Data Explorer: Ability to pay | 50 State Criminal Justice Debt Tool

Ability to Pay

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	State	Statute	Description/Statute Name	Statutory language	Level of offense	Definition of ability to pay	Timeline	Burden of proof	Method of determination	Mandatory	Remedies if unable to pay
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Alabama	Ala. Code 1975 §15-27-12	Expungement of records: Payment in full required	No order of expungement shall be granted unless all terms and conditions, including court ordered restitution, are satisfied and paid in full, including interest, to any victim, or the Alabama + See more Crime Victim’s Compensation Commission, as well as court costs, fines, or statutory fees ordered by the sentencing court to have been paid, absent a finding of indigency by the court.	All	Indigency	Not provided for	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	Not provided for
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Alaska	Alaska Stat. § 33.30.028(b)	Responsibility for Costs of Medical Care	The commissioner shall require prisoners who are without resources under (a) of this section to pay the costs of medical, psychological, and psychiatric care provided to them by the department. + See more At a minimum, the prisoner shall be required to pay a portion of the costs based upon the prisoner’s ability to pay.	All	Not provided for	Not provided for	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	Required to pay a portion of the costs.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Alaska	Alaska Stat. § 09.19.010	Limitation on Exemption From Filing Fees	(c) Based on the submission under (b) of this section, the court may grant an exemption from part of the applicable filing fees if the court finds that exceptional circumstances + See more prevent the prisoner from paying full filing fees. Imprisonment and indigency do not constitute exceptional circumstances if the prisoner has available income or resources that can be applied to the filing fee; (d) If the court orders an exemption under (c) of this section, the court shall determine the amount of the exemption and set a filing fee to be paid by the prisoner. In setting the fee, the court, at a minimum, shall require the prisoner to pay filing fees equal to 20 percent of the larger of the average monthly deposits made to the prisoner’s account described in (b)(2) of this section, or the average balance in that account, not to exceed the amount of the full filing fee required under applicable court rules.	All	"Exceptional circumstances prevent the prisoner from paying full filing fees"	At defendant's request before imposition of fine or fee	Burden on defendant to show inability to pay	Administrative decision	No	Fee is recalculated based on prisoner's resources.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Arkansas	A.C.A. § 5-2-331	Cost of Mental Health Services, Examination, and Treatment of Defendant	Rules establishing reasonable charges for the cost of treatment or other mental health services under this section shall provide for waiving or postponing the collection of the charges based on: + See more (A) Clinical considerations; (B) The defendant's inability to pay; or (C) A court determination that the defendant is wholly or partly indigent and qualifies for the appointment of an attorney under § 16-87-213.	All	Not provided for	At enforcement of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	Not provided for
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Colorado	C.R.S. 16-18.5-104(1);(3)	Initial Collections Investigation - Payment Schedule	(1) Orders for restitution shall be due and payable at the time that the order of conviction is entered. Unless the defendant is sentenced to the custody of the executive director + See more of the department of corrections, if at the time that the court enters an order for restitution pursuant to section 18-1.3-603, C.R.S., the defendant alleges that he or she cannot pay the full amount of restitution, the court shall direct that the defendant report immediately to the collections investigator.... (3)(a) Upon referral of a defendant pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, the collections investigator shall conduct an investigation into the financial ability of the defendant to pay the restitution ordered by the court. Such investigation may consist of but is not limited to: (I) Submission of written financial affidavits or disclosures of the defendant's personal, household, and business income, assets, and liabilities; (II) Submission to an oral examination of the defendant's financial circumstances; (III) Submission of books, papers, documents, or other tangible things related to the defendant's financial circumstances including but not limited to: (A) Payroll stubs; (B) Financial institution account statements; (C) Stock certificates; (D) Deeds, titles, or other evidence of ownership; (E) State and federal tax records; and (F) Insurance policies and statements; (IV) Research and verification of all oral and written statements made by the defendant. (b) In the case of a juvenile defendant, the collections investigator may conduct the investigation into the juvenile's parents' or legal guardian's financial circumstances as well as the juvenile's. (c) For purposes of conducting the investigation required by this subsection (3), the collections investigator shall have access to data maintained by other state agencies including but not limited to wage data, employment data, and income tax data. The judicial department and any other departments are authorized to enter into agreements for the sharing of such data. (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 72 of title 24, C.R.S., documents and information obtained by the collections investigators pursuant to this subsection (3) shall not be public records, but shall be open to public inspection only upon an order of the court based on a finding of good cause. Documents and information obtained by the collection investigators may be made available to the victim and to any private collection agency or third party with whom the judicial department may contract for the collection of past due restitution. In addition, if any warrant is issued for the arrest of any defendant due to nonpayment of restitution, information concerning the defendant's address and place of employment may be shared with a criminal justice agency.	All	Not provided for	At enforcement of fine or fee	Burden on government to show ability to pay	Administrative decision	No	Not provided for
