What is a court fee?
A court fee is a sum of money that a plaintiff must pay when filing a lawsuit or other proceeding with the court (for example, Request for approval of a class action lawsuit). The amount of the court fee reflects the balance between the individual's right to access the courts and the exploitation of public resources for which the initiator of the procedure must pay. In addition, the court fee is intended to prevent the filing of Idle claims.
The amount of the fee varies from procedure to procedure and from court to court. The higher the court, the higher the fee will usually be. As long as the Claim A number of remedies/issues that require payment of a fee are listed, only one fee will be paid according to the highest amount.
Court fee within the framework Financial claim הוא 2.5% מסכום התביעה (בתביעה על סך 100,000 ש"ח סכום האגרה המלא יעמוד על סך 2500 ש"ח).
On the other hand, those who ask Declaratory relief Will be required to pay a court fee in a fixed, uniform amount. The amount varies between the different courts. In the Magistrate's Court סכום האגרה לסעד הצהרתי הוא 755 ש"ח. סכום אגרת בית משפט לסעד הצהרתי בבית המשפט המחוזי הוא 1330 ש"ח. הסכומים משתנים ומתעדכנים כלפי מעלה מדי שנה.
The obligation to pay a court fee and the fee amounts are fixed within the framework תקנות בתי המשפט (אגרות), תשס"ז-2007These regulations provide, inter alia, as follows:
2. (a) The person bringing a proceeding to court shall pay, upon first bringing it, the fee set forth in the appendix, unless otherwise provided in any law.
(b) In the case of a procedure involving several remedies, a fee shall be paid according to only one of the details specified in the appendix regarding that procedure, according to the highest amount.
(c) A court shall not entertain any proceeding unless the applicable fee has been paid or the proceeding results in an exemption from the payment of the fee.
(d) A procedure in which the fee, as stated in subregulation (a), has not been paid, in whole or in part, will not be accepted for registration, unless the procedure results in an exemption from paying a fee or an application for exemption from a fee has been submitted.
(ה) אין בהוראות תקנה זו כדי לגרוע מהוראות תקנה 5 לתקנות סדרי הדין (סעד מיידי בימי מנוחה ומחוץ לשעות העבודה הרגילות בבתי המשפט), התשל"א-1971.
(f) If the court requires a proceeding, and it becomes apparent that the fee has not been paid, in whole or in part, a demand for payment will be issued to the person liable to pay the fee; if the fee is not paid within twenty days from the date of the demand or a longer period of time specified therein, and no decision is issued terminating the proceeding, the court may dismiss the proceeding, and any amount of fee paid in the proceeding will not be refunded.
(g) A demand for payment of a fee as stated in subregulation (f) is treated as any decision to pay money for the benefit of the State Treasury, and may be carried out through enforcement proceedings.
(h) A fee will be paid for the actions detailed in the appendix and the provisions of the regulations will apply, mutatis mutandis.
Payment of court fees in various proceedings and instances
| Court fee rates in New Shekels (NIS) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Types of fees | Fee rates in new shekels according to the supplement to the regulations (Regulation 2) | |
| Fee rates in the Magistrates' Courts | ||
| 1. | Claim for a fixed amount of money | 2.5% of the amount claimed as its value at the time the claim was filed and no less than 872 NIS |
| 2. | Claim under Regulation 5 | 7,866 ₪ |
| 2.A. | Claim under Regulation 5A | 575 ₪ |
| 3. | Claim under Regulation 3, except paragraph (5) | 755 ₪ |
| 3a. | A request as specified in Regulation 3(5), except for an individual request to submit a debt arrangement for approval by the interested parties therein. | 1,616 ₪ |
| 3b. | An individual's request to submit a debt arrangement for approval by those interested in it, as specified in Regulation 3(5) | 1,039 ₪ |
| 4. | Another claim | 1,964 ₪ |
| 4a. | Class action lawsuit | 9,308 ₪ |
| 4b. | The first part of the fee in a class action under Regulation 7A(a)(1) | 3,490 ₪ |
| 5. | Claim in a rental court under Regulation 3 | 278 ₪ |
| 5.A. | בקשת רשות ערעור (להלן – בר"ע) וערעור על החלטת רשם ההוצאה לפועל או הממונה כהגדרתו בחוק חדלות פירעון | 478 ₪ |
