Publication
Newspaper pricing is commercial rather than a statewide fee.
Indiana court costs
Indiana probate filing cost: $177
The statutory probate costs fee is $120. The Indiana Supreme Court’s current-through-2026 manual totals statewide probate filing fees at $177; the total is $205 only if the office collects the optional $28 sheriff service fee.
$177 is the amount the statute states. Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
What the statute charges
Every line below is computed from the statutory schedule quoted at the end of this page. These are court charges only. They are not an estimate of the total cost of settling an estate.
Indiana probate filing
| Charge | $25,000 estate | $100,000 estate | $400,000 estate | $1,000,000 estate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Probate costs fee | $120 | $120 | $120 | $120 |
| Other statewide court-fee components | $57 | $57 | $57 | $57 |
| Total from this schedule | $177 | $177 | $177 | $177 |
Not included in this total
- Optional sheriff service of process ($28)
The manual states $205 only when the office collects sheriff service.
Source: Filing Fees/Costs for Probate Cases, Indiana Supreme Court, Indiana Office of Court Services. Edition/currentness: Indiana Trial Court Fee Manual Current through 2026 Legislative Session. Verified September 15, 2026.
What the $177 is made of
Indiana’s $177 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 Indiana schedule prices separately — the ones a filer is most likely to add to it by mistake, or to be quoted alongside it.
- $177Statewide probate filing total, Supreme Court fee manual
Added together, these come to $177 — 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 $177 figure leaves out
These amounts appear in or beside the same Indiana 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.
Money already inside the total
- Line items composing the $177 total
- the eight statutory line items (Probate Costs $120, Document Storage $5, Automated Record Keeping $20, Public Defense $5, Judicial Insurance $1, Judicial Salaries $20, Pro Bono $1, Court Administration $5) sum to the $177 total; they are inside it, not additional.
A figure kept for context
- Historical fee-change notes restating counted amounts
- the manual's explanatory notes ("increased to $20 on July 1, 2017", "remains $5", "Increased to $5 on July 1, 2011", "Increased to $20 on July 1, 2012") restate the effective/historical amounts of fees already counted in the $177; not additional charges.
- Total where the optional sheriff service fee is collected
- the composite total when the optional $28 sheriff service-of-process fee is added to the $177; not itself a charge.
A fee for a different filing
- Sheriff service-of-process fee
- collected only if the office performs service of process; an optional charge for a different service, not part of the $177 filing total.
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
- This state's counted value depends on liens and encumbrances, which this calculator does not collect, so treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- This state's counted value depends on funeral expenses, which this calculator does not collect, so treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- This state's counted value depends on administration expenses, which this calculator does not collect, so treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- Indiana measures eligibility on the gross probate estate LESS liens, encumbrances, funeral expenses and administration expenses (Ind. Code § 29-1-8-1). This calculator does not collect the funeral or administration expense figures, so it cannot compute the exact net value the $100,000 test applies to - treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- No separate creditor actual-notice or appointment-trigger deadline was verified; statutory exceptions prevent collapsing claims into one deadline.
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.
Indiana filing-cost map
Separate the Indiana filing charge from the estate budget
The Indiana 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 Indiana answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Small-estate affidavit (dispensing with administration) | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $100,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2022 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 45 days after death; Multiple distinct deadlines prevent an honest single days value. Ordinary claims are generally filed within three months after first publication, while claims barrable under subsection (a) face a nine-month-from-death outer bar, subject to statutory exceptions including specified governmental, lien, and tort claims. No separate actual-notice or appointment deadline was verified in this section. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | $177 is the recorded statewide amount. | Ask the Circuit/Superior Court with probate jurisdiction about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | The will controls unless renounced; otherwise the court allows compensation it deems just and reasonable. Additional compensation may be allowed for attorney services and services not required of a personal representative. 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 Indiana cost record can answer
Indiana probate filing
Basis: estate-value. Status: operative. The manual states $205 only when the office collects sheriff service.
- Probate costs fee $120
- Other statewide court-fee components $57
Case-file context
Keep the Indiana 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 Indiana 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
Indiana dispenses with administration for qualifying personal-property estates by affidavit after 45 days; county Circuit or Superior Courts exercise probate jurisdiction.
After 45 days, a distributee may present an affidavit for personal property when the gross probate estate, LESS liens, encumbrances, funeral expenses, and administration expenses, does not exceed $100,000 for deaths after June 30, 2022, and no personal-representative appointment is pending or granted. Because this calculator does not collect the funeral and administration expenses that Indiana subtracts before applying the $100,000 test, any eligibility result shown here is provisional and must be confirmed against the estate's actual deductible expenses.
Compensation context
The will controls unless renounced; otherwise the court allows compensation it deems just and reasonable. Additional compensation may be allowed for attorney services and services not required of a personal representative.
The will controls unless renounced; otherwise the court allows compensation it deems just and reasonable. Additional compensation may be allowed for attorney services and services not required of a personal representative. The relevant base is the estate accounting.
Deadline context
Multiple distinct deadlines prevent an honest single days value. Ordinary claims are generally filed within three months after first publication, while claims barrable under subsection (a) face a nine-month-from-death outer bar, subject to statutory exceptions including specified governmental, lien, and tort claims. No separate actual-notice or appointment deadline was verified in this section.
- This state's counted value depends on liens and encumbrances, which this calculator does not collect, so treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- This state's counted value depends on funeral expenses, which this calculator does not collect, so treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- This state's counted value depends on administration expenses, which this calculator does not collect, so treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- Indiana measures eligibility on the gross probate estate LESS liens, encumbrances, funeral expenses and administration expenses (Ind. Code § 29-1-8-1). This calculator does not collect the funeral or administration expense figures, so it cannot compute the exact net value the $100,000 test applies to - treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- No separate creditor actual-notice or appointment-trigger deadline was verified; statutory exceptions prevent collapsing claims into one deadline.
Court-material note: Indiana probate jurisdiction is exercised by the Circuit or Superior Court identified for the county; use the judiciary directory.
Arithmetic illustration
See the Indiana amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded Indiana ceiling is $100,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2022, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $75,000 sits below the Indiana figure and $125,000 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 Indiana counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Indiana ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $75,000 | Below $100,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2022 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $125,000 | Above $100,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2022 | 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
- Indiana Judicial Branch formsIndiana Judicial Branch
- Indiana Trial Court Fee ManualIndiana Supreme Court, Indiana Office of Court Services
- Indiana Self-Service Legal CenterIndiana Judicial Branch
Indiana probate jurisdiction is exercised by the Circuit or Superior Court identified for the county; use the judiciary directory.
Source trail
Records used by this Indiana map
- IC 29-1-8-1Indiana Code 2025, Chapter 29-1-8; reviewed August 9, 2026
- IC 29-1-10-13Indiana Code 2025, Chapter 29-1-10; reviewed August 9, 2026
- IC 29-1-14-1Indiana Code 2025, Chapter 29-1-14; reviewed August 9, 2026
- IC 33-37-4-7Indiana Code 2025, Chapter 33-37-4; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Filing Fees/Costs for Probate CasesIndiana Trial Court Fee Manual; 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.
Filing Fees/Costs for Probate Cases
Reviewed source note: Probate Costs Fee IC 33-37-4-7(a) $120.00 Document Storage Fee IC 33-37-5-20 $5.00 Automated Record Keeping Fee IC 33-37-5-21 $20.00 The automated record keeping fee increased to $20 on July 1, 2017 for all actions other than pretrial diversion programs and deferral programs.