General information on court fees

Payment types accepted

You can pay by debit or credit card for the following types of payments:

• Civil applications
• Small claims applications
• Fines
• Poor box contributions

Debit cards only are accepted for the following payments:

• Family law payments
• Bail (maximum €500)
• Independent sureties (maximum €500)

Payments not accepted

• Part payments that combine card payments with cash or cheques
• Virtual cards or mobile apps (including Revolut, Apple Pay and Google Pay)

Court fees

Court fees are charges that must be paid for certain applications or documents filed with court offices.

The fees are set by the Minister for Justice, with the agreement of the Minister for Finance, and are published in documents known as court fees orders.

Fees are paid as stamp duty, which is stamped on the relevant court document.

You can pay stamp duty at any provincial court office.

In Dublin, stamping facilities are available at the Dublin Courts Stamping Office.

Excise duty

In some cases, an excise duty is also payable in addition to court fees. These duties are taxes set out in Finance Acts.

Certain excise duties are collected by the Courts Service on behalf of the Revenue Commissioners. When excise duty applies, the total amount due—including the court fee—is affixed to the document as a single amount.

For more information, visit the Revenue Commissioners.

How to pay stamp duty

Stamp duty can be paid by:

• Cash
• Bank draft
• Postal money order
• Cheque (made payable to the Courts Service)

Paying by post

You can also pay by post by following these steps:

• Enclose the relevant document and fee
• Allow enough time for return, especially where deadlines apply
• Include a contact telephone number with your application
• Use a bank draft, postal money order or cheque only (no cash)

Refunds

Refunds are only available in limited circumstances.

Refunds will be granted if:

• The document on which the fee was paid does not require a fee under the Fees Order
• The fee paid was higher than required
• A duplicate document was stamped for the same case
• There was an error on the document and a corrected version has been lodged
• The fee was already paid by another party in the same case

Refunds will not be granted if:

• You decide not to proceed with the application after paying the fee
• An area exemption was granted before a licensing application was made for the same area and period
• The document was stamped more than six years before the refund request
• You wish to transfer an unused stamp to another application

How to apply for a refund

To apply for a refund, complete the Application for refund of court fees form. The form is also available from any court office or from:

Finance Section
Resource Management Directorate
Courts Service, Phoenix House
15–24 Phoenix Street North, Smithfield, Dublin 7
Tel: (01) 888 6074 / (01) 888 6077

Send your completed form and the original stamped document to the above address. Refunds cannot be processed without the original stamped document.

To request a refund for an online payment of a Licensing court fee, use the Licensing refund form.

Policy on stamping of documents

Since 1 January 2010:

1. Documents must only be stamped on the front page. If a stamp appears on another page, it must be initialled and dated by a courts officer.
2. All documents presented for stamping must include the case title (names of the plaintiff and defendant). Blank documents cannot be stamped.
3. Stamped lodged documents will not be returned except in cases permitted under Court Rules.

Requests that do not comply with this policy will be refused.