Pennsylvania rewrites its fee-waiver procedure on November 1, with a 200% poverty line and a $10,000 asset test

Pennsylvania moves its fee waiver procedure out of Rule 240

On April 21, 2026, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania adopted a new statewide procedure for waiving fees and costs in civil actions. The per curiam order followed a recommendation from the Civil Procedural Rules Committee and takes effect November 1, 2026.

The order amends Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure 240, 1308 and 1313. It also adds Pennsylvania Rule of Judicial Administration 1990. The proposal had been published for public comment at 50 Pa.B. 4023 on August 8, 2020, and 52 Pa.B. 2561 on April 30, 2022.

The old Rule 240 was titled “In Forma Pauperis.” It contained the procedure for seeking relief inside the civil rules, including a petition with a sworn affidavit, a praecipe for counsel providing free legal services, a court order due within 20 days, and a non pros procedure after denial.

The amended Rule 240 is titled “Application to Waive Fees and Costs.” It now directs parties to Rule 1990 for the procedure in all civil actions.

Before publication, the desk read the one page order and the 18 page amended rule text side by side. The order alone gives only the date and the three rule numbers. The substance appears in the attachment. Bracketed deletions show the old Rule 240 being removed and replaced by a few short subdivisions. The desk then read Rule 1990 in the Pennsylvania Code to confirm the 200 percent and $10,000 figures, because amended Rule 240 only points to that rule.

Rule 1990 creates three routes to a waiver

Rule 1990 applies to the initial filing fee and other fees and costs imposed or authorized by an Act of Assembly or general rule and payable to a court, filing office, court officer or employee. It also covers a bond or other security for costs required as a condition of starting an action.

A party who cannot pay must receive information from the payee about seeking a waiver. The rule provides three routes.

First, a party is deemed to be without financial resources if the party receives needs based public assistance. The rule lists SNAP, Medicaid, SSI and TANF, while stating that the list is not limited to those programs.

A party can also qualify under an income and asset test. Gross income, before taxes and deductions, must be 200 percent or less of the federal poverty guidelines for the household size. Assets must be less than $10,000, excluding the party’s home and one vehicle.

Second, a party may apply based on substantial financial hardship. The party must show that paying the fees and costs would prevent the party from fully meeting basic needs or obligations. The rule identifies nutrition, housing, utilities, health, transportation and care of dependents.

The court may consider gross income, assets, expenses, the number of minor children or disabled adult children supported by the party, child support, employment history, other available resources and other factors.

Third, counsel from a legal aid organization or counsel providing free legal services may file a praecipe stating that counsel reasonably believes the party cannot pay. The Comment says this route is intended to include public defenders and court appointed counsel. No court order is required, and the party is deemed to have received the waiver.

The filing office dockets the action without the fee

The application or praecipe must be filed at the same time as or after the action starts. It cannot be filed before the action. The filing office dockets the action and the application without collecting the filing fee.

The court, or an individual it designates, reviews the application for immediate eligibility. The rule says the court should enter its order within 20 days of filing. If the party is deemed eligible, the court grants the application without a hearing.

The court may require more information. It may deny an application without argument or a hearing. It may also hold an ex parte record hearing if the application has arguable merit or the court wants more information. The determination is ex parte, so the party does not have to serve the application on other parties.

If the court denies the application, the party must pay the filing fee within 30 days after notification of the denial. The party may not proceed while the fee remains unpaid, except to appeal the denial or obtain the court’s permission. Fees already paid are not refunded if the party started the action and later applies for a waiver.

A denial, modification or vacatur order must state the reason and tell the party that the fees must be paid within 30 days or the action will be terminated without further notice. If 30 days pass after service of the denial order, the fee remains unpaid and no appeal was filed, the filing office enters an order terminating the action. The court may reinstate the action for good cause.

Writ of summons cases keep a 90 day complaint deadline

Amended Rule 240 contains a separate provision for an action started by writ of summons. The court may not act on the fee waiver application until the party files a complaint.

If no complaint is filed within 90 days after the application’s filing date, the court may deny the application. The old rule said the court could dismiss the action in that situation. The amended rule also says that nothing in Rule 1990 prevents a court from dismissing an underlying action as frivolous on its own motion when the action and fee waiver application are filed together.

Waived fees can become taxed costs

If a party with a waiver recovers a money judgment or settlement, the court orders the paying party to pay the waived fees and costs to the filing office as taxed costs. Those costs are never paid to the waived party.

A court may vacate a granted waiver if the application was materially inaccurate or the party is able to pay. A party or counsel receiving a waiver has a continuing obligation to tell the court about improved finances.

A waiver based on financial resources or hardship continues through the entire case, including appeals, unless the order limits it. The court may require the party to reapply. A praecipe based waiver continues even if counsel withdraws, subject to the continuing disclosure duty.

Rule 1990 includes a statewide application form. It first asks whether the party receives public benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, TANF, public or Section 8 housing, a needs based VA pension, low income energy assistance or WIC. If the answer is yes, the form directs the party to skip the rest and sign.

The rule also includes a one paragraph praecipe form for counsel. Transcript fee waivers remain governed separately by Pa.R.J.A. 4007(E) and 4008(B).

An order denying an application that puts a party “out of court” is a final, appealable order under Grant v. Blaine, 868 A.2d 400 (Pa. 2005). An appeal from a magisterial district judge’s denial follows Pa.R.Civ.P.M.D.J. 1016 through 1020. Other appeals proceed by petition for specialized review under Pa.R.A.P. 1614.

Arbitration appeals use the new terminology

The amendments to Rules 1308 and 1313 replace “proceed in forma pauperis” with “waive fees and costs.”

Under Rule 1308(a), the court may, in an appropriate case and on petition, permit the appellant to waive fees and costs. The Rule 1313 notice of appeal form, as amended, requires the appellant to certify either that the arbitrators’ compensation has been paid or that an application has been made for permission to waive fees and costs.

The 30 day deadline for filing a notice of appeal from a compulsory arbitration award remains. It runs after the prothonotary notes on the docket that notice of entry of the award was provided. The appellant must also pay arbitrators’ compensation not exceeding 50 percent of the amount in controversy.

The amendments add subdivision headings and convert notes concerning Stellar Construction v. Sborz, 748 A.2d 667 (Pa. 2000), and Rule 1007.1(b) for jury demands into Comments. The order does not make other changes to Rules 1308 or 1313.

What practitioners should track

Archivar is an operating system for a law firm that answers every call 24/7 in English and Spanish, runs intake, manages matters and remembers everything the firm does. A 30 day payment window after a denial belongs on the matter record as a deadline.

The order and rule text reviewed do not address how the new forms apply to matters pending on November 1, 2026.

Track the November 1, 2026 effective date, replace Rule 240 forms with the Rule 1990 application or praecipe, and calendar the 30 day payment window after any denial.