Shanghai Qiming Law Firm
China Court Fee Calculator
Estimate the case acceptance fee (案件受理费) payable to a PRC court under the Measures on Payment of Litigation Costs (State Council Order No. 481). The schedule is national: the same rates apply to a claim brought by a Chinese citizen and to one brought by an heir living abroad.
CNY
CNY13,800
Full case acceptance fee, first instance
If the case ends by mediation, by withdrawal, or under the simplified procedure: 6,900. The reduction is applied once, not twice.
| Band | Rate | Amount |
|---|
Court fees are in the end borne by the losing party (Article 29), but the plaintiff must advance the fee within seven days of the court's payment notice (Article 22).
How the fee is calculated
Property claims are charged on a progressive, banded basis, not as a single percentage of the whole sum. Each slice of the amount in dispute is charged at its own rate, and the slices are added together. A claim of CNY 1,000,000 therefore attracts CNY 13,800, not CNY 10,000.
| Portion of the amount in dispute | Rate | Cumulative fee |
|---|---|---|
| Up to CNY 10,000 | CNY 50 flat | 50 |
| CNY 10,000 – 100,000 | 2.5% | 2,300 |
| CNY 100,000 – 200,000 | 2% | 4,300 |
| CNY 200,000 – 500,000 | 1.5% | 8,800 |
| CNY 500,000 – 1,000,000 | 1% | 13,800 |
| CNY 1,000,000 – 2,000,000 | 0.9% | 22,800 |
| CNY 2,000,000 – 5,000,000 | 0.8% | 46,800 |
| CNY 5,000,000 – 10,000,000 | 0.7% | 81,800 |
| CNY 10,000,000 – 20,000,000 | 0.6% | 141,800 |
| Above CNY 20,000,000 | 0.5% | — |
Two common mistakes. The first CNY 10,000 is a flat CNY 50, not a percentage, and that CNY 50 stays in the calculation once the claim exceeds CNY 10,000. And a claim of CNY 1,000,000 charged at a flat 1% would come to CNY 10,000 — the correct figure is CNY 13,800.
Other types of case
| Case type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Divorce | CNY 50–300 per case; property up to CNY 200,000 is not charged separately, and the excess is charged at 0.5% |
| Personality rights (name, portrait, reputation, honour) | CNY 100–500 per case; damages up to CNY 50,000 are not charged separately, CNY 50,000–100,000 at 1%, above that at 0.5% |
| Other non-property cases | CNY 50–100 per case |
| Intellectual property, no disputed sum | CNY 500–1,000 per case |
| Intellectual property, with a disputed sum | Charged as a property claim — use the calculator above |
| Labour dispute | CNY 10 per case |
| Administrative case — trademark, patent, maritime | CNY 100 per case |
| Administrative case — all others | CNY 50 per case |
| Jurisdictional objection, dismissed | CNY 50–100 per case |
The ranges for divorce, personality rights, IP cases without a disputed sum and jurisdictional objections are set within the national band by each provincial government; courts in Shanghai apply their own figures within those ranges.
When the fee is halved
- Mediation or withdrawal — where the case ends by mediation or the plaintiff withdraws, the acceptance fee is halved (Article 15).
- Simplified procedure — where the simplified procedure applies, the acceptance fee is halved (Article 16).
Both reductions apply to the case acceptance fee only. They do not reduce application fees such as the preservation fee. Where a case is both heard under the simplified procedure and settled by mediation, the reduction is applied once, not twice.
Appeals. On appeal in a property case the fee is charged on the part of the judgment you are appealing, not the whole claim (Article 17). If a court awarded CNY 600,000 of a CNY 1,000,000 claim and the plaintiff appeals the remaining CNY 400,000, the appeal fee is calculated on CNY 400,000 — CNY 7,300. The simplified procedure does not apply on appeal, so there is no halving.
Freezing assets and enforcing a judgment
Two further payments are common in cross-border litigation and are often left out of a cost estimate.
Preservation fee (保全费)
5,000Charged on the value of the assets frozen. Capped at CNY 5,000.
Enforcement application fee
22,400Not paid in advance — collected after enforcement (Article 20).
