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

Filing a standalone custody or support case in Oklahoma costs the same district court price as a divorce: a $183 flat fee under 28 O.S. §152(A)(1), which covers custody or support in the same line as divorce, plus mandatory assessments of $6, $25, $10, $2 and $10 — $236 collected in total at filing. Changing an existing decree is much cheaper: an ancillary proceeding to modify or vacate a divorce decree's custody or support terms is a $43 flat fee under §152(A)(2). This page separates those two doors, because most Oklahoma custody filers are walking through the second one.

Oklahoma custody fees at a glance

The statute's structure explains the two prices. A new custody case is a new civil case, so it pays the full A(1) flat fee and every assessment that attaches to it: $6 for the Law Library Fund under subsection B (which expressly lists paragraph 1 cases), $25 for the Oklahoma Court Information System under C, $10 for the court-appointed special advocates programme (OCASA) under D, $2 split between the Council on Judicial Complaints and Supreme Court funds under E, and $10 for the Court Clerk's Records Management and Preservation Fund under G, which runs until November 1, 2027. A modification, by contrast, reopens an existing file: the A(2) flat fee is $43, and filers should expect the generally-worded assessments in subsections C, D, E and G to be collected on it as well, while the $6 law library assessment in B does not list paragraph 2. Ask the clerk for the modification total before you file; the flat-fee line itself is the $43 shown here. The national comparison is on the child custody filing costs hub and the state picture is on the Oklahoma court costs guide.

Which door are you walking through?

Parents reach the custody fee by three different routes, and the route sets the price. First, custody decided inside a divorce costs nothing extra at the clerk: the divorce's $183 flat fee (see Oklahoma divorce costs) already covers the case in which custody is decided. Second, never-married parents, or married parents filing custody without a divorce, open a new custody or support action at the full $236 collected total. Third, a parent whose custody terms already sit inside a decree and who needs them changed files the $43 ancillary modification proceeding. Paternity cases that involve custody or support are grouped with the $183 line in the statewide fee schedule the Oklahoma Supreme Court issues for district courts, while a paternity case with no custody or support component falls under the $85 all-others line in A(14) — a distinction worth confirming with the clerk, because it changes the filing total by more than $100.

What the court decides and what it charges for

Oklahoma courts decide custody on the child's best interests, and can order joint custody where both parents agree and the court finds it serves the child. None of that changes the clerk's fee: there is no per-child charge, no extra fee for a custody trial as opposed to an agreed order, and no separate filing fee for the parenting plan or the child-support computation filed inside the case. The costs that do multiply are outside the clerk's window — a custody evaluation ordered by the court is priced by the evaluator, mediation is priced by the mediator, and a guardian ad litem or attorney for the child is paid under the court's order in the case, none of which §152 prices. This page therefore prices only what the statute prices, and names the rest as court-ordered and provider-set rather than guessing at figures.

How a custody filing runs

1. Work out which route applies: custody inside a divorce, a new custody or support action, or a modification of an existing decree
2. Complete the petition (or the modification application), summons and the child-support computation for your route
3. File with the district court clerk and pay $236 for a new action, or the $43 flat fee plus applicable assessments for a modification
4. Serve the other parent, or file their signed waiver where they agree to accept service
5. Attend any mediation, evaluation or hearing the court orders, and obtain the custody order or modified decree

What custody really costs beyond the clerk

For most Oklahoma parents the filing fee is the smallest line in the case. Service on the other parent is charged by the sheriff or process server under separate provisions. A contested custody case can add an evaluator, a mediator and two attorneys, all market- or court-set, and those figures dwarf the $236 or $43 at the clerk. The predictable part is the part this page covers: Oklahoma publishes its family-case fees in one statute, charges one flat fee for a new custody action, and deliberately prices a return trip to modify a decree at $43 rather than the full new-case fee — a structure that rewards parents whose circumstances change for filing promptly instead of letting an outdated order stand. Compare other states on the custody hub, including Texas custody costs, North Dakota custody costs and Pennsylvania custody costs.

Can't afford the fee?

The waiver lives in the same statute: under 28 O.S. §152(H), a parent who cannot pay because of poverty and cannot employ counsel may file an affidavit in forma pauperis; on a satisfactory showing no fees or costs are required, the clerk must let the case proceed while eligibility is decided, and the other parent may contest the affidavit at a prompt hearing. A false affidavit is perjury under the same subsection, so the statement of income, assets and expenses must be exact. File the affidavit with the petition or modification application so the fee question is decided at the start of the case. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Oklahoma Statutes tit. 28, §152 (2025), read directly at build time — flat fee in subsection A plus the mandatory assessments in subsections B ($6 Law Library, on listed paragraphs), C ($25 Oklahoma Court Information System), D ($10 OCASA), E ($2) and G ($10 Court Clerk's Records Management and Preservation Fund, until Nov. 1, 2027); subsection F allows a county to add up to $10 for courthouse security, not counted in the totals on this page · Uniform Oklahoma Fee Schedule for District Courts (Oklahoma Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts) grouping paternity with custody/support at the A(1) line. Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with the district court clerk.