§ 411.21.Payment By Check In Amount Less Than Required Fee
Title 5. Jurisdiction and Service of Process · Chapter 2. Commencing Civil Actions · Last amended 2008 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 411.21 lets the clerk accept a complaint or other first paper for filing even when the accompanying check falls short of the required fee, but withholds the summons and voids the filing if the shortfall plus an administrative charge isn’t paid within twenty days of mailed notice, with special rules for adverse parties, upcoming hearings, and refunds.
(a)If a complaint or other first paper is accompanied by payment by check in an amount less than the required fee, the clerk shall accept the paper for filing, but shall not issue a summons until the court receives full payment of the required fee. The clerk shall, by mail, notify the party tendering the check that
(1)the check was made out for an amount less than the required filing fee, (2) the administrative charge specified in subdivision (g) has been imposed to reimburse the court for the costs of processing the partial payment and providing the notice specified in this subdivision, and (3) the party has 20 days from the date of mailing of the notice within which to pay the remainder of the required fee and the administrative charge, except as provided in subdivision (f). If the person who tendered the check is not a party to the action or proposed action, but only is acting on behalf of a party, the clerk shall notify not only the person who tendered the check, and also the party or that party's attorney, if the party is represented. The clerk's certificate as to the mailing of notice pursuant to this section establishes a rebuttable presumption that the fees were not paid. This presumption is a presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence. This subdivision does not apply to an unlawful detainer action.
(b)The clerk shall void the filing if the party who tendered a check in an amount less than the required filing fee or on whose behalf a check in an amount less than the required filing fee was tendered has not paid the full amount of the fee and the administrative charge by a means specified in subdivision (a) within 20 days of the date on which the notice required by subdivision (a) was mailed. Any filing voided by this section may be disposed of immediately after the 20 days have elapsed without preserving a copy in the court records notwithstanding Section 68152 of the Government Code.
(c)If a check for less than the required fee was tendered, the remainder of the required fee and the administrative charge were not paid within the period specified in subdivision (a), and a refund of the partial payment has not been requested in a writing mailed or presented by the party or person who tendered the check within 20 days from the date on which the remainder of the required fee was due, the partial payment shall be remitted to the State Treasurer to be deposited in the Trial Court Trust Fund, except for the amount of the administrative charge described in subdivision (g), that shall be deducted from the partial payment and shall be distributed as described in subdivision (g) to the court which incurred the charge. If the party or person who tendered the check for partial payment requests a refund of the partial payment, in writing, within the time specified in this subdivision, the clerk shall refund the amount of the partial payment less the amount of the administrative charge imposed by that court. All partial payments that the court received before January 1, 2006, and that remain on deposit for filings that the clerk voided pursuant to this section, once three years have passed from the date that the filing was voided, shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for deposit into the Trial Court Trust Fund.
(d)If an adverse party files a response to a complaint or other first paper referred to in subdivision (a), together with a filing fee, and the original filing is voided pursuant to subdivision (b), the responsive filing is not required and shall be voided. The court shall, by mail, provide notice to the parties that the initial paper and the response have been voided. The responding party's filing fee shall be refunded upon request, provided that the request for a refund is made in writing within 20 days from the date on which the notice was mailed. Upon receipt of the request, the court shall reimburse the responding party's filing fee without imposing any administrative charge. A refund under this subdivision is available if the adverse party has filed only a responsive pleading, but not if the party has also filed a cross-complaint or other first paper seeking affirmative relief for which there is a filing fee.
(e)If an adverse party, or a person acting on behalf of the adverse party, tenders a check for a required filing fee in an amount less than the required fee, the procedures in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) shall apply.
(f)If any trial or other hearing is scheduled to be heard prior to the expiration of the 20-day period provided for in subdivision (a), the fee shall be paid prior to the trial or hearing. Failure of the party to pay the fee prior to the trial or hearing date shall cause the court to void the filing and proceed as if it had not been filed.
(g)The clerk shall impose an administrative charge for providing notice that a check submitted for a filing fee is in an amount less than the required fee and for all related administrative, clerical, and other costs incurred under this section. The administrative charge shall, in each instance, be either twenty-five dollars ($25) or a reasonable amount that does not exceed the actual cost incurred by the court, as determined by the court. The notices provided by the court under subdivision (a) shall state the specific amount of the administrative charge that shall be paid to the court. Each administrative charge collected shall be distributed to the court that incurred the charge as described in Section 68085.1 of the Government Code. When a partial payment is to be remitted to the State Treasurer under subdivision (c), the court shall notify the Administrative Office of the Courts of the amount of (1) the partial payment collected, and (2) the administrative charge to be deducted from the payment and to be distributed to the court.
Plain-English Summary
Not every filing fee check clears for the full amount owed, whether from a bookkeeping error, a fee increase nobody caught, or an honest miscalculation. Section 411.21 gives the court a way to handle that shortfall without immediately throwing out the case.
When a complaint or other first paper arrives with a check for less than the required fee, the clerk still accepts it for filing, but holds back on issuing a summons until the full fee comes in. The clerk mails notice of the shortfall, along with an administrative charge meant to cover the cost of catching and processing the problem, and the filer gets twenty days from that notice to pay the balance and the charge. Miss that window, and the clerk voids the filing outright; the court can then dispose of it without keeping a copy in the file, and the case proceeds as though it had never been filed.
The section builds in a few practical safeguards. If a hearing or trial is set to happen before the twenty days run out, the fee has to be paid before that hearing regardless of the notice period. If nobody claims a refund of the partial payment within the deadline, the money eventually gets swept into the Trial Court Trust Fund, minus the administrative charge. And if an adverse party files a response along with fees while the original filing is defective, that response gets voided too, with the responding party’s fee refunded on request rather than forfeited over someone else’s mistake.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I pay my filing fee with a check for less than the full amount?
The clerk still accepts the paper for filing but withholds the summons. You then have twenty days from mailed notice to pay the balance plus an administrative charge, or the filing is voided.
How much is the administrative charge for a short filing fee check?
Either twenty-five dollars or a reasonable amount that doesn’t exceed the court’s actual processing cost, as the court determines, and the notice mailed to the filer states the specific amount owed.
Can I get my money back if my filing is voided for a short-paid fee?
Yes, if you request a refund in writing within the deadline. If no refund is requested in time, the partial payment is eventually remitted to the Trial Court Trust Fund, minus the administrative charge.
What if a hearing or trial in my case is scheduled before the twenty-day fee deadline runs?
The fee must be paid before that hearing or trial. Failing to pay in time causes the court to void the filing and proceed as if it had never been filed.
If my complaint is voided for a fee shortfall, does the other side’s response get voided too?
Yes, if the adverse party filed only a responsive pleading. Their filing fee is refunded on request, but this refund doesn’t apply if they also filed a cross-complaint or other paper seeking relief of their own.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2007 ch 738 (AB 1248),s 5, eff. 1/1/2008. Added by Stats 2005 ch 75 (AB 145),s 31, eff. 7/19/2005, op. 1/1/2006.
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
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