Preservation: CNY 30 for amounts up to CNY 1,000, then 1% up to CNY 100,000, then 0.5% above that, but never more than CNY 5,000. The cap is reached at a preserved value of about CNY 896,000, so freezing a CNY 10 million apartment costs the same as freezing one worth CNY 900,000. Enforcement: CNY 50 up to CNY 10,000, 1.5% to CNY 500,000, 1% to CNY 5 million, 0.5% to CNY 10 million, 0.1% above.
What the court fee does not cover
The figures above are what the court itself collects. Three other categories usually cost more than the acceptance fee, and none of them is a court fee:
- Translation and notarisation. Documents from a foreign party must be translated into Chinese, and a power of attorney or evidence executed abroad usually needs notarisation plus apostille or consular legalisation. Courts do not collect these fees; the translation agency and the notary are paid directly.
- Expert appraisal, valuation and publication. Where a dispute needs a property valuation or a forensic examination, the party applying for it pays the institution directly. The court does not handle the money (Article 12).
- Legal fees. A lawyer's fee is not part of the court fee and, as a rule, is not recoverable from the losing party unless a statute or the contract between the parties provides for it.
For a typical overseas inheritance or property dispute, translation, notarisation and apostille alone often exceed the case acceptance fee.
Who pays in the end
The plaintiff advances the acceptance fee when filing, within seven days of the court's payment notice (Article 22). At the end of the case the fee is borne by the losing party (Article 29). Where each side wins in part, the court apportions the fee between them; where several losing parties are joined, the court apportions it according to their interest in the subject matter.
Enforcement application fees work differently: they are not paid in advance and are collected out of the sums recovered.
Foreign parties pay the same rates
Article 5 of the Measures is explicit: foreign nationals, stateless persons, and foreign companies or organisations bringing proceedings in a PRC court are subject to the same fee schedule as Chinese parties. There is no foreign-party surcharge, and no security for costs is imposed as a condition of filing.
The same article adds a reciprocity proviso: where the courts of a foreign state treat PRC citizens or companies differently on litigation fees, PRC courts apply the same treatment in return. In practice this affects parties from jurisdictions that impose a security-for-costs requirement on foreign claimants, not the standard rates.
Frequently asked questions
Is the court fee a percentage of the whole claim?
No. Property claims are charged in bands, progressively. Only the slice within each band is charged at that band's rate, and the slices are added. See the table above.
Can the court fee be reduced?
Yes, in two situations: where the case ends by mediation or the plaintiff withdraws, and where the simplified procedure applies. Either halves the case acceptance fee. The two are not cumulative.
Do I have to pay before the case starts?
The plaintiff pays the acceptance fee within seven days of the court's notice. Enforcement application fees are not prepaid.
What happens if I lose?
The losing party bears the court fee. If the outcome is split, the court decides how much each side bears. Your own lawyer's fees are normally not recoverable from the other side.
Does the fee depend on which court hears the case?
The national schedule applies in every court. Only the ranges for divorce, personality rights, IP cases without a disputed sum and jurisdictional objections are set locally within a national band.
How much does it cost to freeze the defendant's assets?
The preservation fee is CNY 30 for the first CNY 1,000, 1% up to CNY 100,000 and 0.5% above that, with an absolute cap of CNY 5,000. The cap applies to any preserved value above roughly CNY 896,000.
Is there an inheritance tax that adds to this?
No. China has no inheritance tax. Transfers on inheritance are exempt from deed tax for statutory heirs; other taxes can arise when the inherited property is later sold. See selling inherited property from abroad.
Can a foreign party apply for a fee reduction?
Judicial relief (deferral, reduction or waiver) exists under the Measures, but it is directed at parties in financial difficulty and is rarely granted to corporate claimants. It should not be assumed in budgeting.
Source and disclaimer. Rates are taken from the Measures on Payment of Litigation Costs (诉讼费用交纳办法), State Council Order No. 481, in force since 1 April 2007, as published in the National Laws and Regulations Database (Articles 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 22 and 29). View the official text. This calculator produces an estimate for budgeting. It does not include translation, notarisation, expert appraisal or legal fees, and it does not account for local figures set within national ranges. It is not legal advice.
