Ala. R. App. P. 35A

As amended through October 21, 2024

Rule 35A - Docket fees

(a)Docket Fees in Noncriminal Cases. In a noncriminalcase a docket fee shall be paid to the clerk of theappropriate appellate court, unless otherwise provided. Docketfees shall be as follows:

(1) For an appeal in a civil case, the docket fee shallbe $200.00, to be paid when the notice of appeal is filed. Ifthe notice of appeal is filed electronically, the partyresponsible for payment of the docket fee shall remit thedocket fee directly to the clerk of the appropriate appellatecourt within seven days of the electronic filing of the noticeof appeal. The payment shall be accompanied by a means ofidentifying the appeal to which the payment is applicable. Thetimeliness of the payment of the docket fee shall be governedby Rule 25(a)(3). For a proceeding for review by certiorari ofa decision or judgment of a trial court in a case where reviewby appeal is not provided for or of a decision of a board oragency where review by petition in the appropriate appellatecourt is provided by law, the docket fee shall be $150.00, tobe paid when the petition for review is filed. Provided,however, for an appeal taken following permission givenpursuant to Rule 5, the docket fee shall be $150.00.

(2) For a petition for a writ of mandamus or prohibition or other extraordinary writ, as provided for in Rule 21, the docket fee shall be $150.00, to be paid when the petition is filed.

(3) For a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Court of Civil Appeals, as provided for in Rule 39, the docket fee shall be $150.00, to be paid when the petition is filed.

(4) For a petition for permission to appeal, filed pursuant to Rule 5, the docket fee shall be $150.00, to be paid when the petition is filed. If permission to appeal is granted, an additional $50.00 docket fee shall be paid within fourteen (14) days of the order granting permission to appeal. See paragraph (1) above and Rule 5(c).

Appeals may be docketed without payment of the docket fee if a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis has been granted pursuant to the provisions of Rule 24(a).

In regard to proceedings other than appeals, if a party desires to proceed in forma pauperis but no provision has been made for that party to so proceed, the party shall file with the appellate court a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. That motion shall correspond to the motion prescribed in Form 15 and shall be accompanied by an affidavit corresponding to that prescribed in Form 15 (and that affidavit shall include answers to the questions set out in Form 15 ).

The docket fees herein prescribed shall be in lieu of all other court costs in the particular proceeding before the appellate court, unless the court orders otherwise, and may be taxed as costs, as provided by Rule 35.

(b)Docket Fees in Criminal Cases.. Unless an appellantproceeded before the trial court in forma pauperis and thatstatus has not since been revoked, or unless the appellant isgranted permission to proceed on appeal in forma pauperiseither by the trial court or by the Court of Criminal Appeals,the appellant shall pay a $200.00 docket fee to prosecute hisor her appeal in the Court of Criminal Appeals; provided,however, that that fee shall be waived in any appeal in whichthe State is the appellant. The docket fee prescribed hereinshall be in lieu of all other fees and costs prescribed by lawfor appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeals and, unless thenotice of appeal is filed electronically, shall be paid to theclerk of the trial court at the time the appellant files hisor her notice of appeal. The clerk of the trial court shallthen remit the docket fee to the clerk of the Court ofCriminal Appeals as provided in Rule 3(d)(2). If the notice ofappeal is filed electronically, the party responsible forpayment of the docket fee shall remit the fee directly to theclerk of the Court of Criminal Appeals within seven days ofthe electronic filing of the notice of appeal. The paymentshall be accompanied by a means of identifying the appeal towhich the payment is applicable. The timeliness of the paymentof the docket fee shall be governed by Rule 25(a)(3). Afterthe docket fee has been paid, in whole or in part, the Courtof Criminal Appeals shall not be required to refund anyportion thereof because the appellant, on whose behalf it waspaid, is subsequently granted in forma pauperis status orbecause the appellant's appeal is subsequently dismissedwithout a decision on the merits.

Upon receipt of the trial court clerk's transmittal of anappellant's notice of appeal, the clerk of the Court ofCriminal Appeals shall docket the appeal regardless of whetherthe transmittal is accompanied by the docket fee prescribedherein. After docketing an appeal in a case in which itappears that the docket fee is due, in whole or in part, orin a case in which the docket fee, in whole or in part, hasnot been paid within seven days following the electronicfiling of the notice of appeal, the clerk of the Court ofCriminal Appeals shall issue a deficiency notice advising theappellant that the appeal will be dismissed with prejudiceunless the appellant has, within the time prescribed in saiddeficiency notice, either paid the docket fee in full orsought leave to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis as authorized in Rule 24(a). If, within 14 days of the date ofissuance of the deficiency notice, the appellant has not paidthe docket fee in full or sought leave to proceed on appeal informa pauperis or otherwise shown that the docket fee isinapplicable, the appeal shall be dismissed with prejudice andmay not thereafter be reinstated except on motion for goodcause shown made within 14 days from the date of thecertificate of dismissal.

Ala. R. App. P. 35A

Adopted 10-2-78, eff. 12/1/1978; Amended 9-13-83; Amended 8-20-84, eff. 10/1/1984; Amended 8-30-94, eff. 1/1/1995; Amended 1-8-04, eff. 3/1/2004; Amended 8-25-09, eff. 10/1/2009; amended July 1, 2019, effective 10/1/2019

Committee Comments

Note from the reporter of decisions: The order amending Rule 35A, Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure, effective October 1, 2009, is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from __ So. 3d.

Comment

The amendment of September 13, 1983, increased the docket fee in section (1) from $50.00 to conform with Act 83-744, § 18(b).

Court Comment to Amendment of October 1, 1984

The amendment of October 1, 1984, increased the amount of the docket fees in sections (2) and (3) - for petitions for mandamus, prohibition, or other extraordinary writs, and for petitions for certiorari to the court of civil appeals - from $25.00 to $50.00. That amendment also added section (4) to require a $50.00 docket fee for the filing of a petition for permission to appeal; to correspond with this new fee, the proviso was added to section (1). The effect is to require, in the case of a Rule 5 petition for permission to appeal, that half the regular docket fee be paid upon the filing of the petition, and that the other half be paid if the petition is granted.

Committee Comment Added Effective March 12, 1990.

Rule 35A applies to all parties unless otherwise provided by these rules or by law.

Note from the reporter of decisions: The order amending Rule 35A(b), effective March 1, 2004, is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from ___ So. 2d.

Court Comment to Amendments to Rule 35A(a)(1) and (b) Effective October 1, 2019

Rule 35A(a)(1) and (b) have been amended to require theappellant to pay the docket fee to the clerk of theappropriate appellate court within seven days of theelectronic filing of the notice of appeal. The timeliness ofthe payment of the docket fee is governed by the same rulesapplicable to the filing of other documents with the appellatecourts. This amendment is consistent with the amendments toRule 3(a), (d), and (e) and Rule 12(a).