The Statement of Inability to Pay Court Costs and Fees is a form you can use
to ask the court for permission not to pay the fees the court charges to file your
Answer. This form is not included in this packet; you can find it here. If you can’t
afford to pay the filing fee for the Answer, you can fill out the form found here or
you can ask the Clerk of Court for a form called “Statement of Inability to Pay Court
Costs and Fees.” Courts may use different names for this form. It is often called a
“Fee Waiver” form. The form requires you to provide information about your income
and expenses. After you fill out the form and sign it, the Clerk of Court will give it
to the judge to review. If the judge decides that you cannot afford the filing fee, the
judge will allow you to file your Answer without paying the filing fee. If the judge
decides that you can afford the filing fee, the judge will not allow you to file your
Answer until you pay the filing fee.
Answering Your Landlord’s Complaint to Evict You, Page 2 of 21, including instructions and forms.
© 2023 Montana Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission and Montana Legal Services
Association. Use of this form is restricted to not-for-profit purposes. Last updated 05/23/23.
Important: Be sure to file your Statement of Inability to Pay Court Costs and
Fees early, at least one day before your Answer is due! You need to allow the
judge enough time to review your Statement of Inability. The Clerk of Court
may not allow you to file your Answer unless the judge has approved your fee
waiver request. And, if your Answer isn’t filed before its due date, you could
be evicted. In the section “How Long Do I Have to Answer” below, you can
read about the time limit to file your answer.
What Words Do I Need to Know?