| 6. | Appeal or appeal except in an appeal as stated in Section 5.A. | 755 ₪ |
| 7. | Cancelled | |
| Fee rates in the district courts | ||
| 8. | Claim for a fixed amount of money | 2.5% of the amount claimed as its value at the time the claim was filed and 1% of the amount claimed for any amount above 27,889,581 NIS |
| 9. | Claim under Regulation 5 | 49,162 ₪ |
| 9.A. | Claim under Regulation 5.A. | 1,036 ₪ |
| 10. | Claim under Regulation 3, except paragraph (5) | 1,330 ₪ |
| 10.A. | Application as specified in Regulation 3(5) | 1,616 ₪ |
| 11. | Another claim | 3,671 ₪ |
| 11a. | Class action lawsuit | 18,615 ₪ |
| 11b. | The first part of the fee in a class action under Regulation 7A(a)(1) | 6,399 ₪ |
| 12. | בר"ע על החלטת ביניים של בית משפט שלום | 574 ₪ |
| 12a. | בר"ע על החלטת ביניים של בית משפט לענייני משפחה שעניינה תביעה כאמור בפרט 1א, 2א, 5 או 6ב שבתוספת הראשונה לתקנות בית המשפט לענייני משפחה (אגרות), התשנ"ו-1995 | 582 ₪ |
| 13. | בר"ע על פסק דין של בית משפט לתביעות קטנות | 574 ₪ |
| 14. | (Deleted) | |
| 15. | (Deleted) | |
| 16. | Appeal against a Magistrate's Court ruling | 1,614 ₪ |
| 16a. | Appeal against the decision of the President of the Magistrate's Court filed pursuant to Section 49 (b) (3) of the Law | 60 NIS for each claim for which an appeal is filed due to its transfer to another court |
| 16b. | ערעור על פסק דין של בית המשפט לענייני משפחה שעניינו תביעה כאמור בפרט 1א, 2א, 5 או 6ב שבתוספת הראשונה לתקנות בית המשפט לענייני משפחה (אגרות), התשנ"ו-1955 | 756 ₪ |
| 17. | Another appeal or appeal | 1,041 ₪ |
| 18. | A petition by a prisoner or detainee under the Prisons Ordinance or the Parole Law | 88 ₪ |
| 19. | Cancelled | |
| Fee rates in administrative courts | ||
| 20. | An administrative petition, except for the petition as stated in section 20.a. | 2,273 ₪ |
| 20.A. | An administrative petition, as stated in item 37 of the First Schedule to the Administrative Courts Law, concerning the dismissal or release of a police officer or prison guard from the force or from the service, as the case may be, except for a petition concerning the dismissal or release of a police officer or prison guard from the force due to any of the following: (א) Behavior that exceeds the standards required of a police officer or prison guard of his rank or status. (ב) Conviction in court of committing a criminal offense. | The amount of the fee according to item 6 |
| 21. | Administrative appeal | 1,614 ₪ |
| 22. | Administrative lawsuit | 2.5% of the amount claimed as its value at the time the claim was filed and 1% of the amount claimed for any amount above 27,889,581 NIS |
| 22a. | Class action lawsuit against the authority | 2,087 ₪ |
| 23. | Prisoner's petition | 88 ₪ |
| Fee rates in the Supreme Court | ||
| 24. | Petition to the High Court of Justice | 2,092 ₪ |
| 25. | בר"ע על החלטת ביניים של בית משפט מחוזי או בר"ע על החלטה בעתירת אסיר או עציר | 574 ₪ |
| 26. | בר"ע על פסק דין של בית משפט מחוזי בערעור או עתירה לדיון נוסף | 1,158 ₪ |
| 27. | Appeal against a district court ruling | 3,454 ₪ |
| 28. | Appeal of a District Court judgment on appeal (after obtaining leave) or further hearing (after obtaining The petition for further hearing) | יש להשלים את סכום הבר"ע לסכום בעבור ערעור |
| 29. | Appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court Registrar | 1,158 ₪ |
| 29.A. | Appeal against the decision of the Courts Administrator filed pursuant to Section 78A(c)(3) of the Law | 84 NIS for each claim for which an appeal is filed due to its transfer to another court |
| 30. | Another appeal or appeal | 2,092 ₪ |
| 31. | Appeal against a decision regarding the disqualification of a judge | 1,158 ₪ |
| Toll Rates – General | ||
| 32. | Making an affidavit | 55 ₪ |
| 33. | Amount to be deducted from refund under Regulation 15 | 574 ₪ |
| 34. | Amount to be deducted in a magistrate's court | 819 ₪ |
| 35. | Amount to be deducted in district court | 1,394 ₪ |
Payment of court fees – the difference between monetary relief and declaratory relief
Supreme Court דן בסוגיית תשלום אגרת בית משפט ובהבדל בין תשלום אגרת בית משפט בסעד כספי לבין סעד הצהרתי (רע"א 2063/24 אפרים אוריון נ' יאיר גולדפינגר). הפסיקה הייתה נחוצה לנוכח העובדה שבמקרים רבים בעלי דין מנסים להציג את הסעד הנדרש כסעד הצהרתי במטרה לשלם אגרת בית משפט בסכום נמוך הרבה יותר לעומת סעד כספי אותו הם יכולים לדרוש בפועל.
