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How much does it cost to file for custody in Maryland?

Filing a new custody case in Maryland costs $165. Custody is a circuit court family case, and the Maryland Judiciary's statewide Summary of Charges, Costs and Fees of the Clerks of the Circuit Court — effective October 1, 2025 — prices a new civil case, including a new family case, at $165, collected by the circuit court clerk under Schedule II and Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings §7-202(e). Once a case exists, changing it is far cheaper than starting it: a motion to modify custody, alimony, support or visitation costs $31 per filing on the same schedule. There is no separate custody-only filing price in Maryland — a standalone Complaint for Custody pays the same $165 as any other new circuit court civil case.

Maryland custody fees at a glance

Two features of the Maryland schedule deserve attention. First, the $165 is uniform statewide — the schedule is issued for all circuit court clerks, so a custody case in Montgomery County costs the same to file as one in Garrett County, unlike states where each county clerk publishes a different family fee. Second, the schedule distinguishes carefully between opening a case and working inside one: the $31 modification and contempt lines mean a parent returning to court to adjust an existing custody order pays about a fifth of the original filing price. The national comparison is on the child custody filing costs hub and the wider state picture is on the Maryland court costs guide.

Where the case is filed and what starts it

A Maryland custody case begins with a Complaint for Custody (form CC-DR-004 in the Judiciary's family forms series) filed with the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the child lives or where a parent lives. Maryland's custody jurisdiction follows the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, codified in the Family Law Article at §§9.5-101 et seq.: the first pleading must include the information required by §9.5-209 about the child's addresses for the past five years, any other custody proceedings, and anyone else claiming custody or visitation rights — and the court can pause the case if that information is missing. The $165 is due when the complaint is filed; the clerk does not hold the case for later payment. Custody raised inside a divorce is part of that divorce case rather than a second filing, and this site's Maryland divorce costs page covers the divorce route.

Service and the foreign-decree line

The other parent must be served. Sheriff service in Maryland is priced by statute rather than by the clerk's schedule: under §7-402(a)(2) a sheriff collects $60 for service of a paper that is not an execution or attachment, and if the sheriff cannot serve it, half the fee is refunded. Private process servers also serve in Maryland at market rates, which no official schedule publishes, so this page does not price them. The schedule's $110 line for filing a certified foreign custody decree is the Maryland price for a different starting point: a parent who already holds a custody order from another state and needs it on file here for enforcement, under Family Law §9.5-215's registration framework — cheaper than a new case because the merits were already decided elsewhere.

How the case runs

1. Complete the Complaint for Custody with the §9.5-209 information about the child's living history and any other proceedings
2. File the complaint with the circuit court clerk in the proper county and pay the filing fee $165
3. Have the other parent served — sheriff service is priced by statute $60
4. Attend the scheduling conference and any mediation the court orders
5. Return later, if needed, on a modification or contempt filing priced at $31 per filing

What custody really costs beyond the clerk

The $165 opens the case; a contested custody case costs more than the clerk's schedule. Mediation sessions, custody evaluations and any attorney involvement are priced by the provider or the market, not by the Judiciary's clerk schedule, and no official statewide figure exists for them — so this page names them without inventing prices. Attorney fees are normally the largest cost by far where custody is genuinely disputed. What the official schedule does let a filer predict exactly is the court-side spine of the case: $165 to open, $31 to modify or to pursue contempt, $110 to file a certified foreign decree, and $60 for sheriff service of a paper. Compare other states' structures on the custody hub, including Pennsylvania custody costs, California custody costs and Virginia custody costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Maryland circuit courts can waive prepaid costs for a filer who cannot afford them: the Judiciary's family forms include a Request for Waiver of Prepaid Costs, supported by a financial statement, and the court may waive the $165 in advance, defer it, or deny the request and require payment before the case proceeds. Ask the circuit court clerk for the waiver packet at the same visit as the complaint, and file both together — an unaccompanied complaint with no fee and no waiver request will not move. Sheriff service charges are handled separately from the clerk's filing fee, so confirm with the clerk whether a granted waiver covers service in your case. The general mechanics of fee waivers are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Maryland Judiciary, Summary of Charges, Costs and Fees of the Clerks of the Circuit Court, effective October 1, 2025, read directly — new civil case $165 (Schedule II A 1(A); CJ §7-202(e)); motion to modify alimony, custody, support or visitation $31 per filing and petition/motion for contempt $31 (Schedule II A 1(B)(2)); filing a certified foreign custody decree $110 (Schedule II A 1(B)(3)(c) and (C)) · Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings §7-402(a) — sheriff service of a paper $60; summary ejectment papers $5; 50 percent refund where service is not made · Md. Code, Family Law §§9.5-201, 9.5-209, 9.5-215 (custody jurisdiction, required pleading information, foreign decree enforcement). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with the clerk of the circuit court.