Oklahoma Probate Cost: One Flat Fee, Plus the Assessments Nobody Quotes
Settled Estate lists court filing fees and timelines for 6 Oklahoma probate procedures. The cheapest published route starts at $135 for statutory filing fee. Last verified September 2026.
Oklahoma charges $135 to open an estate in all 77 counties and takes no probate tax. The number that actually leaves your hand at the counter is closer to $195, because five statutory assessments ride on the filing fee and a sixth rides on every civil case.
Opening an Oklahoma estate costs $135. Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152(A)(3) sets a flat fee for a probate or guardianship petition, and § 152(A) states the flat fees are the only charge for court costs except as otherwise specifically provided by law. The figure does not scale with the estate, does not change between a regular administration and a summary one, and is identical in every county, because Oklahoma sets court fees statewide and levies no probate tax and no value-based probate filing fee.
What most cost pages leave out is the stack that rides on top. Five assessments in the same section are collected with the filing fee and total $53: $6 for the law library under § 152(B), $25 for the Oklahoma Court Information System under § 152(C), $10 for court-appointed special advocates under § 152(D), $2 for the Council on Judicial Complaints and courtroom interpreters under § 152(E), and $10 for court clerk records management under § 152(G), which the section assesses only until November 1, 2027. Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 1809(A) then taxes a $7 alternative-dispute-resolution cost in all civil cases. That is about $195 at the counter, before a county courthouse-security assessment of up to $10 that § 152(F) lets a board of county commissioners adopt.
Quick Summary
- Statutory filing fee
- $135Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152(A)(3), flat, the same in all 77 counties
- Typical counter total
- About $195$135 plus $53 of § 152(B) to (G) assessments plus the $7 cost under Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 1809(A)
- Successor affidavit
- $0Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 393, not filed with a court, ceiling of $50,000 net of liens
- Representative commission
- 5% / 4% / 2.5%Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 527, on the first $1,000, the next $5,000 and the balance
There is no cheaper county in Oklahoma and no different courthouse type either. Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152 sets one statewide flat schedule, and the only court charge a county can vary is the courthouse-security assessment of up to $10 that § 152(F) lets a board of county commissioners adopt. Probate is heard by the district court in all 77 counties under Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 1, with the clerk of the district court taking the filing, so there is no separate probate court and no county probate surcharge to shop for. Two costs are genuinely local and are in no total on this page. Publishing the notice to creditors runs once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper in the county under Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 331, at a rate the newspaper sets and no statute prices. And recording a deed out of the estate goes to the county clerk, a separate office from the court in every county, at the uniform statewide amounts in Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 32. Confirm the current counter total with the clerk of the district court for the county where the decedent lived, and ask about § 152(H), which requires that no fees or costs be charged on an approved affidavit in forma pauperis.
Typical Total Cost Ranges
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| Procedure | Estate Size | Court Fee | Timeline | Attorney? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Probate Administration | Any estate. The fee does not scale with value and takes no account of it | $135 under Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152(A)(3), about $195 at the counter with the $53 of mandatory assessments and the $7 dispute-resolution cost | About 6 to 12 months | No statutory requirement; counsel is usual once there is real property to sell, a business to wind up or a disputed claim | Any Oklahoma estate that needs letters and does not fit one of the three abbreviated routes |
| Summary Administration | An estate of $300,000 or less, OR a decedent deceased more than five years, OR a decedent who resided in another jurisdiction at death. Any one of the three conditions in Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 245(A) is enough, and the last two carry no dollar limit | $135 under Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152(A)(3), about $195 at the counter. The simplified route is not a discounted one | About 3 to 6 months | No statutory requirement; the combined-notice schedule is unforgiving about dates | A moderate estate, an old death nobody probated at the time, or a nonresident decedent who left Oklahoma property |
| Dispensing With Regular Proceedings | The whole estate, real and personal, does not exceed $150,000 (Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 241) | $135 under Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152(A)(3), about $195 at the counter. The dispensing order adds nothing, because it is not a separate filing | About 3 to 6 months | No statutory requirement; the route turns on an inventory the court accepts | An estate under $150,000 that has already opened and wants the rest of the procedure collapsed into one hearing |
