Vermont court costs

Vermont probate filing cost: $265

Probate entry fees are $50 through $10,000, $110 through $50,000, $265 through $150,000, $500 through $500,000, $1,000 through $1 million, $1,750 through $5 million, $2,500 through $10 million, and $3,250 above $10 million. Separately, 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30) sets a flat $50.00 entry fee for the affidavit procedure for small estates under Probate Rule 80.3(h).

$265 is the statutory total at a $100,000 estate. Not counted: Affidavit procedure for small estates (Probate Rule 80.3(h)), open only within the $45,000 small-estate limit. Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised October 16, 2026.

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

Court filing: $265 (32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(1)-(8), as published in the Vermont Judiciary fee schedule).
Personal representative: 32 V.S.A. § 1143 measures the pay by days of attendance ($4.00 a day) plus any further sum the Probate Division judges reasonable in cases of unusual difficulty or responsibility, not by the estate's value, so no fee can be computed from the estate value.

Worked example: Vermont estate of $100,000
Court filing	$265
Commission	not a percentage of the estate

Statute text checked October 3, 2026: 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(1)-(8), as published in the Vermont Judiciary fee schedule and 32 V.S.A. § 1143.

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.

Opening a decedent estate

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.

Probate Division estate entry fee

Value band	Published fee
Up to $10,000	$50
More than $10,000 to $50,000	$110
More than $50,000 to $150,000	$265
More than $150,000 to $500,000	$500
More than $500,000 to $1,000,000	$1,000
More than $1,000,000 to $5,000,000	$1,750
More than $5,000,000 to $10,000,000	$2,500
More than $10,000,000	$3,250

Vermont Opening a decedent estate cost, itemised at four values of the amount this charge is assessed on
Charge	$25,000 estate	$100,000 estate	$400,000 estate	$1,000,000 estate
Probate Division estate entry fee	$110	$265	$500	$1,000
Total from this schedule	$110	$265	$500	$1,000

Not included in this total

Later annual accounts
Petitions to sell property
Copies and service

This schedule prices the value-banded entry fee for opening a decedent estate. It does not include the flat $50.00 affidavit-procedure fee under 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30), which is priced as the separate schedule below; confirm which route the clerk applies.

Source: 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(1)-(8), as published in the Vermont Judiciary fee schedule, Vermont Judiciary. Edition: not stated by the publisher. Verified October 3, 2026.

Affidavit procedure for small estates (Probate Rule 80.3(h))

Vermont Affidavit procedure for small estates (Probate Rule 80.3(h)) cost, itemised at four values of the amount this charge is assessed on
Charge	$25,000 estate	$100,000 estate	$400,000 estate	$1,000,000 estate
Probate Division entry fee for the small-estate affidavit procedure	$50	not available	not available	not available
Total from this schedule	$50	Not available above $45,000	Not available above $45,000	Not available above $45,000

Open only within the $45,000 small-estate limit. The limit counts the fair market value of an estate made up entirely of personal property (14 V.S.A. § 1901(a); the affidavit procedure is part of Probate Rule 80.3, Small Estates). Above it, this route is not available, so no fee is shown.

Not included in this total

The value-banded entry fee for opening a decedent estate
Copies and service

32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30) sets this fee at a flat $50.00 for the affidavit procedure for small estates pursuant to Rule 80.3(h) of the Vermont Rules of Probate Procedure. It is a distinct route from the value-banded estate entry fee; the Probate Division clerk states which one applies.

Source: 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30), as published in the Vermont Judiciary fee schedule, Vermont Judiciary. Edition: not stated by the publisher. Verified October 3, 2026.

What the Vermont figure leaves out

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

Other costs: probate cost lines.

Filing-cost sources

Court fee schedule

32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(1)-(8), as published in the Vermont Judiciary fee schedule

Vermont Judiciary fee schedule: Probate Division estate filing fees (32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(1)-(8))

The section’s own words

Filing fee for estate $10,000 or less $50.00 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(1) Filing fee for estate $10,001 to $50,000 $110.00 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(2) Filing fee for estate $50,001 to $150,000 $265.00 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(3) Filing fee for estate $150,001 to $500,000 $500.00 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(4) Filing fee for estate $500,001 to $1,000,000 $1000.00 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(5) Filing fee for estate $1,000,001 to $5,000,000 $1,750.00 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(6) (2015) Filing fee for estate $5,000,001 to $10,000,000 $2,500.00 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(7) Filing fee for estate greater than $10,000,000 $3,250.00 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(8)

What this means: These amounts come from the Vermont Judiciary's published fee schedule, which cites each line to its 32 V.S.A. § 1434 subdivision; they match the statute text as it read on September 15, 2026.

Vermont Judiciary · Rechecked October 3, 2026

Court fee schedule

32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30), as published in the Vermont Judiciary fee schedule

Vermont Judiciary fee schedule: small-estate affidavit procedure (32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30))

The section’s own words

Affidavit procedure for small estates pursuant to Vermont Rule of Probate Procedure 80.3(h) $50.00 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30)

Vermont Judiciary · Rechecked October 3, 2026

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

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

What the statute charges

Opening a decedent estate

Published value bands

Probate Division estate entry fee

Not included in this total

Affidavit procedure for small estates (Probate Rule 80.3(h))

Not included in this total

What the Vermont figure leaves out

Filing-cost sources

32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(1)-(8), as published in the Vermont Judiciary fee schedule

32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30), as published in the Vermont Judiciary fee schedule

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