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Colorado	C.R.S. 16-18.5-105	Monitoring - Default - Penalties	Whenever a defendant fails to make a payment of restitution within seven days after the date that the payment is due pursuant to a payment schedule established pursuant to this + See more article, in addition to any other remedy, the collections investigator may: (a) Conduct an additional financial investigation of the defendant as described in section 16-18.5-104 (3).	All	Not provided for	At enforcement of fine or fee	Burden on government to show ability to pay	Administrative decision	No	Not provided for
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Colorado	C.R.S. 16-18.5-105(1)	Monitoring - Default - Penalties	The collections investigator shall be responsible for monitoring the payments of restitution by any defendant referred to the investigator pursuant to section 16-18.5-104. Based upon changes in the defendant's financial circumstances, + See more the collections investigator may modify the payment schedule established pursuant to section 16-18.5-104 (4). If a payment schedule has been made an order of the court pursuant to section 16-18.5-104 (4)(a)(II), prior to enforcing a new schedule, the collections investigator shall request and obtain a modification of the order.	All	Not provided for	At enforcement of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	Not provided for
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Kentucky	Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 441.265(5)	"Required reimbursement by prisoner of costs of confinement; local policy of fee and expense rates; billing and collection methods"	(5) The governing body of the county may require a prisoner who is confined in the county jail to pay a reasonable fee, not exceeding actual cost, for any medical + See more treatment or service received by the prisoner. However, no prisoner confined in the jail shall be denied any necessary medical care because of inability to pay.	All	Not provided for	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	Yes	N/A
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Kentucky	Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.454(5)	Persons prohibited from probation or postincarceration supervision; procedure when probation or postincarceration supervision not prohibited	(5) The offender shall pay for any evaluation or treatment required pursuant to this section up to the offender's ability to pay but not more than the actual cost of + See more the comprehensive sex offender presentence evaluation or treatment.	All	Not provided for	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	N/A
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Idaho	Idaho Code § 20-225	Payment for Cost of Supervision	Any person under state probation or parole supervision shall be required to contribute not more than seventy-five dollars ($ 75.00) per month as determined by the board of correction. Costs + See more of supervision are the direct and indirect costs incurred by the department of correction to supervise probationers and parolees, including tests to determine drug and alcohol use, books and written materials to support rehabilitation efforts, and monitoring of physical location through the use of technology. Any failure to pay such contribution shall constitute grounds for the revocation of probation by the court or the revocation of parole by the commission for pardons and parole. The division of probation and parole in the department of correction may exempt a person from the payment of all or any part of the foregoing contribution if it finds any of the following factors to exist: (1) The offender has diligently attempted but been unable to obtain employment. (2) The offender has a disability affecting employment, as determined by a physical, psychological or psychiatric examination acceptable to the division of probation and parole.	All	The court determines whether " the offender has diligently attempted but been unable to obtain employment [or whether] the offender has a disability affecting employment, as determined by a physical, + See more psychological or psychiatric examination acceptable to the division of probation and parole."	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	Yes	The division of probation and parole in the department of correction may exempt a person from the payment of all or any part of the foregoing contribution.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 628.29(4)	Pretrial diversion program for writers of dishonored checks	Subd. 4. Program components. (a) At a minimum, the pretrial diversion program must require offenders to: (1) successfully complete an appropriate educational class or classes at their own expense which + See more includes information on writing checks and managing money; . . . (b) If the prosecutor determines that requiring an offender to pay for the educational class described in paragraph (a), clause (1), would result in an economic hardship to the offender or the offender's family, the prosecutor may waive the requirement.	All	An economic hardship to the offender or the offender's family	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	Fee waiver
