though its filing tiers are modest and fixed. Publication of the notice to creditors, certified copies of letters, and recording charges are additional, smaller, clerk-and-newspaper items. Estates holding only a Florida homestead and exempt assets often qualify for summary administration or disposition without administration and avoid the percentage layer almost entirely; see also Texas probate costs for the contrasting commission model.

Can't afford the fee?

Filing fees in a Florida probate are an administration expense, normally advanced by the petitioner and repaid from estate assets before distribution. Where an individual petitioner genuinely cannot advance the fee, the civil indigent status process in Fla. Stat. §57.082 — described in the fee waiver guide — is the route to ask the clerk about before filing.

Sources: Fla. Stat. §28.2401 (probate service charges: formal $395; summary $340 / $230; opening $230; caveat $40; plus $4 under subsection (3)) · Manatee County Clerk of Court — Probate and Guardianship Fees (formal $400; summary $345 / $235; opening and disposition $231; caveat $41; reopening $50) · Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach clerk schedules (formal $401; summary $346) · Fla. Stat. §§733.617 and 733.6171 (presumptive compensation), 735.201 (summary administration: $75,000 / two-year eligibility), 735.301 (disposition without administration). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your clerk of the circuit court.