Your tenant has not paid rent in eight months. Someone sold you a plot that was never theirs. A relative owes you money and has stopped picking up calls. Everyone says the same thing: file a case. Then the first question comes. What will it cost just to start?
Here is what the law actually charges in Pakistan, with the sections so you can check.
What is a court fee?
A court fee is the stamp you buy before a civil court accepts your plaint. No stamp, no case. It is a government levy, not the lawyer's fee and not the process fee for summoning the other side. Those are separate.
The law behind it is the Court Fees Act 1870. It applies to the whole of Pakistan. But each province fixes its own numbers in the schedules, so the exact amount depends on where you file.
How much does a money suit cost?
Most civil suits are about money: unpaid loans, unpaid rent, a broken agreement, a cheque that bounced. For these, the fee is a percentage of what you claim. Section 7 of the Act says a money suit is valued at the amount claimed.
The rate under Schedule I is 7.5 percent of the claim, subject to a maximum of Rs 15,000. That is the rule in Punjab and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the official text sets the same rate with a Rs 500 minimum and the Rs 15,000 cap. Sindh caps the fee at Rs 15,000 as well under the Court Fees (Sindh Amendment) Ordinance 1977.
So a claim of Rs 100,000 carries a fee of Rs 7,500. A claim of Rs 200,000 hits the ceiling at Rs 15,000. A claim of two crore still pays Rs 15,000.
An appeal against a decree pays on the same basis. Schedule I covers a memorandum of appeal exactly like a plaint. The full process, from plaint to decree, is explained in our guide on how to file a civil case in Pakistan.
What if your case has no price tag?
Some suits cannot be valued in money. A simple declaration, for example: you want the court to say a document is fake, and you ask for nothing else. These carry a fixed fee from Schedule II, not a percentage.
In Punjab the fixed fees went up from 1 July 2024 under the Punjab Finance Act 2024. A declaratory suit without consequential relief now costs Rs 500. A wakalatnama, the paper that appoints your lawyer, costs Rs 100 in a civil court and Rs 200 in a High Court. An appeal that is not from a decree costs Rs 500.
How much is a family case?
Family cases are the cheapest to file. Section 19 of the Family Courts Act 1964 fixes the court fee at Rs 15. Flat. For any suit or appeal under that Act, whatever the claim: khula, maintenance, custody, dower, dowry. That is why divorce and khula cases cost so little to start.
Can the fee be waived?
If you genuinely cannot pay, Order XXXIII of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 lets you apply to sue as a pauper. The application itself is nominal. The court asks about your means. If it is satisfied, your suit runs without the fee. If you win and costs are awarded, the fee can be recovered from what you get.
There is also state funded help. Free legal aid in Pakistan covers people who cannot afford a lawyer, including in civil and family cases.
What happens if you pay too little?
The registry will not accept a short stamp silently. Section 28 of the Act lets the court order the document to be stamped as it directs. If you still do not make up the difference, the plaint can be rejected under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC. So check the figure before you file, not after.
The court decides valuation questions under Section 12 of the Act, and in some cases you can get money back. Section 13 refunds the fee when a plaint or appeal is rejected and then received again, or when a suit is remanded.
The short version
Money suit: 7.5 percent of your claim, capped at Rs 15,000. Declaration: a fixed fee, Rs 500 in Punjab since 2024. Family suit: Rs 15. Documents like bail bonds are exempt under Section 19, and criminal complaints mostly carry no fee. If you cannot pay, apply to sue as a pauper.
Court fees change with every Finance Act. The numbers above are the ones in the current official texts. Confirm the exact figure at the court's stamp counter before you affix it, because a short stamp costs you time. Writs and other High Court matters carry their own fee, set by each High Court, as covered in our guide on filing a writ petition.
Once your suit is filed, you can follow it online. Our guide to checking your court case status online in Pakistan lists the portals for every province.
And once your case is decided, the money still has to be collected. Our guide on decree execution in Pakistan explains what the court can do to enforce the decree.
For land, a house or a plot, the suit is valued on the property itself, so the fee follows the property's value. Our guide on property disputes in Pakistan explains which court hears them and how long they take.
If your claim is small, there may be a cheaper route. For money suits up to Rs 100,000 in the listed categories, a small claims court in Pakistan can decide the case with a trial meant to finish in 60 days.
Court fees are only part of the picture. You also need proof. Our guide on what counts as evidence in Pakistani courts explains what a judge accepts.
If the court says no, the fight is not over. Our guide on appeals in Pakistan covers who can appeal, the deadlines, and the fees.
Lawyer fees are separate from court fees. For what lawyers charge and what to ask before you hire, see our guide on lawyer fees in Pakistan. And if you are thinking of joining the profession, our guide on how to become a lawyer in Pakistan walks the path from LLB to bar council enrolment.
Some disputes are small enough that the first fight happens online, not in court. A wrong traffic challan is one example. Our guide on traffic challan disputes in Pakistan shows the free route first.
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