Tanzania Court Filing Fees

Going to court in Tanzania — what it costs

Tanzania's courts are arranged in a hierarchy: Primary Court → District / Resident Magistrate Court → High Court → Court of Appeal. Court filing fees are set in regulations; lawyer fees are typically the largest single cost.

Filing fee logic

• Primary Court — flat fees TZS 5,000–50,000 by claim band. Suitable for claims up to ~TZS 30M.
• Resident Magistrate / District — sliding scale, ~0.5–1% of claim value, with floor and ceiling.
• High Court — ~2% of claim value with a floor of TZS 100,000. Original jurisdiction for higher-value or constitutional matters.
• Court of Appeal — flat TZS 200,000+ filing; the largest cost is appeals advocate.

What else adds to the cost

• Service of summons — TZS 10,000–25,000 per defendant.
• Witnesses — transport reimbursement.
• Court costs — clerks, certified copies, transcripts.
• Lawyer fees — primary courts work without advocates; from district level upwards expect 200k–5M+ depending on complexity.
• Mediation — many courts now require mandatory mediation first; success rate is high.

Alternatives to court

1. Letter of demand first — many disputes settle. See the Letter of Demand template.
2. Mediation — Tanzania Mediation Centre, NCC, or court-annexed.
3. Arbitration — fast for commercial disputes, especially if the contract specifies arbitration.
4. Tribunal route — Labour Tribunal, Tax Appeals Tribunal, Fair Competition Tribunal.

Confirm current rates at judiciary.go.tz.