V.R.E.F. Rule 10

(a) Paying Court Fee; Correcting Failure to Pay.

(1) Electronic Filing. If an electronic filing requires payment of a court fee, an efiling fee, or

both, the efiler must either pay the fee(s) on filing or file an application to waive filing fees and

service costs. Court staff will reject an efiling that does not comply with this rule as set out in

Rule 5(d) and (e). The procedures in Rule 5(d) for correcting a noncompliant efiling and

determining the filing date apply. No advance deposit on account of future fees will be accepted.

(2) Nonelectronic Filing. If a nonelectronic filing requires payment of a court fee, the filer

must either pay the fee on filing or file an application to waive filing fees and service costs. The

consequences for noncompliance are as specified in the applicable rule of procedure.

(b) Payment Manner. Court fees for electronically and nonelectronically filed documents

must be paid in a manner approved by the Court Administrator.

(c) Applying to Waive Court Fees. A party who wishes to waive court filing fees and service

costs must comply with the provisions of the applicable rules of procedure.

(d) Exemption from EFiling Fee. Efiling fees will not be applied in the following

circumstances:

(1) Court staff and other persons who participate in court proceedings in an official judicial

position are exempt from fees when they file pursuant to their judicial responsibilities.

(2) Whenever a statute exempts a particular filer from paying a court filing fee, that filer will

also not be required to pay an efiling fee.

Reporter’s Notes—2020

This rule addresses payment of court fees and efiling fees. Court

filing fees are as generally prescribed in 32 V.S.A. chapter 17.

Pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 1433, the state is not required to pay filing

fees. Except as provided in 32 V.S.A. § 1431(e), there are no filing

fees in criminal division proceedings. No filing fees are required in

proceedings for relief from abuse, 15 V.S.A. § 1103(f), abuse

prevention for a vulnerable adult, 33 V.S.A § 6933(b), or for

orders against stalking or sexual assault, 12 V.S.A. § 5133(f).

Waiver of court fees is for persons found to be unable to pay a

filing fee under 32 V.S.A. §§ 1431(h) and 1434(b), and V.R.C.P.

3.1 and V.R.P.P. 3.1.

The failure to pay a required court fee at time of efiling or to

seek an authorization to waive filing fees or service costs if such an

authorization is not in place will result in rejection of the attempted

filing. As specified in Rule 5(d)(3), the efiler then has 7 days to

correct the deficiency. If the deficiency is corrected in time, the

efiling will be accepted, and the filing date will be the date of the

initial attempt.

Note that subdivision (a) applies only in the normal situation

where the filer must pay the required fee to make the efiling

effective. There is at least one situation where paying the required

fee is not required to make the filing effective. Vermont Rule of

Appellate Procedure 3 provides that “an appellant’s failure to take

any step other than the timely filing of a notice of appeal does not

affect the appeal’s validity but is ground for the Supreme Court to

take any appropriate action, including dismissal.”

Filing a request for a waiver crosses only the first hurdle of

avoiding a dismissal. For proceedings governed by the Vermont

Rules of Civil Procedure, if the request is denied by the clerk, the

efiler has 7 days to appeal to the presiding judge. See V.R.C.P.

3.1(b)(5). If the judge denies the appeal, the efiler has 30 days to

pay the fee or the action is dismissed. V.R.C.P. 3.1(d). In probate

court, the initial decision is by the judge so rejection by the judge

creates the obligation to pay within 30 days or face dismissal. See

V.R.P.P. 3.1(d).

The authorized methods of paying costs and fees are not stated in

the rule. They are determined by the Court Administrator and

stated on the Vermont Judiciary website.

Subdivision (d) addresses the second type of fee—a fee to make

an electronic filing or to effect service through the electronic filing

system imposed by the electronic filing system vendor. Under Rule

10(d)(2) if an efiler would be obligated to pay a court fee for the

efiling, but the efiler is exempt from payment of the fee or

payment of the fee is waived, the efiler is not required to pay an

efiling fee for filing or service. Further, court staff and persons

acting in an official capacity on behalf of the court—for example,

masters, parent coordinators, guardians ad litem, and court-ordered

forensic evaluators—are exempt from paying an efiling fee.

Reporter’s Notes—2021 Amendments

Paragraph (a)(1) is amended to modify the cross-reference to Rule

5(d) and (e) to refer to both review in the superior courts and the

Supreme Court.