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Kentucky court costs guide

Filing for divorce in Kentucky costs Unverified in court filing fees. This guide covers the verified filing fees for divorce, name change, general civil cases, and probate in Kentucky — every figure from the official schedule or statute named at the foot of the page.

Kentucky at a glance	Figure
Court	Circuit Court
Divorce filing fee	Unverified — Kentucky civil filing fees are set by the Court Rules (CR 3.02) plus county add-ons, and we could not read the dollar schedule on an official Kentucky Court of Justice page. Secondary sources conflict, so we do not print a figure: confirm the current fee with your circuit clerk.
Name change filing fee	Unverified — name changes sit under KRS §401.010 / CR 3.03(1)(e), but published secondary figures conflict ($40 vs $50) and neither was read on an official page. Confirm with the clerk.
Name-change publication	Not required — Not required — KRS ch. 401 (§§401.010–.040), read on the official legislature site, contains no newspaper-publication requirement. For a minor, a non-consenting parent must be served under the Civil Rules.
General civil filing fee	Unverified — see the divorce note above; Circuit Court civil fees follow CR 3.02 plus county add-ons.

Divorce filing fees

Unverified — Kentucky civil filing fees are set by the Court Rules (CR 3.02) plus county add-ons, and we could not read the dollar schedule on an official Kentucky Court of Justice page. Secondary sources conflict, so we do not print a figure: confirm the current fee with your circuit clerk.

See the national picture — including the states where the fee is set county by county — in our divorce filing cost guide.

Name change: fee and publication

Unverified — name changes sit under KRS §401.010 / CR 3.03(1)(e), but published secondary figures conflict ($40 vs $50) and neither was read on an official page. Confirm with the clerk.

Publication: Not required — KRS ch. 401 (§§401.010–.040), read on the official legislature site, contains no newspaper-publication requirement. For a minor, a non-consenting parent must be served under the Civil Rules.

Publication is the step readers most often get wrong, because the rule changed recently in several states. The full state-by-state picture is in our name change cost guide.

General civil filing fees

Unverified — see the divorce note above; Circuit Court civil fees follow CR 3.02 plus county add-ons.

Probate court costs

No probate filing figure for Kentucky appears on the official schedules we read — in many states probate fees are set at county level (a register of wills or probate court fee schedule) rather than statewide. Confirm the current fee with the probate court where the estate will be filed. Our probate cost guide explains the cost layers every estate pays.

How filing works in Kentucky

Prepare the petition or complaint for the Circuit Court — most Kentucky courts publish the forms on their self-help pages.
File with the clerk and pay the filing fee above. Keep the stamped copy; it is your proof of filing.
Arrange service of process on the other party where the case requires it (divorce and general civil cases do; a name change usually does not).
Complete any publication the rules require — for a Kentucky name change: not required.
Attend the hearing or, in uncontested matters, submit the proposed decree for the judge's signature.

Worked total: what a divorce filing costs

Because the filing fee itself is not a single statewide figure in Kentucky, a worked total would be a made-up number — we don't publish those. Budget the county filing fee from the note above, plus $50–$100 for service of process if the other party must be served, and confirm the filing fee with the clerk before you file.

Sources: KRS ch. 401 — Kentucky Legislature · Kentucky Court of Justice. Researched October 2026 — confirm current figures with the court clerk.

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