Alabama Affidavit of Substantial Hardship: How to Get Court Fees Waived

What the Affidavit of Substantial Hardship Does

Filing for guardianship or custody in Alabama comes with court fees that range from $37 in some counties to nearly $600 in others. If you're on a fixed income — Social Security, SSI, disability — those fees can be a real barrier. The Affidavit of Substantial Hardship is how you ask the court to waive the prepayment requirement so your case isn't dead before it starts.

The key word is "prepayment." The fee waiver lets you file without paying upfront, but the fees aren't permanently forgiven. At the end of your case, the judge decides whether to waive costs entirely, split them between parties, or assess them against you. In many uncontested kinship cases, the costs do end up waived — but that decision comes at the end, not the beginning.

Which Form to Use

Alabama's Administrative Office of Courts provides different versions of the hardship affidavit for different courts:

• C-10-Civil — for circuit court and probate court filings
• C-10-Juvenile — for juvenile court filings

Both are free to download at eforms.alacourt.gov. Make sure you file the version that matches the court you're filing in. The forms ask for the same basic information, but using the wrong one can delay processing.

What You'll Need to Report

The affidavit requires detailed financial disclosure:

• Gross household income from all sources — wages, Social Security, SSI, disability, child support, pensions
• Public assistance benefits — SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, housing assistance
• Liquid assets — bank account balances, cash on hand, investments
• Monthly living expenses — rent or mortgage, utilities, food, transportation, medical costs, insurance

Be thorough and honest. The court reviews these numbers to determine whether prepaying filing fees would create genuine financial hardship. If you receive SNAP, SSI, or TANF, that's strong evidence of eligibility. If you're employed but your expenses exceed your income, document that clearly with recent pay stubs and bills.

What Happens After You File

You submit the completed, signed affidavit along with your guardianship petition or custody complaint. The court clerk accepts the filing and passes the hardship affidavit to the judge for review.

Under Alabama Code § 12-19-70, if the court does not make a written finding within 90 days that you can pay a docket fee without substantial hardship, the docket-fee hardship is deemed granted. You must then file written notice with the clerk that 90 days have passed; the Administrative Office of Courts lists Form C-10A, Notice That Affidavit of Substantial Hardship Has Been Granted, for this purpose. This 90-day rule applies to docket fees, not every filing fee or service cost.

In practice, most courts rule on hardship affidavits within a few weeks. For a docket-fee hardship request, the 90-day deemed-granted provision addresses a missed ruling.

What the Waiver Covers

An approved hardship affidavit waives the prepayment of:

• Initial filing and docket fees
• Service of process costs (certified mail fees, sheriff service)
• Court clerk administrative charges

It does not waive all possible case expenses. If the court appoints a guardian ad litem, their fees are a separate matter — though counties like Lauderdale include a partial GAL fee in the filing cost, and the court may defer GAL fees for indigent petitioners as well.

Filing Tips

Attach supporting documentation even if the form doesn't explicitly require it. A copy of your SSI award letter, your most recent SNAP determination, or a bank statement showing your balance strengthens the application and speeds the court's review.

If you're filing a probate guardianship petition, submit the C-10-Civil affidavit at the same time as your petition — don't file the petition first and then scramble to file the fee waiver. The clerk needs both together to process your case without requiring upfront payment.

Our Alabama Guardianship and Custody Court Process Guide includes a county fee worksheet and step-by-step instructions for the hardship affidavit, so you can walk into the clerk's office with everything ready.

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