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Nebraska	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-718(3)	Child protection cases; central registry; name-change order; treatment; fee; waiver	The department may charge a reasonable fee in an amount established by the department in rules and regulations to recover expenses in carrying out central registry records checks. The fee + See more shall not exceed three dollars for each request to check the records of the central registry. The department shall remit the fees to the State Treasurer for credit to the Health and Human Services Cash Fund. The department may waive the fee if the requesting party shows the fee would be an undue financial hardship. The department shall use the fees to defray costs incurred to carry out such records checks. The department may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out this section.	All	Undue financial hardship	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	Fee waiver
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Hampshire	N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 651:5(X)(d)	Annulment of Criminal Records	Upon payment of a fee not to exceed $100 to the state police, and subject to the provisions of subparagraph XI(b), the state police criminal records unit shall remove the + See more annulled criminal record and inform all appropriate state and federal agencies of the annulment, unless the petitioner demonstrates that he or she is indigent, or has been found not guilty, or the case has been dismissed or not prosecuted in accordance with paragraph II. The state police shall grant the fee waiver request where the petitioner demonstrates indigency by including with the fee waiver request an affidavit listing the petitioner's monthly net income and that of his or her spouse, and the assets of the petitioner and his or her spouse. The fee waiver request form used shall be substantially similar to the forms for waiver of fees and costs in the superior courts.	All	Indigent	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	Fee waiver
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Mexico	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 33-9-3	Community corrections grant fund; established; co-payments	A. There is created in the state treasury a special fund to be known as the “community corrections grant fund”. All money appropriated to the fund or accruing to it + See more as a result of gift, deposit, investments or other sources shall not be transferred to another fund or encumbered or disbursed in any manner except as provided in the Adult Community Corrections Act. The fund shall be for the purpose of providing programs and services for the diversion of criminal offenders to community-based settings. B. The department shall require criminal offenders who participate in a program and who receive services to make a co-payment to offset the cost of the services. The amount of the co-payment shall be based upon the offender's ability to pay. The department shall collect the co-payments and on a monthly basis deliver them to the state treasurer for deposit in the community corrections grant fund.	All	Not provided for	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	Copayment sent based on ability to pay.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 15A-145.4(j)	Expunction of records for first offenders who are under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of a nonviolent felony	(j) A person who files a petition for expunction of a criminal record under this section must pay the clerk of superior court a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars + See more ($175.00) at the time the petition is filed. Fees collected under this subsection are payable to the Administrative Office of the Courts. The clerk of superior court shall remit one hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents ($122.50) of each fee to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for the costs of criminal record checks performed in connection with processing petitions for expunctions under this section. The remaining fifty-two dollars and fifty cents ($52.50) of each fee shall be retained by the Administrative Office of the Courts and used to pay the costs of processing petitions for expunctions under this section. This subsection does not apply to petitions filed by an indigent.	All	Indigent	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	N/A
Add to Dashboard + Create New	North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § § 15A-145(e)	Expunction of records for first offenders under the age of 18 at the time of conviction of misdemeanor; expunction of certain other misdemeanors	A person who files a petition for expunction of a criminal record under this section must pay the clerk of superior court a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($ + See more 175.00) at the time the petition is filed. Fees collected under this subsection are payable to the Administrative Office of the Courts. The clerk of superior court shall remit one hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents ($ 122.50) of each fee to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for the costs of criminal record checks performed in connection with processing petitions for expunctions under this section. The remaining fifty-two dollars and fifty cents ($ 52.50) of each fee shall be retained by the Administrative Office of the Courts and used to pay the costs of processing petitions for expunctions under this section. This subsection does not apply to petitions filed by an indigent.	All	Indigent	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	N/A
