Publication
Newspaper pricing is commercial rather than a statewide fee.
California court costs
California probate filing cost: $355
Government Code § 70650 sets a uniform statewide filing fee of $355 for the first petition for letters of administration or letters testamentary. Additional local surcharges may apply in some counties, but the base opening fee is a fixed statewide figure.
$355 is the amount the statute states. Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
What the statute charges
California states one statewide amount rather than a schedule of components, so there is no line-by-line breakdown to compute. The figure above is that amount. It is a court charge only, and it is not an estimate of the total cost of settling an estate.
California publishes no component breakdown for this cost.
The statute states one statewide amount rather than a schedule of parts, so there is nothing to itemise. The figure shown above is that amount, and the linked source is the text that sets it.
What the $355 is made of
California’s $355 figure is a single statutory charge, not a total assembled from parts. It is shown here with its own provision named, and with the neighbouring charges the California schedule prices separately — the ones a filer is most likely to add to it by mistake, or to be quoted alongside it.
- $355First petition for letters, Cal. Gov. Code s 70650
Added together, these come to $355 — the figure this page headlines. If any component changed in the source, the sum would no longer match, and the build withholds the total rather than publishing a number whose parts no longer add up.
Charges the $355 figure leaves out
These amounts appear in or beside the same California schedule, so a reader can easily mistake one for part of the fee. Each is held out of the figure above for the specific reason given, which is the difference between an honest total and an inflated one.
A fee for a different filing
- First objections / petition for revocation of probate, Cal. Gov. Code s 70650(b)
- the $355 in subdivision (b) is for the first objections to, or petition for revocation of, probate of a will or codicil, a different proceeding from the first petition for letters this product prices.
- Subsequent petition or objections by another person, Cal. Gov. Code s 70650(c)
- the $355 in subdivision (c) is charged for each subsequent petition or objections filed by a person other than the original petitioner, a separate later filing rather than a mandatory addition to the first petition.
Costs no statute prices
These are the costs executors most often meet after the filing fee. None of them has a statewide statutory amount, so this site does not estimate them.
Bond
Premiums depend on the bond amount, the estate, and the applicant.
Copies and local charges
Certified copies, recording, inventory, accounting, and county surcharges are billed separately.
Professional fees
Attorney, accountant, and appraiser fees are negotiated or court-reviewed.
State-specific limits
- Above the highest banded amount the statute sets no percentage; the court fixes a reasonable figure, so the schedule here stops where the published rates stop.
- California's small-estate dollar limits are set by the decedent's DATE OF DEATH under Prob. Code § 890, not a single timeless figure. Judicial Council mandatory-use form DE-300 (Rev. April 28, 2025) publishes the operative amounts: for the § 13100 personal-property affidavit, deaths on or after April 1, 2025 use $208,850; deaths from April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2025 use $184,500; deaths before April 1, 2022 use the older codified figures. The next triennial adjustment is April 1, 2028.
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
How to verify the amount for this case
Name the proceeding before asking for a total. A small-estate affidavit, an application for letters, formal administration, a later inventory or account, and a certified copy can each carry a different charge. Asking only “what does probate cost?” invites an answer for the wrong filing.
- Identify the county where the proceeding will be filed.
- Identify the exact route or petition you expect to use.
- State the value basis the schedule uses; it is not always the gross estate value.
- Ask the clerk to separate the opening fee, mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
- Record the schedule date or rule cited.
- Record whether payment is due at filing.
Keep that clerk quote with the estate record and compare it with the itemised statutory lines above. For the broader budget, use the probate cost-line guide; court filing is only one category.
California filing-cost map
Separate the California filing charge from the estate budget
The California filing record prices a proceeding, not every cost of settling an estate. This map connects the published amount or schedule to its value basis and identifies the local items that still need a clerk or court schedule.
| Question | Recorded California answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Affidavit for collection of personal property (Prob. Code § 13100) and, for real property, the § 13200 small-value affidavit and § 13150 petition to determine succession | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value for this route. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 40 days after death; Multiple independent deadlines run from different triggers: § 9100 requires filing before the LATER of four months after letters first issue OR sixty days after notice of administration is mailed/delivered, and Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2 imposes a separate one-year outer limit measured from death. These are expressed in months, so a single day count would mislead. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | $355 is the recorded statewide amount. | Ask the Superior Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | Prob. Code § 10800 sets statutory (ordinary) compensation as 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, and 0.5% of the next $15,000,000. Above $25,000,000 the amount is 'a reasonable amount to be determined by the court' — so the top band is NOT a fixed percentage. The base is 'the value of the estate accounted for' (appraisal value plus gains on sales plus receipts, less losses, without regard to encumbrances). The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Filing record
What the California cost record can answer
California has no single statewide schedule in the accepted record.
