Your FW-001 is ready. What to do next
This is a free tool. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. You fill in and sign the form yourself.
- Check and sign
Open the PDF and read both pages. If something is wrong, fix it here and download again. Sign page 1 by hand. You sign under penalty of perjury, so everything must be true. If you checked Yes in item 3a, your lawyer signs item 3b.
- Bring form FW-003 too
Download FW-003 with your part filled in (item 1, and the other boxes you typed). The clerk or judge writes the decision on it. Form FW-003.
- Make a copy
Make 1 copy of form FW-001. You don’t need to copy form FW-003.
- File with the clerk
Take the original and the copy to the court clerk, together with your other court papers (like your SC-100) or by themselves. If you file by mail, mail the originals with a self-addressed stamped envelope with enough postage for the court to return your copies. Some courts allow e-filing. Find my court · How to ask for a fee waiver.
- Keep it confidential
Only the court sees your fee waiver request. You don’t have to give it to the other side. Your information is confidential.
- Read the court’s decision on FW-003
If the court grants your request, you don’t have to pay the court fees listed in item 4 of FW-003. If it doesn’t, read pages 2 and 3 of FW-003: in most cases you have 10 days to pay the fee, give more information or file a new FW-001, or ask for a hearing (forms FW-006 and FW-007). If the court didn’t grant your fee waiver.
- Tell the court if your money situation gets better
If your finances improve during the case, tell the court within 5 days on form FW-010. Free help: your court’s self-help center.
Deadlines and dates to know
| After the clerk gives notice of an FW-003 order that does not grant your request | 10 days to act (FW-003, pages 2–3) |
| Your finances improve during the case | Tell the court within 5 days (FW-010) |
| When the fee waiver ends | 60 days after the judgment, dismissal, or other final decision |
| If you settle your civil case for $10,000 or more | The court has a lien on the settlement for the waived fees (FW-001, page 1) |
Sources: California Courts Self-Help Guide: fee waiver, if it isn’t granted, FW-001-INFO and the forms themselves. Check with your court.