(a) The appealing party shall pay a fee of seventy-five dollars ($75) for filing a notice of appeal.
§ 116.760.Appeal filing fees
Title 1. Organization and Jurisdiction · Chapter 5.5. Small Claims Court · Article 7. Motion to Vacate, Appeal, and Related Matters · Last amended 2006 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 116.760 charges the appealing party a $75 fee to file a notice of appeal from a small claims judgment, charges no fee to a non-appealing party for appeal-related filings, and distributes the fee between the county law library fund and the Trial Court Trust Fund.
Full Text of § 116.760
(b) A party who does not appeal shall not be charged any fee for filing any document relating to the appeal.
(c) The fee shall be distributed as follows:
(1) To the county law library fund, as provided in Section 6320 of the Business and Professions Code, the amount specified in Section 6321 and 6322.1 of the Business and Professions Code.
(2) To the Trial Court Trust Fund, the remainder of the fee.
Plain-English Summary
Section 116.760(a) sets the price of a small claims appeal at $75, paid by the party who appeals. Subdivision (b) makes sure that cost falls only on the appealing side: a party who does not appeal is not charged any fee for filing documents related to the appeal.
Subdivision (c) splits the collected fee between two destinations — a portion to the county law library fund, in the amount set by Business and Professions Code §§ 6320 through 6322.1, with the remainder going to the state’s Trial Court Trust Fund.
Official Comment
The following official comments are published by the California Law Revision Commission (and, for a few older sections, its predecessor Code Commissioners) alongside the statute itself — not commentary from this site.
1998 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 116.760 is amended to accommodate unification of the municipal and superior courts in a county. Cal. Const. art. VI, § 5(e). It is also amended to reflect elimination of the justice court. Cal. Const. art. VI, §§ 1, 5(b). Under subdivision (a), the fee for appealing from a small claims judgment is the same as the fee for an appeal to the appellate division of the superior court, which is specified in Section 26824 of the Government Code. Subdivision (b) is amended to reflect relocation of the small claims division from the municipal court to the superior court in a county in which the municipal and superior courts unify their operations. Because the small claims division is in the same court that hears small claims appeals, subdivision (b) extends only to documents relating to the appeal, not to all documents filed in superior court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to appeal a small claims judgment in California?
Section 116.760(a) sets the appeal filing fee at $75, paid by the appealing party.
Do I owe a fee if the other side appeals and I did not?
No. Section 116.760(b) charges no fee to a party who does not appeal for filing documents related to the appeal.
Where does the small claims appeal fee go?
Section 116.760(c) directs part of the fee to the county law library fund and the remainder to the Trial Court Trust Fund.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1990 ch 1305 § 3 (SB 2627). Amended Stats 1991 ch 915 § 24 (SB 771); Stats 1998 ch 931 § 41 (SB 2139), effective September 28, 1998; Stats 2000 ch 447 § 1 (SB 1533); Stats 2005 ch 75 § 23 (AB 145), effective July 19, 2005, operative January 1, 2006.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: small claims appeal fee californiacost to appeal a small claims judgment