Government Code § 70650 sets a uniform statewide filing fee of $355 for the first petition for letters of administration or letters testamentary. Additional local surcharges may apply in some counties, but the base opening fee is a fixed statewide figure. This page therefore names the local confirmation path instead of turning a base charge into a statewide estimate.
Case-file context
Keep the California answer with its neighboring conditions
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed California descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Route context
California probate is handled by the Superior Court in the county where the decedent lived. Small estates can often skip formal probate using the Probate Code § 13100 affidavit; the dollar thresholds are adjusted every three years under § 890 and published by date of death on Judicial Council form DE-300 ($208,850 for the § 13100 affidavit for deaths on or after April 1, 2025).
Personal property may be collected by affidavit if 40 days have elapsed since death and the gross value of the decedent's real and personal property in California does not exceed the amount published on Judicial Council mandatory-use form DE-300 for the decedent's date of death (Prob. Code § 890 directs these amounts to be adjusted every three years). For deaths on or after April 1, 2025 that ceiling is $208,850 (deaths April 1, 2022-March 31, 2025 use $184,500; the codified § 13100 figure of $166,250 is a pre-2022 baseline that § 890 adjustments have superseded). Excludes § 13050 property and property covered by a § 13151 petition. Real property of small value uses the § 13200 affidavit ($69,625 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025); a primary residence up to $750,000 uses the § 13151 succession petition.
Compensation context
Prob. Code § 10800 sets statutory (ordinary) compensation as 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, and 0.5% of the next $15,000,000. Above $25,000,000 the amount is 'a reasonable amount to be determined by the court' — so the top band is NOT a fixed percentage. The base is 'the value of the estate accounted for' (appraisal value plus gains on sales plus receipts, less losses, without regard to encumbrances).
Prob. Code § 10800 sets statutory (ordinary) compensation as 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, and 0.5% of the next $15,000,000. Above $25,000,000 the amount is 'a reasonable amount to be determined by the court' — so the top band is NOT a fixed percentage. The base is 'the value of the estate accounted for' (appraisal value plus gains on sales plus receipts, less losses, without regard to encumbrances). The relevant base is the estate accounting.
Deadline context
Multiple independent deadlines run from different triggers: § 9100 requires filing before the LATER of four months after letters first issue OR sixty days after notice of administration is mailed/delivered, and Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2 imposes a separate one-year outer limit measured from death. These are expressed in months, so a single day count would mislead.
- Above the highest banded amount the statute sets no percentage; the court fixes a reasonable figure, so the schedule here stops where the published rates stop.
- California's small-estate dollar limits are set by the decedent's DATE OF DEATH under Prob. Code § 890, not a single timeless figure. Judicial Council mandatory-use form DE-300 (Rev. April 28, 2025) publishes the operative amounts: for the § 13100 personal-property affidavit, deaths on or after April 1, 2025 use $208,850; deaths from April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2025 use $184,500; deaths before April 1, 2022 use the older codified figures. The next triennial adjustment is April 1, 2028.
Court-material note: California uses statewide Judicial Council (DE-series) probate forms; each county Superior Court also publishes local rules and any local fee surcharges.
Arithmetic illustration
See the California amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded California ceiling is $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $156,600 sits below the California figure and $261,100 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what California counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the California ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $156,600 | Below $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $261,100 | Above $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Name the proceeding and ask for mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, and later filings separately.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- California Courts Self-Help: ProbateJudicial Council of California
- Transfer a small estate without probateJudicial Council of California
- California Courts — Find your court formsJudicial Council of California
California uses statewide Judicial Council (DE-series) probate forms; each county Superior Court also publishes local rules and any local fee surcharges.
Source trail
Records used by this California map
- Cal. Prob. Code § 13100California Probate Code § 13100 - Affidavit collection of small estate; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Cal. Prob. Code § 13200California Probate Code § 13200 - Affidavit re real property of small value; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Cal. Prob. Code § 13151California Probate Code § 13151 - Petition to determine succession to real property; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Cal. Prob. Code § 890California Probate Code § 890 - Triennial adjustment of dollar amounts; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Judicial Council of California form DE-300 (Rev. April 28, 2025), implementing Prob. Code § 890Judicial Council of California form DE-300 - Maximum Values for Small Estate Set-Aside & Disposition of Estate Without Administration; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Cal. Gov. Code § 70650California Government Code § 70650 - Uniform filing fee, probate; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Cal. Prob. Code § 10800California Probate Code § 10800 - Compensation of personal representative; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Cal. Prob. Code § 9100California Probate Code § 9100 - Time for filing creditor claims; reviewed August 9, 2026
Filing-cost source
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Cal. Gov. Code § 70650
Reviewed source note: The uniform filing fee for the first petition for letters of administration or letters testamentary, or the first petition for special letters of administration with the powers of a general personal representative pursuant to Section 8545 of the Probate Code, is three hundred fifty-five dollars ($355).