| Small Estate Affidavit (Successor Affidavit) | A net Oklahoma value of $50,000 or less, measured on the fair market value of property located in Oklahoma subject to disposition by will or intestate succession, less liens and encumbrances (Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 393(A)(1)), with ten days elapsed since the death | $0. It is not filed with the court, so no fee is charged. A notary signature is required | About one month, floored by the ten-day wait | No | A modest estate held in accounts, wages, vehicles and belongings, where no land has to change hands |
| Sale or Lease of Estate Property During the Administration | Any estate that has to sell or lease real property, personal property or a mineral interest | $43 under Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152(A)(5), charged on top of the opening fee | Runs inside the administration | No statutory requirement; a court-supervised sale is where most Oklahoma estates use counsel | An estate that has to convert property to cash before it can distribute |
| Proceeding to Revoke the Probate of a Will | Any estate where the admission of the will is challenged | $43 under Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152(A)(6) | Set by the contest rather than by a statutory clock | No statutory requirement; a will contest is where counsel becomes the real cost rather than the filing fee | An interested person challenging a will already admitted to probate |
Additional Costs to Expect
Opening an Oklahoma Estate
Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152(A)(3) sets the flat fee for a probate or guardianship petition, and § 152(A) says the flat fees are the only charge for court costs except as otherwise specifically provided by law. Five assessments in the same section are collected with it and total $53: $6 law library under § 152(B), $25 Oklahoma Court Information System under § 152(C), $10 court-appointed special advocates under § 152(D), $2 Council on Judicial Complaints and courtroom interpreters under § 152(E), and $10 court clerk records management under § 152(G), which is assessed only until November 1, 2027. Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 1809(A) is exactly the kind of provision § 152(A) carves out, and taxes a $7 alternative-dispute-resolution cost in all civil cases, so it rides on top of the § 152 total rather than inside it. A county may add a courthouse-security assessment of up to $10 under § 152(F). Section 152(H) requires that no fees or costs be charged on an approved affidavit in forma pauperis.
The Statutory Commission, Which Is Not an Attorney Fee
Oklahoma is one of the states that sets the personal representative's pay by statute rather than by a reasonableness test. Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 527 allows a commission on the amount of the whole estate accounted for, excluding property not ranked as assets, at 5% on the first $1,000, 4% on the next $5,000 and 2.5% on everything above $6,000, and allows the same to an administrator. On a $250,000 estate accounted for that is about $6,350. Co-executors and co-administrators are entitled as a unit to a single fee, divided as the court determines or as they agree with court approval, and a representative who does not serve for the whole administration receives a court-determined portion. Where the will provides compensation, that governs unless the representative renounces it before serving, in which case the § 527 commission applies. This is a charge against the estate rather than a court fee, and it is separate from the attorney fee.
Attorney Fees, Which Oklahoma Does Not Schedule
Oklahoma sets no percentage schedule for probate attorney fees. Fees for services to the estate must be reasonable and are approved by the court, which means the amount is agreed between the client and the lawyer and then reviewed rather than computed from a table. No hourly or flat range is quoted on this page, because no official Oklahoma source publishes one and importing a figure from another state would misstate this market. Ask for a written fee agreement at the outset, and ask specifically whether the quote covers a contested claim, a court-supervised sale of real property under Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152(A)(5), or a determination of heirship, since those are the parts of an Oklahoma administration that run long.
The Successor Affidavit Costs Nothing
Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 393 works without a court, which is why it carries no fee. The successor signs the affidavit before a notary and gives it to whoever holds the property, and Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 394 discharges that holder to the same extent as if it had dealt with a personal representative. The ceiling is a net Oklahoma figure of $50,000, measured on the fair market value of property located in Oklahoma subject to disposition by will or intestate succession less liens and encumbrances, and ten days must have elapsed since the death. Oklahoma publishes no numbered statewide form for it, so any Oklahoma small estate affidavit form number you are offered came from somewhere other than the state.