Another issue that needs to be examined is what is returned to the party following the claim for declaratory relief. For example, if declaratory relief is requested regarding the cancellation of a transaction and as part of the cancellation of the transaction, money is returned to the party, then a fee must be paid as financial relief.
On the other hand, if, as part of the cancellation of the transaction, property is returned to the party, then a fee must be paid as declaratory relief.
Among other things, the Supreme Court ruled as follows:
The starting point is that every legal proceeding is subject to the payment of a court fee, unless it is a proceeding in which an exemption from paying a fee is initiated or a fee has been waived following an appropriate request (Regulations 2(a), 2(c) and 2(d) of the Fees Regulations). The main purposes of the court fee are to oblige the initiator of the legal proceeding to participate in the state's costs of administering it; to deter the filing of frivolous claims; and to ensure the efficient management of the legal proceedings among all litigants.
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כידוע, תביעות שונות גוררות אחריהן חיובי אגרה שונים. כך, גובה אגרה בגין תביעה ל"סכום כסף קצוב" הוא "2.5% מהסכום הנתבע כערכו בעת הגשת התובענה", וזאת עד לסכום של 27,889,581 ש"ח (ומעל לסכום זה – בשיעור של 1%. ראו תקנה 6 ופרטים 1 ו-8 לתוספת לתקנות האגרות); בעוד אגרה בגין תביעה ל"צו הצהרתי" עומדת על סכום קבוע, אשר בעת הגשת כתב התביעה דידן עמד על סך של 1,153 ש"ח בלבד, וזאת "למעט תובענה לסעד כספי כתוצאה מצו כאמור" (תקנה 3(1) ופרט 10 לתוספת לתקנות האגרות). לפיכך, יש חשיבות רבה, ולעיתים אף קריטית, לשאלת סיווג הסעד המתבקש בתובענה.
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פעמים רבות נדונה בבית משפט זה שאלת סיווגו של סעד כהצהרתי או ככספי לעניין תשלום אגרה. הכלל המרכזי שנקבע לעניין זה הוא כי ההכרעה בשאלה זו "תלויה, בסופו של דבר, באופן בו נוסחו הסעדים בכתב התביעה"
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However, the ruling also addressed the question of whether the choice to seek declaratory relief, as opposed to concrete substantive relief, is possible according to the accepted tests established in the case law regarding the discretion in granting declaratory relief. According to these tests, the claimant for declaratory relief must show that he has a legitimate interest in claiming the relief sought, and that he has no other effective option to obtain concrete operative relief.
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The ruling also determined that, to the extent that there is justification for requesting declaratory relief (as opposed to operative relief), it is not sufficient for the fact that the value of the declaratory relief can be quantified, i.e. that it has a monetary value, in order to classify it as a monetary remedy for the purpose of charging a fee.
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The first remedy for which the appellant petitions is the cancellation of the sales agreement. According to Section 21 of the Contracts Law, cancellation of a contract obliges the parties to it to mutually return what was received under it. Therefore, in order to correctly classify a remedy for cancellation of a contract in terms of court fees, it is necessary to examine what will be returned to the initiator of the proceedings as a result. If, as a result of a declaration of cancellation of the contract, the initiator of the proceedings will be reimbursed real money, then this is a declaratory order that results in a claim for financial relief, for which, as stated, a fee must be paid as if it were a claim for a fixed amount of money.
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On the other hand, when the object of restitution is an asset – even if its value can be quantified – the claim should not, in the usual case, be classified as a claim for a fixed sum of money, but rather as a claim for declaratory relief. This is in accordance with the ruling that a claim for declaratory relief regarding the transfer of ownership of real estate will not be classified as a claim for a fixed sum of money.
In conclusion
A court fee is paid when a legal proceeding is filed with the court. The amount of the fee varies depending on the type of proceeding and the court to which the proceeding is filed.
The court fee for monetary claims is 2.5% of the claim amount. Half is paid when the claim is filed and half is paid before the The evidence discussion.
The court fee for obtaining declaratory relief is a fixed amount but varies depending on the court to which the proceeding is filed. The court fee for declaratory relief is usually much lower than the fee for obtaining monetary relief.
