Supreme Court Notice of Appeal Filing Fee

There is a non-refundable $500 filing fee and a $10 Court Security Assessment that must be paid at the time a notice of appeal or notice of cross-appeal is filed with the Delaware Supreme Court. Payment of the filing fee is not required for appeals from decisions of the Industrial Accident Board or the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board. The filing fee generally is the only fee charged by the Supreme Court.

If you believe that you are indigent and are unable to pay the filing fee, you may file a motion to proceed in forma pauperis, which contains an affidavit of indigency. The personal information you provide in the motion and affidavit will help the Court decide whether you will be excused from paying the filing fee. A copy of the motion and affidavit, just like any document you file with the Supreme Court, must be served on the opposing party's lawyer, or the opposing party directly if the opposing party is not represented by a lawyer.

The Supreme Court may waive the filing fee. The waiver of this fee, however, does not waive any other fees or costs that may be associated with your appeal. For instance, there may be a fee charged by the court below for transmitting the record on appeal to the Supreme Court. There also may be costs if you order the transcript from the proceedings below. None of these fees or costs, which are imposed by the court below, can be waived by the Supreme Court.

If you mistakenly file a notice of appeal from an unappealable interlocutory order and your appeal is dismissed for failure to comply with Supreme Court Rule 42, the Supreme Court may transfer the filing fee you paid to any later-filed appeal from a final order in the same case.

References: Supr. Ct. R. 20.