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Missouri court costs

Missouri probate filing cost: not published

When letters are applied for, section 488.012 lists a graduated fee from $75 below $10,000 to $365 above $500,000. The statute states these amounts apply before adjustment by the supreme court, which sets the operative figures by rule.

No statewide figure is published. Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .

What Missouri statutes set in probate fees at a $100,000 estate

  • Court filing: no current statewide amount; the next section says why.
  • Personal representative: a schedule of 5% falling to 2% by Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.153.1, on a base it defines, so it is not priced from the estate’s value; see the Missouri executor fee page.

Statute text checked October 3, 2026: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 488.012(16) and Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.153.1.

What the statute charges

Missouri does not publish a current total here.

The schedule below is stated in the statute as applying before adjustment by another authority, so it is shown as a labelled baseline rather than as the amount the clerk collects today. Confirm the current figure before relying on it.

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.

Application for letters in a probate proceeding Statutory baseline, superseded

These amounts are stated in the statute as applying before adjustment by another authority, so they are not the amount collected today. Section 488.012(2) directs the Missouri Supreme Court to set the operative court costs by rule. Confirm the current amount with the probate division of the circuit court.

Published value bands

These are the fee bands stated in the source. The worked examples below apply them to sample values; they do not replace the published thresholds.

Graduated probate fee by estate value
Value bandPublished fee
Up to $9,999.99$75
More than $9,999.99 to $25,000$115
More than $25,000 to $50,000$155
More than $50,000 to $100,000$245
More than $100,000 to $500,000$305
More than $500,000$365
Charge$25,000 estate$100,000 estate$400,000 estate$1,000,000 estate
Graduated probate fee by estate value$115$245$305$365
Total from this schedule$115$245$305$365

Not included in this total

  • Publication of notice to creditors
  • Bond premium
  • The $30 charge for each additional twelve months the estate remains open

Section 488.012 states these amounts apply "prior to adjustment by the supreme court", and subsection 2 directs the supreme court to set the operative amounts by rule. Treat this schedule as the statutory baseline and confirm the current figure with the probate division before relying on it. The small-estate affidavit fee is set separately under section 483.580.

Source: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 488.012(16), Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Edition: Effective 28 Aug 2014. Verified October 3, 2026.

What the Missouri figure leaves out

The Missouri caveats are listed once, on the Missouri overview.

Other costs: probate cost lines.

Filing-cost source

Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Missouri source list · how sources are checked · report a correction

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