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Educational information about court costs and procedure only — not legal advice and not a substitute for an attorney or your court clerk. Fees change; always confirm current figures with the clerk of the court where you file.

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Ohio court costs guide

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

Ohio at a glanceFigure
CourtCourt of Common Pleas · Probate Court (name change)
Divorce filing feeCounty-set — Ohio has no statewide schedule. Example (Athens County): $375 with children; $325 without.
Name change filing feeCounty-set (county Probate Court). We read no verified county example figure, so we print none — confirm with your probate court.
Name-change publicationRequired — Required — ORC ch. 2717 (§2717.08): publish once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, at least 30 days before the hearing. Waivable if safety would be jeopardised (§2717.11).
General civil filing feeCounty-set. Example (Athens County): $225 for a civil complaint.
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Divorce filing fees

County-set — Ohio has no statewide schedule. Example (Athens County): $375 with children; $325 without.

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

County-set (county Probate Court). We read no verified county example figure, so we print none — confirm with your probate court.

Publication: Required — ORC ch. 2717 (§2717.08): publish once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, at least 30 days before the hearing. Waivable if safety would be jeopardised (§2717.11).

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

County-set. Example (Athens County): $225 for a civil complaint.

Probate court costs

No probate filing figure for Ohio 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 Ohio

  1. Prepare the petition or complaint for the Court of Common Pleas — most Ohio courts publish the forms on their self-help pages.
  2. File with the clerk and pay the filing fee above. Keep the stamped copy; it is your proof of filing.
  3. 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).
  4. Complete any publication the rules require — for a Ohio name change: required.
  5. 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 Ohio, 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: Athens County Clerk of Courts — Fees · ORC ch. 2717 — Ohio Laws & Rules. Researched October 2026 — confirm current figures with the court clerk.

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