California Government Code 6103: Waived Fees and Exceptions

California Government Code Section 6103 waives filing fees, official service fees, and certain court-related charges when the state, a county, city, district, or other political subdivision (or a public officer acting for one) participates in a court proceeding or files a document with a government office. The waiver is broad but not absolute, and several fees still have to be paid.

Who Qualifies

The statute covers the state, any county, city, or district, any other political subdivision, and any public officer or body acting in an official capacity for one of those entities.¹ “District” is broad enough to reach school districts, water districts, fire protection districts, and other special districts.

The official-capacity requirement does real work. A district attorney filing a criminal case qualifies. A city attorney suing to enforce a municipal code violation qualifies. But when a public officer holds private assets or obligations that came under their control through the office, the exemption falls away, because the officer is no longer performing a core governmental function.¹ Evaluate each transaction on its own; the exemption is not a blanket pass for everything a government entity does.

What Fees Get Waived

Three categories of charges fall inside the exemption:

Fees for filing any document or paper with a court or other government office.
Fees for performing any official duty imposed by law. California courts have read “official service” to include duties like making and certifying copies of court records.²
Fees for filing any stipulation or agreement that could constitute an appearance in court by another party to that agreement.

The statute also bars any fee for court reporter services when a qualifying public agency is involved, and it extends to probate referees when a government entity participates officially in a probate proceeding.¹

Fees That Still Have to Be Paid

Section 6103 lists several exceptions, and related sections add more. The ones that catch agencies and attorneys off guard:

Civil jury fees and deposits. Government entities post them like any private litigant. A city attorney pays no filing fee, but the moment the case goes to a jury, the city must post jury fees.¹
The State Compensation Insurance Fund, which is treated differently from other government entities and does not receive the exemption.
Fees tied to private assets or obligations that fell under a public officer’s control through the office.
Sheriff and marshal fees for services rendered in levying writs, excluded by Section 6103.2.³
Any fee imposed by a more specific statute. Courts have held the Legislature does not need to name Section 6103 when creating an exception to it, so 6103 is not a shield against a targeted fee statute.²

Recovering the Waived Fees After a Win

Section 6103.5 turns the upfront waiver into a deferral for prevailing agencies. When a qualifying public agency wins a judgment, the court clerk adds the filing fees and service-of-process fees that would have been paid (but for Section 6103) into the judgment itself.⁴ The losing party reimburses those amounts as part of the judgment, and the fiscal officer of the winning agency has 45 days to remit payment to the clerk and the serving officer.

If the judgment consists only of those fee amounts, the agency can decide whether to pursue collection and notify the clerk if it declines. If the agency collects but fails to remit within 45 days after satisfaction of judgment is filed, the court can issue a writ of execution against the agency for the fees plus additional costs.⁴ Certain proceedings, including condemnation and quiet title actions, sit outside the recovery mechanism.

How California Courts Have Read the Statute

Three decisions shape how the exemption works in practice. In City of Pasadena v. Fox (1936), the Court of Appeal held that “official service” means a duty imposed by law, not just any task a government office happens to perform. In Hayward Lumber & Investment Co. v. Biscailuz (1957), the California Supreme Court confirmed that making and certifying copies of court records qualifies as an official service of the court clerk, so agencies do not pay for certified copies of court documents.²

In Anaheim City School District v. County of Orange (1985), the Court of Appeal held that the Legislature can create exceptions to Section 6103 without referencing it by name. When a more specific statute imposes a fee on a government entity, that fee stands, and 6103 does not override it.² Before assuming a charge is waived, check whether another statute has spoken to it directly.

1
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103
2
California Attorney General. Opinion No. 13-1101
3
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103.2
4
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 6103.5