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How much does probate cost in Ohio?

Ohio probate runs on deposits against costs, not flat filing fees. In Franklin County the required deposit for full administration is $125 — with the court itself recommending $250 because the minimum does not cover the letters of authority — while a probate-only filing costs $73 and depositing a will for record only $63. Choosing the right track (full administration, release, or summary release) matters more to the total than any single fee line.

Ohio probate fees at a glance

Franklin County publishes its estate costs as a deposit table and is unusually candid about the gap between the legal minimum and the practical one: the $125 full-administration deposit is the Ohio Revised Code floor, and the court's own note says it does not cover the cost of issuing letters of authority, which is why the recommended deposit is $250. Cuyahoga County's schedule, revised effective January 13, 2025, shows the drip of later charges that justifies Franklin's recommendation — a partial or final account costs $50 for the first twenty pages and $1 per additional page, an amended inventory $15, an amended account $25, a status report $30. Because Ohio probate costs are deposits reconciled against what the estate actually files, two estates in the same county can legitimately end with different court-cost totals. The national picture is on the probate court costs hub; the state picture is on the Ohio court costs guide.

The three tracks: full, release and summary release

Ohio sorts estates by size. Full administration (R.C. ch. 2113) is the default: the court appoints a fiduciary (executor under a will, administrator without one), an inventory is due within three months of appointment, creditors have six months from appointment to present claims under §2117.06, and the fiduciary accounts before closing. Release from administration under §2113.03 is the shortcut where the estate totals $35,000 or less — or $100,000 or less where the surviving spouse is entitled to all of the estate and the statutory conditions are met — and the court may relieve the estate from full administration entirely. Summary release under §2113.031 is smaller still, covering estates of $5,000 or less where the applicant paid or is obligated for funeral and burial expenses. Picking the wrong track is the classic Ohio probate overspend: families routinely open full administration on estates that qualified for release, paying the larger deposit and months of administration for no benefit.

Fiduciary commissions and the costs nobody deposits

The fiduciary's own compensation is statutory, not negotiated. Under R.C. §2113.35 an executor or administrator is entitled to a commission on the estate's personal property (and on real property sold): 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $300,000, and 2% of amounts above $400,000, with a separate 1% commission on real property that is not sold. On a $200,000 estate administered in the ordinary way that scale produces $4,000 plus $3,000 — $7,000 — before any attorney fee, which Ohio courts allow in addition and which is guided by local court rules rather than a statewide schedule. Appraiser fees, bond premiums where bond is not waived by the will, and publication of notice are likewise real estate costs that sit outside the clerk's deposit table; this page names them without inventing figures, because each is set by the provider or the court's appointment in the individual case.

How the case runs

1. Decide the track — full administration, release from administration (§2113.03) or summary release (§2113.031) — from the estate's size and the surviving-spouse position
2. File the application to administer (or to probate the will) in the probate court of the county where the decedent lived, and post the deposit $125 required / $250 recommended in Franklin County
3. Receive letters of authority, notify heirs and creditors, and file the inventory within three months of appointment
4. Observe the six-month creditor claim period under §2117.06; pay debts, taxes and any statutory family allowances
5. File the final account $50 first 20 pages in Cuyahoga County, distribute to beneficiaries, and obtain the certificate of termination

What probate really costs beyond the court

For most Ohio estates the deposit is the smallest line in the final account. The statutory fiduciary commission (§2113.35), the estate attorney's fee, appraisal and bond costs, and — where real estate is sold — transfer and recording charges together decide the real total, and all of them scale with the estate in a way the $125-to-$250 deposit does not. The honest comparison across states is therefore track-for-track: Ohio's release-from-administration route is one of the cheaper small-estate mechanisms in the country precisely because it avoids full administration, while a contested full administration is expensive everywhere. Compare Illinois probate costs and Florida probate costs, and the other Ohio filings in Ohio name change costs.

Can't afford the costs?

Probate costs are ordinarily an administration expense paid from the estate itself, so the deposit is the practical barrier where an estate is illiquid rather than small. Ohio courts may waive or defer costs for an indigent applicant on affidavit in the court's discretion, and estates that qualify for summary release or release from administration minimise the exposure by design. Ask the probate court clerk which track your estate fits before posting a full-administration deposit. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Franklin County Probate Court — Estates (Large) Court Costs table (full administration required deposit $125, recommended $250; probate only $73; probate only with real estate $80; will for record only $63; real estate transfer only $65; ancillary administration deposit $125; wrongful death deposit $175) · Cuyahoga County Probate Court — filing costs effective January 13, 2025 (accounts partial/final $50 first 20 pages + $1/page; waiver of partial account $20; motion to extend $20; amended inventory $15; amended account $25; status report $30) · Ohio Rev. Code §§2113.03 (release from administration), 2113.031 (summary release), 2113.35 (fiduciary commissions 4%/3%/2% + 1%), 2117.06 (six-month claim period). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your county probate court.