In Forma Pauperis: Eligibility, Filing, and Prisoner Rules

Filing in forma pauperis is a request to proceed in court without paying the usual fees because you can’t afford them. In federal district court, that waiver eliminates the $350 filing fee that would otherwise be due at the courthouse door.¹ You don’t have to be destitute to qualify. The question is whether paying court costs would leave you unable to cover basic necessities for yourself and anyone who depends on you.

What the Fee Waiver Covers

IFP status waives the upfront fees that would otherwise block your case from being filed. In federal court, the government also pays to print the appellate record and certain required transcripts.² The U.S. Marshals Service delivers your complaint and summons to the opposing party, so you don’t need to arrange service yourself.³

The limits matter just as much as the coverage. IFP does not pay for copying, mailing, or any costs the opposing side might recover from you if you lose.⁴ It does not fund expert witnesses, and the statute does not authorize the government to cover depositions.² In a complicated case, those expenses can easily dwarf the filing fee.

And it does not get you a free lawyer. A court has discretion to ask an attorney to represent you, but that’s a request, not the appointed-counsel right that exists in criminal cases.² Courts grant it sparingly, usually in factually complex cases or where the person plainly cannot represent themselves.

Who Qualifies

The federal statute sets no income cutoff and does not tie eligibility to the poverty guidelines. The standard comes from Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., a 1948 Supreme Court decision holding that an applicant qualifies by showing they cannot pay court fees “and still be able to provide” themselves and their dependents “with the necessities of life.”⁵ That language gives judges real room to look at each person’s circumstances.

Courts weigh your whole financial picture. Income counts. So do assets, debts, and the size of your household. Someone earning a moderate salary with heavy medical debt and several dependents might qualify, while someone with low income and substantial savings might not. Some state courts informally use the federal poverty guidelines as a screening benchmark, but that’s a tool those courts have adopted on their own, not a federal requirement.⁶

How to Apply in Federal Court

You apply by filing Form AO 240, the Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs.⁷ The form asks for your income sources, employment, assets (bank accounts, real estate, vehicles), monthly expenses, and dependents. You sign it under penalty of perjury, so accuracy is critical. Courts deny applications where the numbers don’t add up, and misrepresentation carries consequences well beyond losing fee waiver.

In most cases there’s no hearing. The judge reviews the paperwork and either grants or denies the motion, and may ask for supplemental financial records if something needs clarifying. State courts have their own forms, and the specific disclosures vary by jurisdiction.

If Your Application Is Denied

A denial doesn’t end the case. You can still pay the filing fee and proceed normally. If you think the denial was wrong, a district court denial can be challenged by filing a motion for IFP status directly with the court of appeals.⁴ One catch: if the trial court certifies in writing that an appeal is not taken in good faith, you cannot take that appeal in forma pauperis.²

When Courts Can Revoke IFP or Dismiss the Case

Approval is not permanent cover. Federal law requires courts to dismiss a case at any point if they determine the claim of poverty was untrue.² Courts must also dismiss IFP cases that are frivolous or malicious, that fail to state a valid legal claim, or that seek damages from a defendant immune from such relief.

In Denton v. Hernandez, the Supreme Court held that judges can dismiss claims whose factual allegations are “clearly baseless,” while cautioning that improbability alone is not enough.⁸ District courts, which see these filings firsthand, draw that line.

Special Rules for Prisoners

The Prison Litigation Reform Act created a separate track for incarcerated filers. The biggest difference: prisoners granted IFP still pay the filing fee. They just pay in installments instead of upfront.

Installment Payments

When a prisoner applies, the court calculates an initial partial fee equal to 20 percent of either the average monthly deposits into the prisoner’s commissary account or the average monthly balance over the preceding six months, whichever is greater. A certified trust fund account statement covering those six months must accompany the application.²

After the initial payment, the prisoner owes monthly installments of 20 percent of the prior month’s income credited to the account. The custodial facility forwards those payments to the court clerk whenever the account balance exceeds $10, and payments continue until the full fee is paid. A prisoner with no assets and no income cannot be blocked from filing, but the fee obligation accrues and is collected when funds appear.²

Three Strikes

A prisoner who has had three or more prior lawsuits or appeals dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failing to state a claim loses the ability to file in forma pauperis altogether. The only exception is for a prisoner facing imminent danger of serious physical injury at the time of filing.² Strikes are tracked across all federal courts.

Exhausting Grievance Procedures

Before filing any federal lawsuit about prison conditions, a prisoner must first use whatever internal grievance process the facility offers. The requirement applies regardless of IFP status and covers claims under federal civil rights law or any other federal statute.⁹ The Supreme Court has held that the exhaustion rule reaches only remedies that are genuinely available, so a grievance system that cannot be navigated or that officials actively obstruct doesn’t count.

Filing IFP at the Supreme Court

Supreme Court filings follow Rule 39. You submit a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis with a notarized affidavit using the format from Federal Appellate Form 4. An unrepresented inmate files only the original copy of the documents rather than the usual multiple copies. No docket fee or other fee is charged when the required documents are properly filed.¹⁰

After You’re Approved

Winning IFP status waives your fees, not the rules. Every deadline, filing requirement, and court order applies to you exactly as it would to any other litigant. If your income rises significantly or you come into assets during a case, the court can reassess whether you still qualify, and you’re expected to report meaningful changes. Hiding financial improvements risks revocation, and because the original application was signed under penalty of perjury, concealment carries its own legal exposure.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 US Code 1914 – District Court Filing Fees
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 US Code 1915 – Proceedings in Forma Pauperis
3
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 4 – Summons
4
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Fees, In Forma Pauperis, Dismissal
5
Justia. Adkins v. E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., Inc., 335 US 331
6
HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
7
United States Courts. Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs
8
Legal Information Institute. Denton v. Hernandez, 504 US 25
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 1997e – Suits by Prisoners
10
Supreme Court of the United States. Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States