Add to Dashboard + Create New	North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 15A-145.1(d)	Expunction of records for first offenders under the age of 18 at the time of conviction of certain gang offenses	A person who files a petition for expunction of a criminal record under this section must pay the clerk of superior court a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($ + See more 175.00) at the time the petition is filed. Fees collected under this subsection are payable to the Administrative Office of the Courts. The clerk of superior court shall remit one hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents ($ 122.50) of each fee to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for the costs of criminal record checks performed in connection with processing petitions for expunctions under this section. The remaining fifty-two dollars and fifty cents ($ 52.50) of each fee shall be retained by the Administrative Office of the Courts and used to pay the costs of processing petitions for expunctions under this section. This subsection does not apply to petitions filed by an indigent.	All	Indigent	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	N/A
Add to Dashboard + Create New	North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 15A-145.2(d)	Expunction of records for first offenders not over 21 years of age at the time of the offense of certain drug offenses	A person who files a petition for expunction of a criminal record under this section must pay the clerk of superior court a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($ + See more 175.00) at the time the petition is filed. Fees collected under this subsection are payable to the Administrative Office of the Courts. The clerk of superior court shall remit one hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents ($ 122.50) of each fee to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for the costs of criminal record checks performed in connection with processing petitions for expunctions under this section. The remaining fifty-two dollars and fifty cents ($ 52.50) of each fee shall be retained by the Administrative Office of the Courts and used to pay the costs of processing petitions for expunctions under this section. This subsection does not apply to petitions filed by an indigent.	All	Indigent	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	N/A
Add to Dashboard + Create New	North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 15A-145.3(d)	Expunction of records for first offenders not over 21 years of age at the time of the offense of certain toxic vapors offenses	A person who files a petition for expunction of a criminal record under this section must pay the clerk of superior court a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($ + See more 175.00) at the time the petition is filed. Fees collected under this subsection are payable to the Administrative Office of the Courts. The clerk of superior court shall remit one hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents ($ 122.50) of each fee to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for the costs of criminal record checks performed in connection with processing petitions for expunctions under this section. The remaining fifty-two dollars and fifty cents ($ 52.50) of each fee shall be retained by the Administrative Office of the Courts and used to pay the costs of processing petitions for expunctions under this section. This subsection does not apply to petitions filed by an indigent.	All	Indigent	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	N/A
Add to Dashboard + Create New	North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 14-208.45	Sex Offender and Public Protection Registration Programs: Fees	(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (b1) of this section, each person required to enroll pursuant to this Part shall pay a one-time fee of ninety dollars ($90.00). + See more The fee shall be payable to the clerk of superior court, and the fees shall be remitted quarterly to the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety. This fee is intended to offset only the costs associated with the time-correlated tracking of the geographic location of subjects using the location tracking crime correlation system. (b) When a court determines a person is required to enroll pursuant to G.S. 14-208.40A or G.S. 14-208.40B, the court may exempt a person from paying the fee required by subsection (a) of this section only for good cause and upon motion of the person required to enroll in satellite-based monitoring. The court may require that the fee be paid in advance or in a lump sum or sums, and a probation officer may require payment by those methods. (c) When a person is required to enroll based on a determination by the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice pursuant to G.S. 14-208.40B, the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice shall have the authority to exempt the person from paying the fee only for good cause and upon request of the person required to enroll in satellite-based monitoring. The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice may require that the fee be paid in advance or in a lump sum or sums, and a probation officer may require payment by those methods. Credits	All	Agency/court has authority to exempt the person from paying the fee only for good cause.	At defendant's request before imposition of fine or fee	Burden on defendant to show inability to pay	Administrative decision	No	Fee waiver

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