Certified Copies of Court Documents
A certified copy is two charges in Oklahoma, not one, and collapsing them understates the bill. Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 31 charges $1.00 for the first page of a copy and $0.50 for each subsequent page, and separately charges $0.50 to certify an instrument, so a one-page certified document such as Letters Testamentary is $1.50. Authenticating a court record is $5.00. Letters are the document everyone needs several of, because a bank, a title company and a transfer agent will each want their own, so order more than one at the outset rather than making a second trip. Section 31 also charges 1% for receiving and paying out money in pursuance of law or a court order, capped at $300.
Certified Death Certificates
The Oklahoma State Department of Health, Office of Vital Records charges a $15 non-refundable search fee per record, which includes issuance of one certified copy if the record is found. Ordering online or by phone through the VitalChek service costs $20.00 for the first copy and $15.00 for each additional copy, plus the vendor's fee, and online rates vary for non-residents. This is not a court charge and belongs in no filing-fee total, but it is an early and unavoidable cost. Re-read the OSDH FAQ page before relying on the figures, because the landing and death-certificate pages carry no dollar amounts and only the FAQ page does.
Publishing the Notice to Creditors
Left unpriced rather than estimated, because no statute and no court schedule carries a line for it. Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 331 requires the personal representative, within two months after the issuance of letters, to file a notice to creditors stating a presentment date at least two months after the notice is filed, with first publication on or before the tenth day after filing, published once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper in the county and mailed to all known creditors. The newspaper sets its own price. Summary administration and the § 241 dispensed-proceedings route replace that notice with a combined one, and the creditor window becomes 30 days.
Recording a Deed Out of the Estate
A land records charge rather than a court charge, paid to the county clerk, which is a different office from the district court in all 77 counties. Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 32(A) sets uniform statewide flat fees regardless of the recording method: $8.00 to record the first page of a deed, mortgage or other instrument and $2.00 for each additional page of the same instrument, and § 32(C) adds a $10.00 records-preservation fee per instrument, so a one-page deed is about $18.00. Certifying a copy is $1.00 per page, a plat of one block or less is $10.00 and more than one block is $25.00, and a nonconforming document carries higher fees. Verify the exact per-instrument total with the county clerk where the property is located.
Surety Bond Premium and Appraisals
A personal representative may be required to post bond unless the will waives it or all distributees waive it, under Okla. Stat. tit. 58, §§ 171 and 178. The premium is a surety-market price and no official Oklahoma source publishes a rate, so none is estimated here. Appraisal is a separate cost and is not always needed: Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 281 requires an inventory and appraisement within two months of the appointment order, and the representative may satisfy the appraisement requirement by stating an opinion of value, but on written demand by an heir, devisee, legatee, a creditor who has filed a claim, a guardian, a conservator, a guardian ad litem or another interested person the court must order an appraisement by appointed appraisers.
The $33 Guardianship Report Fee, Which Is Not a Probate Accounting Fee
This is the Oklahoma number a cost page can misread. Okla. Stat. tit. 28, § 152(A)(4) charges $33 for filing an annual guardianship report. There is no estate-value fee ladder anywhere in the Oklahoma schedule and no separate fee for a probate accounting, so presenting the $33 as the cost of a probate accounting would invent a charge the statute does not make. A decedent's estate closes on a final account, a petition for determination of heirship and distribution, and a decree of distribution under Okla. Stat. tit. 58, §§ 541, 611 and 631, and § 541 lets the persons entitled to it waive the final accounting where its conditions are met.
Estate and Inheritance Tax, Which Oklahoma Does Not Charge
Oklahoma repealed its estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2010, and there is no Oklahoma inheritance-tax lien or estate-tax lien on an estate for a death on or after that date. There is no probate tax return: the personal representative prepares an inventory under Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 281 and closes on a final account and a decree of distribution. What can still arrive is income tax, in the form of a final individual return for the year of death, a fiduciary return where the estate must file a federal Form 1041, and a federal estate tax return for a very large estate. None of that is a court fee and none of it belongs in a filing-fee total.
One more cost source to check: if the person who died received Medicaid long-term care benefits, the state may file a recovery claim against the estate. The Oklahoma Medicaid estate recovery guide explains when that applies.