How to Calculate Court Fee in UP, Delhi & Maharashtra (2026 Guide)

Every civil case filed in an Indian court requires a court fee — a payment made to the government when you institute a suit, appeal, or application. Getting it right matters: pay too little and your plaint can be rejected under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC; pay too much and you have needlessly locked up your client's money.

This guide explains, in plain language, how court fees are calculated in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra — the three states currently covered by our free court fee calculator.

Two kinds of court fee

Court fees fall into two broad types:

1. Ad valorem fees — calculated as a percentage of the value of the claim. The more you sue for, the higher the fee. Most money suits, recovery suits, and property suits fall here.

2. Fixed fees — a flat amount that does not change with the claim value. Many petitions and applications (for example, certain matrimonial petitions) carry a fixed fee.

Which one applies depends on the nature of your suit and the State's Court Fees Act, as amended locally.

How ad valorem fees work

For an ad valorem suit, the fee is a fraction of the value of the subject matter — usually the amount you are claiming. The percentage differs by State, because each State has amended the Court Fees Act, 1870 for its own courts:

• The rate is applied to your claim value to arrive at the fee.
• Most States set a minimum and a maximum cap, so very small claims still attract a floor fee, and very large claims do not attract an unlimited fee.

Because the exact percentage and caps vary — and districts sometimes apply their own rates — the safest approach is to compute the base figure and then confirm against your local schedule.

A faster way: use the calculator

Rather than doing the arithmetic by hand, you can use our free Court Fee Calculator. It:

• Covers Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra
• Requires no login and works on your phone
• Lets you enter your own district's rate if it differs from the default

You select your State and case type, enter the claim value, and it computes the fee — applying the minimum and maximum caps automatically.

An honest note on scope

Our calculator currently covers three States. We have deliberately not added rates for States whose Court Fees Act schedules we have not verified, because a wrong court fee is worse than no figure at all. If you practise in another State and can share your district's Court Fees Act rates, we will add it.

Court fee law also changes with local amendments and notifications. Treat any calculated figure as a starting point and confirm it against the current schedule of your court before filing.

Summary

• Court fees are either ad valorem (a percentage of claim value) or fixed (a flat amount).
• Ad valorem rates, minimums, and maximums vary by State and sometimes by district.
• The free court fee calculator computes the fee for UP, Delhi, and Maharashtra in seconds, and lets you override with your own district rate.
• Always confirm against your local schedule before filing.